Churches and Abbeys Symbol Analysis

As a Spanish outpost in the eighteenth century, Lima is an extremely faith-based society. Religious institutions and officials of those institutions abound, from the Archbishop to the Abbess. On one hand, these institutions often emerge as founts of hypocrisy, permitting and even fostering social injustice. An immensely corpulent and extravagantly attired man, the Archbishop enriches himself at the expense of the faithful. He firmly believes that “the injustice and unhappiness in the world is a constant,” and that “the poor, never having known happiness, are insensible to misfortune”; these principles allow him to sit by in indifference while corrupt priests imitate him and energetically scam their parishioners.

On the other hand, as the steward of the city’s hospitals and orphanages, the Abbess is a religious official who is actively engaged in fighting various social ills. In contrast to the Archbishop, she spends her free time dreaming of future societies in which “injustice and unhappiness” have been vanquished, and she exhausts herself trying to ameliorate the condition of the poor and helpless. The devotion and respect she’s accorded by her charges—namely, Pepita, Manuel, and Esteban—demonstrate the sincerity and efficiency of her efforts. It’s important that the same institution—the Roman Catholic Church—that empowers the Archbishop to abuse his power also spurs the Abbess to great altruism. Spurning dogma of all sorts, Wilder refuses to condemn religious institutions. Instead, he illustrates their ability to bring out the best and worst of different characters, and to function to the city’s benefit and detriment.