Noli Me Tangere · Chapter
The Rulers explained
This chapter examines the true rulers of San Diego, contrasting the modest Don Rafael Ibarra and the ineffective Capitan Tiago with the real powers: the curate Fray Salví and the alferez of the Civil Guard.
What happens
This chapter examines the true rulers of San Diego, contrasting the modest Don Rafael Ibarra and the ineffective Capitan Tiago with the real powers: the curate Fray Salví and the alferez of the Civil Guard. Fray Salví is depicted as a strict, pious Franciscan who uses fines and sermons to control the town, while the alferez and his wife Doña Consolacion engage in drunkenness and domestic violence. Their rivalry plays out through petty acts of sabotage, each undermining the other's authority, yet they maintain a veneer of politeness. The chapter satirizes colonial governance as a farce of competing petty tyrants.
Themes in this chapter
Colonial Oppression and Abuse of Power
The chapter exposes the petty tyranny of both the curate and the alferez, who exploit their positions for personal gain and control, illustrating the corrupt colonial system.
Religious Hypocrisy and Clerical Corruption
Fray Salví's piety is a facade for manipulation, using fines and sermons to dominate, while the alferez's anecdote about 'chocolate, eh!' highlights clerical stinginess and hypocrisy.
Social Injustice and Class Division
The rulers are shown as disconnected from the people, who are exploited and mocked, while the wealthy like Capitan Tiago are ridiculed behind their backs.
Characters to notice
- Padre Salví
The silent, sickly Franciscan curate who rules through piety, fines, and long sermons, rivaling the alferez for control of the town.
- The Alferez
The drunken, abusive commander of the Civil Guard who competes with the curate for power, often beating his wife and harassing the townspeople.
- Doña Consolacion
The alferez's heavily painted wife who instigates trouble, mocks young women from her window, and participates in violent domestic quarrels.
- Capitan Tiago
Mentioned as a wealthy but ineffective figure, secretly mocked as 'Sacristan Tiago,' who gains favors but no real authority.
- Don Rafael Ibarra
Recalled as the richest man who was not a cacique due to his modesty, and who was abandoned by the people when attacked.
Key passages
“Divide and rule. The New Machiavelli”
The chapter opens with a cynical reference to the political strategy of keeping subjects divided to maintain control.
Sets the tone for the analysis of local power dynamics.
“The curate was the Pope in the Vatican; the alferez of the Civil Guard, the King of Italy on the Quirinal: all, it must be understood, on a scale of nipa and bamboo.”
The curate and the alferez are like rival popes and kings, but in a small, makeshift town setting.
Satirizes the pretensions of colonial authorities.
“if he offers you chocolate—which I doubt—but if he offers it remember this: if he calls to the servant and says, 'Juan, make a cup of chocolate, eh !' then stay without fear; but if he calls out, 'Juan, make a cup of chocolate, ah !' then take your hat and leave on a run.”
The alferez warns visitors that the curate's tone when ordering chocolate indicates whether it will be rich or watered down, implying stinginess.
Illustrates the petty rivalry and gossip between the two rulers.