Noli Me Tangere, the novel that served as a catalyst that sparked the Philippine revolution of 1896, has been published as a new English-language translation by Penguin Books. The publication places the 1887 novel by José P. Rizal amongst the upper echelons of world literature.
The republication further marks the first instance in which a Southeast Asian book has been published under the Penguin Classics banner. Elda Rotor, executive editor for Penguin Books Classics, said the publication “represents Penguin’s commitment to publish the major literary classics of the world.”
“For me, it’s a particular job on many levels, to place Rizal on the same shelf as Dickens and Austen, to share a classic that is read, studied and celebrated in parts of the world, yet unfamiliar to a wider audience,” Ms Rotor, a Filipino-American, said.
The novel’s blurb describes the literature as “the book that sparked the Philippine revolution” and “the great novel of the Philippines.”
“(It) was the first major artistic manifestation of Asian resistance to European colonialism, and Rizal became a guiding conscience—and martyr—for the revolution that would subsequently rise up in the Spanish province,” it stated.
This translation of Rizal’s novel was written by Harold Augenbraum, an American writer and scholar of Hispanic-American letters and executive director of the National Book Foundation and the National Book Awards. Mr Augenbraum said he was introduced to Filipino-American literature in 1992 and was fascinated by Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and its sequel El Filibusterismo.
After editing and revising a Penguin book, Mr Augenbraum was asked by the publishing house to recommend a new story for Penguin Classics. He proposed Noli Me Tangere; although Penguin knew little about the title, they became intrigued when they learned more about the story. The publisher initially contemplated adapting an existing English-language translation but decided instead on a new translation to suit contemporary American English.
Mr Augenbraum added he enjoyed translating Noli Me Tangere and said serving as an editor was more difficult than translating the novel from Spanish to English.
“The harder part was to compile the notes that would explain the many, many religious and cultural references Rizal used…. The US is not steeped in the Catholic faith and many Americans will probably be reading about the Philippines for the first time,” Mr Augenbraum said. He moreover indicated Rizal’s classic should be required reading for Asian-American courses in US colleges “because it is the foundational novel of the nation, with large implications for the diaspora and its influence on other writers.”
Mr Augenbraum dismissed notions that Rizal’s story was dogmatic, arguing the literature should be classified as fiction.
“In my introduction to the Noli, I discuss Rizal becoming a sort of ‘santo’ in the Filipino diaspora, no longer a real personage, and I question whether he ever really was a real person, since he saw himself as part of Philippine narrative history and acted accordingly. Although some people have compared Rizal to (19th-century Cuban writer and patriot) Jose Marti, Marti has never attained the supernatural status of Rizal,” Mr Augenbraum said.
Noli Me Tangere recounts the story of a romance between Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin and María Clara de los Santos. Juan Crisóstomo returns to the Philippines following his studies in Europe and is aghast to find social inequity and decay rampant in his home country.
Although Juan Crisóstomo endeavors to bring forth enlightenment and modernity to his people, the Spanish colonial powers thwart his efforts through an authoritarian regime and a domineering church. The Spanish ruling class particularly resents Juan Crisóstomo because of his youth, education and wealth and because of his patriotic struggles to improve the lot for his oppressed country.
Rizal penned his story in Spanish, the language of the educated and ruling class at the time. Noli Me Tangere helped imbue a sense of nationalism and consciousness among Filipinos and eventually led to the revolt against the Spanish colonial masters in 1896.
The novel and its sequel, El Filibusterismo, proved controversial and were consequently banned in the Philippines because they depicted corruption and abuse by the Spanish government and clergy. One memorable passage describes how a Spanish clergyman, Padre Dámaso, fathered an illegitimate child with a Filipina woman.
“My book made a lot of noise; everywhere, I am asked about it. They wanted to anathematize (excommunicate) me because of it…. I am considered a German spy, an agent of Bismarck, they say I am a Protestant, a freemason, a sorcerer, a damned soul. It is whispered that I want to draw plans, that I have a foreign passport and that I wander through the streets by night…,” he wrote in a letter.
A ban notwithstanding, copies of the book were smuggled into the Philippines and read by educated Filipinos. After returning to the Philippines following medical studies overseas, Rizal encountered persecution from the local government and was later arrested for “inciting rebellion”. He denied complicity in the revolution but was executed in Manila on Dec. 30, 1896 at age 35.
