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34. The Wedding
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
Don Timoteo impatiently welcomes the many guests waiting for more important personages to arrive. Ben Zayb eagerly notes the comings and goings. Finally, the captain-general arrives, allowing the festivities to begin in earnest. The captain-general is in low spirits because of his imminent return to Spain. Outside, Basilio begins to waver. He feels guilty about the death of so many people. Before he goes in to warn the guests, however, he sees Fathers Salví and Irene arrive and regains his resolve, reminding himself he has a far better friend in Simoun than any of the others. He sees Simoun arrive with the lamp. Basilio wavers again and, on a whim, tries to warn the guards. Because of his haggard appearance, however, the guards refuse to let him in. Simoun leaves as Basilio and the guards are arguing. Basilio, realizing the explosion is imminent, turns and runs.
The pompous display of wealth and power on the part of Manila’s upper crust takes precedence over the actual wedding celebrations, something that might upset a different couple—but of course Juanito and Paulita are marrying for wealth and influence, not love, and they are therefore getting exactly what they want out of the wedding. The captain-general is less pleased, as his return to Spain signifies the end of his absolute power and prestige. Basilio’s hesitations stem from his basic humane antipathy to killing, rather than any particular sympathy for the guests, as his renewed conviction upon seeing the hated priests who persecuted him and protected Camorra after Julí’s death indicates. As he soon finds out, however, even if he wanted to warn the guests he would be ignored. This is yet another example of how the colonial government ignores its own biggest threats in its racist arrogance.
Themes
Basilio bumps into Isagani, on his way to observe the wedding. Basilio tries to warn him, telling him he needs to get away now. Isagani won’t listen, so Basilio divulges the secret of the lamp. Isagani still won’t go, so Basilio leaves him alone. The meaning of Basilio’s words sinks in, and Isagani resolves to do something and heads inside, easily getting past the guards thanks to his clothes and bearing. Meanwhile, people inside pass around a piece of paper that reads “Mane Thecel Pares” and “Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra.” This mostly annoys the guests, but it alarms Father Salví, who insists the note was written in Ibarra’s hand. The lamp begins to go out, but before it can be relit, someone rushes in and throws it out the window into the river, jumping off the balcony after it before he can be caught.
While Basilio may now be willing to kill his enemies, with some hesitation, he is unwilling to let his friends die, so he warns Isagani despite the risk of revealing the plot. Isagani is too honorable to let Paulita die in the blast despite all she has done to him—perhaps he is too honorable for his own good, stepping up to save people who have only hurt and betrayed him too. In the pieces of paper Simoun leaves a final note for the priests, especially Salví, who he wants to know exactly what is happening when they die. Before the bomb can go off, however, Isagani intervenes, saving the guests and escaping before they realize what happened.
Themes
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