Simoun

"*Now I've come back to destroy that system, to shatter the corruption, to push it to the abyss to which it rushes without even its own knowledge, even if it means tidal waves of tears and blood.*"
―Simoun[src]
**Simoun** was the new identity forged by Crisostomo Ibarra following his escape from San Diego. Embittered by the loss of his name and home, Simoun gathered wealth as a jeweler, returning to the Philippines as the Governor-General's adviser in order to rescue his lost love Maria Clara.

## History

### A New Identity

After Crisostomo Ibarra was implicated in a revolt in San Diego and believed to have died in a chase on Laguna Lake, he forged a new identity as Simoun.

In December of 1894, Simoun rode on the upper deck of the steamship Tabo as it went from Manila to San Diego, mingling with the other passengers. He then went to the lower deck and briefly conversed with the students Basilio and Isagani. After arriving in San Diego, Simoun detours to his family's forested land and visited the tomb of his great-grandfather to dig up his ancestral riches as well as honor Elias. While there, he reencountered Basilio, who confessed to knowing that he was actually Ibarra. He then attempted to recruit the young man into his revolutionary plans, only for Basilio turn down his offer.

Simoun was later entertained by Cabesang Tales in his house as he sold jewels to his clients. While there, he saw Tales in possession of Maria Clara's locket and desperately attempted to buy it, only for Tales to refuse as it was his daughter Juli's gift from her sweetheart Basilio. While he was asleep, Tales stole his revolver and switched it with Juli's locket.

Later on, Simoun was among the guests at the Chinese man Quiroga's dinner. While there, he had him store a stock of rifles in his warehouse in exchange for absolving part of Quiroga's debt to him. After the dinner, Simoun went with the other guests to the Quiapo Fair. Simoun later crossed paths with the student Placido, eventually recruiting him into his plans and speaking to him about them on one occasion.

Simoun later recontacted Tales, now the leader of a group of bandits named Matanglawin. He then visited Capitan Tiago's house with Tales in tow and conversed with Basilio, once again attempting to recruit him. He then revealed his plans to attack: with many Church and government officials in one location to watch a theater performance, Simoun would have Matanglawin's forces attack the theater while Basilio would be tasked to rescue Maria Clara from the Sta. Clara convent. However, with Basilio sharing that Maria Clara had died from illness just that afternoon, Simoun despaired and aborted the attack.

### Change of Plans

With Basilio and the other members of the student organization accused of sedition and subsequently jailed, Simoun bailed the remaining Basilio out from prison. Basilio, embittered in his own right due to Juli's suicide, then joined Simoun in his revolution. Later on, Simoun had explosives hidden in the dead Tiago's house; he then arranged for the wedding reception of Isagani and Paulita Gomez to be held there, pretending to help plan the event. This was in order to kill the priests and government officials in attendance.

As part of his plan, Simoun dropped off a dynamite-laden lamp as a gift to the newlyweds and subsequently left the party, leaving a note inside the lamp in Ibarra's handwriting. The lamp would serve as the signal for Tales' bandits to attack and the revolution to take place. However, due to Isagani's intervention, the lamp was defused and the revolt failed. With Simoun outed as the revolution's mastermind, he fled to Padre Florentino's distant residence and hid himself there. Learning of his impending arrest, Simoun took poison and killed himself, also confessing his secrets to Florentino before passing away.

## Personality and Traits

Simoun was a bitter, ruthless man set on vengeance. Working tirelessly for over a decade for his plans, Simoun aimed to reform the Philippines through violent methods, possessing a means-to-an-end mentality. As such, he was not above manipulation, deception, and encouraging the government and clergy's cruelty towards the indios. Simoun justified this to himself by believing it was in order to improve the country. He was also motivated to rescue his lost love Maria Clara from the convent, using his planned revolution to achieve this, but after Maria Clara's death he lost all hope and simply wanted to destroy everything. During his final days, however, Simoun had a change of heart and expressed regret over his actions to Padre Florentino on his deathbed.

## Trivia

### Conceptualization and Origin

* According to Hispanic language professor Adam Lifshey, Simoun is named after Venezuelan leader and South American independence hero Simón Bolívar.

## References

1. ↑ *El Filibusterismo* – Chapter 3
2. ↑ *El Filibusterismo* – Chapter 2
3. ↑ *El Filibusterismo* – Chapter 7
4. ↑ *El Filibusterismo* – Chapter 10
5. ↑ *El Filibusterismo* – Chapter 16
6. ↑ *El Filibusterismo* – Chapter 18
7. ↑ *El Filibusterismo* – Chapter 19
8. ↑ *El Filibusterismo* – Chapter 23
9. ↑ *El Filibusterismo* – Chapter 33
10. ↑ *El Filibusterismo* – Chapter 34
11. ↑ *El Filibusterismo* – Chapter 37
12. ↑ *El Filibusterismo* – Chapter 36
13. ↑ *El Filibusterismo* – Chapter 39
14. ↑ *The Literary Alterities of Philippine Nationalism in José Rizal's "El filibusterismo"* by Adam Lifshey, published October 2008 in Modern Language Association – [1]