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Part 2, Chapter 4
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
Mr. Lehr and his sister, Miss Lehr, have been providing care for the whisky priest since he arrived at their home three days earlier. For the priest, this period represents a rare luxury. He has food and clean water and does not have to worry about constantly running away. From the Lehrs, the whisky priest discovers that conducting Mass is also illegal in their region, though the consequences are far less severe. The priest is eager to start holding Mass again now that he knows he will be punished with fines rather than the possibility of death. In the Lehrs’ village, the priest is greeted warmly by the locals, who seek his blessings through confessions and Mass, giving him a sense of purpose and authority.
Finally, the whisky priest has managed to escape the oppressive region of Tabasco and found a place where he feels wanted. Now, he no longer needs to worry about others suffering because of him. He can once again relieve the suffering of others rather than cause it. For the majority of the novel, he has felt that his community was doing more for him than he was doing for it. While that is still the case at the start of this chapter, the whisky priest is on his way to once again becoming a valuable member of the community rather than a burden.
Themes
A barkeep gives the whisky priest a drink of brandy on the house. The priest drinks the brandy and thinks about his struggles with alcohol. He knows he is sinning every time he drinks, but he cannot help himself. He continues drinking for the rest of the day. Additionally, although he enjoys feeling wanted again, he cannot help but be bored by the confessions of the villagers. Their sins are mild and relatively unimportant compared to the people the priest has encountered in his recent travels.
Despite finding safety, the whisky priest cannot help but indulge his old vices. Furthermore, the longer he stays in the town, the more he realizes he is not as needed as he had hoped. The combination of these two things makes the whisky priest realize that escaping Tabasco has not led him an idyllic life. Still, he is full of shame and regret.
Themes
The following morning, after conducting Mass, the whisky priest plans to depart for Las Casas, where he believes he will be of more use. As the priest prepares to leave, the mestizo arrives in town. The mestizo tells the priest that a “gringo” criminal has been shot on the other side of the state border (where the priest just came from) and wants someone to hear his confession. The priest worries that the mestizo is lying and only wants to trap him.
The “gringo” criminal the mestizo mentions is presumably James Calver, the same man who shot the Native American boy the whisky priest helped lay to rest. Given that the mestizo has only ever acted selfishly, it seems unlikely that he has made the difficult trek to the whisky priest simply to help a criminal.
Themes
Not wanting to gamble with his life, the whisky priest sets off towards Las Casas on his mule, while enduring insults from the mestizo, who accuses him of being a negligent priest. The mestizo also provides a touching and compelling account of the "gringo” criminal’s condition in an attempt to get the priest to follow him. Still worried about a trap, the priest ultimately gives in to the mestizo and determines to follow him back across the border.
As a priest, it is the whisky priest’s duty to hear the confession of anyone who wishes to speak with him. However, the problem in this instance, is that it is unclear whether Calver actually wishes to see him. In fact, Calver may not have been shot at all. Knowing all of this, the whisky priest still decides to follow the mestizo, knowing that he can live with the consequences because he is doing the right thing.
Themes
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