CH7 Content and Context

• In a meeting of the ilustrados in 1884, Rizal proposed to write a book project to be done collaboratively with his fellow writers, unfortunately, the project did not materialize.
• Rizal started work on Publishing Noli in 1884 and completed it in 1887.
• Juan Luna’s painting, Spoliarium and Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe are works that influenced Rizal in writing of the Noli.
• Juan Luna’s painting, Spoliarium depicts the sufferings faced by humanity in the face of inequalities.
• Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, deals with slavery in America.
• Rizal finished the first half of the novel in Spain, supposedly the other half in France, then completed the draft in 1886.
• The novel was published the following year, 1887 in Germany.
• Lack of funds delayed the book’s publication until a fellow ilustrado, Maximo Viola, insisted on lending him 300 pesos for the printing of the first 2,000 copies.
• The title, Noli Me Tangere, has a Biblical reference to the gospel of John in which Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and uttered these words: “Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father.
• French, considered to be the language of the intellectuals in Europe, was the language Rizal initially planned to write his novel in, but he shifted to Spanish because he intended to reach out to his countrymen in the Philippines.
• The project of writing the Noli was aimed at exposing the ills of Philippine colonial society under Spain.