El Filibusterismo (El Fili) – Chapter 12
Chapter Title: Placido Penitente
Setting: Escolta, on the way to UST
Characters:
- Placido Penitente
- Juanito Pelaez
- Isagani
- Dona Victorina
- Paulita Gomez
- Tadeo
- Padre Millon
- Padre Camorra (mentioned)
- Basilio (mentioned)
- Juli (mentioned)
- Macaraig (mentioned)
Plot:
Placido Penitente goes to school but is distracted by his schoolmates.
Chapter Summary:
Placido Penitente is on the way to school (UST). It’s been a week since he arrived from his hometown. He wrote to his mother twice to ask to leave his studies so he can start working instead, but his mother said he should graduate or else it would be a waste of four years.
Placido Penitente is known as school as dedicated, a brilliant debater and one of the best Latinists. He is so smart that the parish priest called him a subversive. Because he is considered smart, his classmates are confused by his hatred of classes.
Placido Penitente travels along Paseo de Magallanes and arrives at the gate of Sto Domingo. Juanito Pelaez greets him and asks how he has been, Placido Penitente just says “so-so”. Juanito Pelaez talks about how he was invited to Tiani by the parish priest, Padre Camorra. They sang to (performing a harana) pretty girls at various houses.
Juanito Pelaez whispers to Placido Penitente, who is surprised to hear about Juli, the sweetheart of Basilio. Juanito Pelaez says Padre Camorra tackled two people who were singing to her. Juanito Pelaez criticizes Juli for not knowing Spanish, having no money and being a maid, as well as being “unsociable”.
Juanito Pelaez asks what happened in class from Monday to Friday (it’s Saturday currently). Placido Penitente tells him what happened on those days:
- Friday: no class
- Thursday:
- Wednesday: it was drizzling
- Tuesday: birthday of a professor
- Monday: lesson about mirrors
Placido Penitente tries to show Ramos’ lesson in Physics but Juanito Pelaez slaps it out of the way and says they should have a dia pichido (day between two holidays on which class is canceled). Placido Penitente calls Juanito Pelaez stupid. They cross into Sto Domingo, and see the Aduana building. Juanito Pelaez remembers that he is in charge of collecting the contribution for the monument of Padre Baltazar.
Placido Penitente is confused. Juanito Pelaez explains that Padre Baltazar is a Dominican. He then asks Placido Penitente for three or four pesos. Placido Penitente gives three pesos because he remembers a student who once gave away canaries and ended up passing all his subjects.
Juanito Pelaez mentions the birthday of the Professor of Natural History in fifteen days. The professor is nice to them, so Juanito Pelaez says they should reward him. He asks Placido Penitente fora contribution of two pesos.
Placido Penitente gives two pesos and Juanito Pelaez asks for two pesos more “to serve as bait”. Placido Penitente says it is pointless as they will be returned to him and that Juanito Pelaez can just write down on the paper that Placido Penitente gave four pesos. Juanito Pelaez again asks for two pesos more so he can prove that Placido Penitente paid four in total. Placido Penitente gives the money.
They arrive at University. Most of the students standing around are from Ateneo. One of them is Isagani, who is explaining the theory of the refraction of light to a companion.
Dona Victorina and Paulita Gomez arrive. Dona Victorina limps so she has to lean on Paulita Gomez. She tells Paulita Gomez not to look at anyone who’s staring at them. They’re on their way to visit the Virgin of the Rosary on Dona Victorina’s “favorite day”.
Isagani sees Paulita Gomez and gets nervous. Paulita Gomez smiles at Isagani, while Dona Victorina smiles at Juanito Pelae. Isagani waves and Juanito Pelaez takes off his hat and bows. Tadeo sees Paulita Gomez and says to his companion to tell the professor he is suddenly ill (he is always pretending to be sick, but passes his courses and is well-liked by professors). Tadeo follows Paulita Gomez into the church.
The students see the professor of Physics and Chemistry arriving so they enter the building. Placido Penitente is called by a fellow student and asked to sign something. He asks what it is and is told to just sign, but remembers a story that his uncle told him while pulling his ears: a cabeza de barangay who signed something without having read it and was imprisoned for months. Because of that, Placido Penitente always associates signing things with the feeling of his ears being pulled.
The student argues that two carabineros celestiales signed it, but Placido Penitente says he will sign after class, after reading it carefully. The student says it’s a counter-petition against the Academy of Spanish.
Placido Penitente says he’s going to be late and doesn’t want to go against Macaraig. He goes to class and hears the roll call but it’s already at the letter “Q”. He enters the classroom anyway, but Padre Millon looks at him and shakes his head.
Trivia:
- Placido Penitente crosses the Puente de Espanda bridge. It is said that the name is ironic because “only its name is from Spain”. The parts of the bridge were imported from other countries.
- On the way to school, Placido Penitente passes students from other schools and recognizes the school based on their clothes:
- Ateneans – dressed in European attire and carrying books
- Letranites –dressed in Filipina attire, travel in big groups, carry less books
- UST – neat and well-dressed, carry canes instead of books
- Escuela Municipal – colorfully-dressed female students, with ribbons over their shoulders and books in their arms, usually being followed by their maids
- Padre Millon first appears in this chapter but is only mentioned as “the professor”.
Quotes:
Juanito Pelaez: How stupid I am! Do you know, I am turning stupid?
