A very young boy studying to be a sexton, or a caretaker of the church. Crispín and his brother Basilio work tirelessly to send money home to their mother, Sisa, who is married to a drunk gambler who provides nothing in the way of financial or even emotional support. Unfortunately, the chief sexton falsely accuses Crispín of stealing money from the church. This means that the boy has to work extra hard to make up his debt, though his elders are constantly fining him for minor or invented infractions. One night, he and his brother are supposed to go home to visit their mother for the first time in a week, but the chief sexton interferes with their plans, ordering that they stay past dark and past the town’s curfew. When Crispín points out that this will make it impossible for them to visit Sisa, the sexton hauls him away and beats him severely. This is the last time he is seen, and one can presume he died at the hands of a merciless sexton or priest, though a church member tells Sisa that Crispín stole from the church and escaped in the night.
Crispín Character Timeline in Noli Me Tangere
The timeline below shows where the character Crispín appears in Noli Me Tangere. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 15: The Sextons
Chapter 16: Sisa
...save from purgatory, since “heaven is expensive” and the church won’t “save beloved souls for free”—Crispín and Basilio’s mother, Sisa, waits in the darkness for her boys. She is an impoverished... (full context)
Chapter 17: Basilio
Chapter 18: Souls in Torment
Chapter 21: A Mother’s Tale
Chapter 24: In The Forest