Noli Me Tangere

Father Salví is committed to his preaching but the Ensign, who runs the Spanish guard in the town, thinks he is "too diligent." The Ensign thinks that Salví is operating outside the control of the government. But Salví, as the Ensign does not realize, is truly committed to his "duties," and his diligence is only in service of the church and his parishioners. The Ensign, on the other hand, is given to drinking and excessive displays of power. Thus Salví, with his honest commitment to his job, forms both a narrative foil to the Ensign, as they are at odds with each other over best practices, and a moral foil. Later in the novel the Ensign will enforce curfews intentionally so that it is difficult for people to go to church, in direct retaliation to Salví.

Salví is also a foil to his predecessor, Father Dámaso. While Salví , as above, is committed and cunning, Dámaso is arrogant and incompetent. Within the structures of authority in San Diego, both Salví and Dámaso hold extensive powers and privileges, but the two priests show contrasting ways of wielding these powers. This passage shows one of their most important differences: Salví commits few beatings, though exerting mighty force when he does, while Dámaso takes great pleasure in beating underlings often. Salví is certainly not a perfect man; he covets María Clara later in the novel and often uses his cunning for his own gain to ruin Ibarra. All of the priests in the novel hold serious power, but Salví contrasts with both Dámaso and the ensign in how he uses it.