José Rizal and the Spanish Novel

Aug 26, 2026

This dissertation theorizes late nineteenth-century Spanish literature from the perspective of colonized experience, using José Rizal’s Noli me tángere and El filibusterismo as the starting point. Instead of treating Rizal’s novels solely as nation-building texts, it analyzes them as representing colonialism’s dead end and also the death of the Spanish empire. The argument is developed through comparison with Benito Pérez Galdós’s Doña Perfecta, showing how colonizing mentality persists within Spain’s internal conflicts. The study concludes that reading Rizal is necessary for contextualizing peninsular Spanish novels.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages238

Reading Time6 h 7 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

1. Noli me tángere, Polyphony and Colonialism

2. Rizal and Spain in El filibusterismo

3. Colonialism in Doña Perfecta

Conclusion: Rizal as Reader of Galdós

Works Cited

Biography

José Rizal and the Spanish Novel by Aaron C . Castroverde Department of Romance Studies Duke University Date: Approved: Stephanie Sieburth, Co-Supervisor Walter Mignolo, Co-Supervisor Fredric Jameson Richard Rosa Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Romance Studies in the Graduate School of Duke University 2013 ABSTRACT José Rizal and the Spanish Novel by Aaron C . Castroverde Department of Romance Studies Duke University Date: Approved: Stephanie Sieburth, Co-Supervisor Walter Mignolo, Co-Supervisor Fredric Jameson Richard Rosa An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Romance Studies in the Graduate School of Duke University 2013 Copyright by Aaron C . Castroverde 2013 Abstract This dissertation is a preliminary attempt to define and theorize Spanish literature of the late nineteenth century from the perspective of the colonized. I take as my starting point the novels of the Filipino writer José Rizal: Noli me tángere and El filibusterismo . Although these novels are considered to be the foundational texts of the Philippine nation, I will instead focus on their relationship to Spain and the literature produced there around the same period. This analysis will be contrasted with a reading of Benito Pérez Galdós’s novel Doña Perfecta, which, as many critics have claimed, bears a resemblance to Rizal’s first novel. I will show how Galdós’s novel demonstrates a colonizing mentality despite being nominally about an internal Spanish conflict. In conclusion, I will argue for the necessity of an understanding of Rizal’s novels in order to better grasp the total context in which peninsular Spanish novels were produced. Contents Abstract ............................................. 4 Introduction:........................................ 1 1. Noli me tángere, Polyphony and Colonialism........ 9 Towards a Political Reading of the Noli ........... 94 2. Rizal and Spain in El filibusterismo ............. 97 The Critics: Retana and Sarkisyanz on Rizal’s Relationship to Spain ............................. 99 Rizal and the “Two Spains”....................... 114 The “Two Spains” in El filibusterismo ............ 121 Rizal’s Idea of History .......................... 148 Simoun and Isagani: The Circuits of History .... 151 Reflections on Rizal and Anti-Colonial literature 176 3. Colonialism in Doña Perfecta .................... 181 Conclusion: Rizal as Reader of Galdós.............. 219 Works Cited ........................................ 226 Biography.......................................... 233 Introduction: José Rizal and the Spanish Novel This dissertation will attempt to reformulate the relationship between colonial and metropolitan space during Spain’s late imperial period. My focus will be primarily on the works of José Rizal, a Filipino polymath and national hero, whose novels Noli me tángere (1887) and El filibusterismo (1891) are considered to be the foundational texts of the Philippine national consciousness. However, my reading of them departs from a different assumption: instead of looking at them as ‘generative’ texts (which they are, arguably, in the Philippine context) I will look at them as novels that represent the ‘dead-end’ of colonialism. In other words, I will argue that Rizal’s novels, perhaps even more than representing the birth of the Philippine nation, are also as much about the death of the Spanish empire. This kind of interpretation will place Rizal back into dialogue with the aesthetic context of his era. Thus, this study attempts to demonstrate the necessity of understanding Rizal’s novels in the context of other Spanish novels of the same period. Moreover, perhaps more importantly, this study will also s

FAQs

What is the dissertation’s central goal regarding Spanish literature?

It aims to reformulate how colonial and metropolitan space relate during Spain’s late imperial period, using a colonized perspective.

Why does the study reinterpret Rizal’s novels?

It treats Noli me tángere and El filibusterismo not just as foundational national texts, but as representing colonialism’s dead end and the decline of the Spanish empire.

How does Doña Perfecta function in the dissertation’s argument?

The analysis contrasts Rizal with Galdós’s Doña Perfecta to demonstrate that a colonizing mentality can remain even when the plot concerns an internal Spanish conflict.

Aug 26, 2026

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