Chapter 39

Chapter 39

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Simoun, wounded and exhausted, goes to the house of Padre Florentino to hide from the civil guards who are sent to arrest him and take him into custody.  Simoun drinks a poison, then reveals his true identity to Padre Florentino – that he, Simou

n the jeweler, is in fact Juan Crisostomo Ibarra, the fugitive believed to have died in the river years ago.  He admits that everything is his futile attempt to corrupt the government and the society so that he could start a revolution to free the country from the bonds of Spain. Padre Florentino corrects Simoun, telling him that freedom cannot be won by violence and the shedding of innocent blood but by proper education, hard work, and long-suffering.