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Part 2, Chapter 3
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Power and the Glory, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Complexity of Religious Figures
Ideology and Reactionary Ideas
The Nature of Sin
Government vs. Religion
Duty, Sacrifice, and Persecution
Summary
Analysis
The whisky priest knows that he must cross the mountains to the north before the rainy season arrives if he has any chance of escaping the region. Desperate and in need of resources, he decides to return to Captain Fellows's home, hopeful that Coral will be there to help him out again. Upon arriving at the plantation, he finds the house looking deserted, with no food in sight. The only thing he finds of note are medicine bottles, which he presumes belong to Mrs. Fellows. He also finds a dog chewing on a bone with some meat left on it. The whisky priest fights the dog for the bone and eventually wrangles it from him. Although the priest wants to share some of the meat with the dog, he finds his own hunger is too intense to do so.
The whisky priest’s decision to return to Captain Fellow's home shows his desperation for help, as he knows he will be putting Coral and her family in danger. This desperation is further evidenced by his willingness to fight a dog for food, showcasing the lengths to which he will go to survive. Despite the whisky priest’s initial intention to share the food, his intense hunger overrides any sense of compassion. Additionally, the emptiness of the Fellows’s plantation suggests that something bad may have happened to them, perhaps because of their interaction with the whisky priest.
Themes
As a storm looms, the whisky priest seeks refuge in an abandoned hut, where he experiences a profound sense of isolation. In a sudden flash of lightning, he catches sight of a Native American woman observing him from outside the hut. Despite her initial retreat, she cautiously approaches again. The priest begins searching the hut, suspecting the woman is looking for something valuable that is inside.
At the moment when the whisky priest feels most alone, he suddenly sees another person, looking just as desperate as him. More than likely, he has taken shelter in her home or, at least, a hut that she was temporarily using to shield herself from the storm, much like him.
Themes
In the hut, the whisky priest reaches around blindly in the darkness. Soon, his hand feels the face of a young Native American boy, who he quickly realizes is bleeding out from gunshot wounds. The priest does what he can to help the boy, giving him water and putting pressure on his wounds. He also attempts to speak to the Native American woman to find out what happened, though there is a language barrier. Eventually, he figures out that an American criminal who is on the run shot the boy. Additionally, the Native American woman communicates that she wants her son buried in a church. The whisky priest agrees to travel with the Native American woman to the mountains where they can perform a service for the boy.
At the moment when he felt most alone, the whisky priest was just inches away from someone who desperately needed his help. The American criminal who shot the boy was likely James Calver, the murderer and thief that the lieutenant and the police chief discussed at the beginning of the novel. Despite the risks involved, the whisky priest is eager to help the Native American woman and her son, knowing it is his duty to see that the boy gets a proper send off. While the storm makes travel dangerous, it also makes it less likely that the police will come looking for the whisky priest.
Themes
After reaching a plateau adorned with Christian crosses, the Native American woman lays her son at on the ground. With more rain on the horizon, the whisky priest reluctantly leaves the woman behind to seek shelter, but upon his return, he finds her gone, having left behind her child and a lump of sugar. Feeling a sense of duty towards the deceased boy, the priest takes the sugar before continuing his journey. The more he travels, the wearier the priest becomes. He is beset by illness and as hungry as he has ever been in his life. Just as he teeters on the brink of collapse, a stranger wielding a gun appears.
The whisky priest's reluctant decision to leave the Native American woman behind to seek shelter demonstrates that his duty to her only extends so far. He provides her with the service she needs and then instantly returns to thinking about his own safety. The whisky priest is growing increasingly desperate, as he has no access to food or water. The lump of sugar is the only food he has had recently, and he still needs to cross over the mountains, which will take some time.
Themes
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In a rare moment of vulnerability, the whisky priest divulges his real name to the gun-wielding stranger (though not to the reader), expressing his desire to avoid trouble for himself and others. Following the stranger's guidance, the priest discovers a seemingly deserted building, which the stranger reveals to be their church. Exhausted, the priest rests against the church's wall and falls asleep.
The gun-wielding stranger—whose identity is never revealed—is presumably not James Calver, as Calver would not know about former churches in the area. Additionally, the whisky priest’s decision to say his real name speaks to his level of desperation.
Themes
