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20. The Arbitrator
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in El Filibusterismo, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Colonialism and Identity
Violence vs. Nonviolence
Education and Freedom
Hypocrisy and Colonial Oppression
Summary
Analysis
A French operetta company’s arrival throws Manilan high society into chaos as everyone clamors both to see the show and to condemn its scandalous nature. A Spanish beggar known as Boiled Shrimp waits outside the theater and watches the crowd. Though Don Custodio and the friars are attending the performance, they are highly critical of its obscenity—of course, the scandal only increases public interest in the show. Boiled Shrimp observes the comings and goings of suspicious characters, directed by Simoun. He decides not to report it, however, asking himself what he owes to society or the government. A student, Tadeo, brings another student with him to the theater, falsely claiming that the high society guests are friends or associates of his. He spots Makaraig, Pecson, Sandoval, and Isagani, who invite him to join them in Basilio’s place. Tadeo accepts, abandoning the other student.
The touring French operetta indicates the extent to which the Spanish Philippines is being dragged into a modern, globalized world, much to the chagrin of the local elite. Still, the priests are unable to repress the production outright, as they no longer have the power to dictate public taste entirely. The operetta and the public reactions to it therefore become an opportunity for the narrative to expose the various deceptions and hypocrisies of practically every element of Manila’s elite. Only a figure as completely marginal as Boiled Shrimp sees this chicanery for what it is, and it is no coincidence that he is also the only one who notices Simoun’s plot being put into action.
Themes
