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Angela St. John
Father Olguin is the Catholic priest in Walatowa. Most of the townspeople prefer the traditional Jemez religion to Catholicism, leaving Father Olguin an outsider in the community. He attempts different strategies to cope with this alienation. In 1945, he tries to convince himself that he is connected with the ancient land of the pueblo, despite his “fear and revulsion” toward the Jemez people who exclude him. By 1952, though, Father Olguin has given up all hopes of connecting to the land or its people. Instead, he interprets his distance from the community as a sign of his piety. In 1942, Father Olguin also develops an attraction to Angela St. John, and he takes pleasure and pride in resisting that attraction. He frequently looks to the journal of his predecessor, Nicolás, for insight into preaching to the townspeople. At the end of the book, when Abel wakes Father Olguin to bury Francisco, Father Olguin is struck with a revelation and cries out that he finally understands.
Father Olguin Quotes in House Made of Dawn
The House Made of Dawn quotes below are all either spoken by Father Olguin or refer to Father Olguin. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
8. The Priest of the Sun, January 26
Quotes
When he had told his story once, simply, Abel refused to speak. […] That was good, for he should not have known what more to say. Word by word by word these men were disposing of him in language, their language, and they were making a bad job of it.
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Explanation and Analysis:
11. The Dawn Runner, February 27
Quotes
In the only possible way, perhaps, [Father Olguin] had come to terms with the town […]. To be sure, there was the matter of some old and final cleavage, of certain exclusion, the whole and subtle politics of estrangement, but that was easily put aside […]. That safety––that exclusive silence––was the sense of all his vows, certainly; it had been brought about by his own design, his act of renunciation, not the town’s. He had done well, by the town, after all. He had set an example of piety […].
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Father Olguin Quotes in House Made of Dawn
The House Made of Dawn quotes below are all either spoken by Father Olguin or refer to Father Olguin. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
8. The Priest of the Sun, January 26
Quotes
When he had told his story once, simply, Abel refused to speak. […] That was good, for he should not have known what more to say. Word by word by word these men were disposing of him in language, their language, and they were making a bad job of it.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
11. The Dawn Runner, February 27
Quotes
In the only possible way, perhaps, [Father Olguin] had come to terms with the town […]. To be sure, there was the matter of some old and final cleavage, of certain exclusion, the whole and subtle politics of estrangement, but that was easily put aside […]. That safety––that exclusive silence––was the sense of all his vows, certainly; it had been brought about by his own design, his act of renunciation, not the town’s. He had done well, by the town, after all. He had set an example of piety […].
