Previous
Book 5: The Old Order
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Death Comes for the Archbishop, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Spirituality vs. the Material World
Friendship and Compromise
Humanity’s Relationship with Nature
Colonialism, Industry, and Loss
Memory, Death, and Afterlives
Summary
Analysis
Latour was gone for nearly a year, as it took him months to travel to and from Rome; when he returned, he brought four young priests from France and an older priest from Spain, whom he dispatched to Taos. Soon enough, Martínez went to war with this new priest, and he and Father Lucero mutinied and declared a new church. The men then declared that celibacy was not a condition of priesthood in their new church.
This schism really did happen, though the causes are a matter of historical debate. In a narrative with almost no sexuality or romance, Martínez and Lucero’s insistence on sex as a natural part of life challenges not only Latour but the tone of the novel itself.
Themes
Though Martínez and Father Marino Lucero had always been close, the two men have little in common. Lucero is known as a miser, and he boasts that his greed has kept him thin and active while Martínez has grown fatter and less healthy. Neither priest, however, seemed concerned when Vaillant rode to their parishes to warn them of impending excommunication.
Though Martínez and Father Gallegos of Albuquerque love expensive treats and big parties, Lucero’s form of materialism is no less disturbing to Latour and Vaillant. In fact, Lucero is in some ways even more purely materialistic—he craves money not because he wants pleasure or closeness with other people or new experiences, but merely because he wants to have something to hoard.
Themes
But in short order, Martínez died. Soon after, a robber (having heard the stories of Lucero’s wealth) tried to attack the old man. Lucero was able to fight the robber off—but though he retained his wealth, the shock of this violence impacted Lucero greatly, and he grew ill. Eventually, on the verge of death, Lucero summoned Vaillant to his bedside, hoping to repent.
Importantly, these two older priests are the first major characters in the novel to die (other than Buck Scales, who was executed). In a novel framed around the idea of “death” eventually “coming,”Lucero’s deathbed moment necessarily links to and foreshadows the novel’s inevitable climax.
Themes
Trinidad brought Vaillant the news of Lucero’s illness, and the next day, Vaillant sets off to Arroyo Hondo, one of his favorite places. Vaillant admires this green valley and rushing river: from the cliffs above town, the people look like “the figures of a child’s Noah’s Ark.” The water flows so fast that the villagers had routed it to go uphill, “an ever-ascending ladder” that reminded Vaillant of Rome.
If Jacinto directed Latour’s attention to “antediluvian” rivers, the greenery these rivers produce feels similarly biblical. In particular, both Latour and Vaillant often see these rare oases as a kind of symbol for the Garden of Eden.
Themes
Get the entire Death Comes for the Archbishop LitChart as a printable PDF.
Nearly the whole town has gathered at Lucero’s death bed. When Vaillant takes in the room, he is surprised to see hundreds of candles glowing. One of Lucero’s caretakers explains that, though Lucero had never used candles in his life (another money-saving tactic), he was now losing his sight and desperate for more light. Lucero seems especially afraid that, if darkness falls, another thief will come and try to rob him.
Lucero’s anxiety about the darkness points directly to his fear of death and the unknown: having spent his entire life hoarding financial security, Lucero must now contend with a future he cannot insure himself against. Yet even in this moment of uncertainty, Latour cannot think in anything other than material terms.
Themes
Lucero now explains that Martínez had left him a sum of money to be offered at Abiquiu for the repose of Martínez’s soul. Lucero tells Vaillant that he never actually spent the money this way; instead, it is under the floor, along with his life’s savings. Lucero wants Vaillant to spend one third of the money on Martínez’s soul, one third on Lucero’s soul, and one third on an inheritance for Trinidad. Vaillant agrees, but he also pushes Lucero to focus less on material concerns—if the old man cannot “fix [his] thoughts upon Heaven,” Vaillant will not administer the Sacrament.
Even though Lucero fails to abide by many of the religious values Vaillant and Latour hold so dear, his commitment to his friends Martínez and Trinidad honors another of the central duo’s key principles—friendship always involves some sort of sacrifice. For Lucero, that sacrifice means setting aside two-thirds of the wealth he has spent his life saving for the two people he loved best.
Themes
At last, Lucero closes his eyes, and Vaillant begins to bless him. The ceremony calms Lucero, who confesses and drifts off. For the villagers of Hondo Arroyo, witnessing this moment is almost sacred; after all, in this era, the last words of great men like Napoleon were “still printed in gift-books,” a guide to what might lie ahead in the mysterious afterlife.
The mention of Napoleon here brings into focus the connection between death, history, and legacy. Napoleon, the famous French conqueror, will be forever remembered for his actions; he lives on, “printed in gift-books,” after his death. This focus on legacy and memory will become more present in the narrative as Latour’s own death nears.
Themes
The stillness of Lucero’s final moments was broken only twice. First, when Trinidad came to pray, Lucero panicked, thinking it was a thief. And then, in his very last moments, Lucero cries out “comete tu cola, Martínez” (meaning, “eat your tail, Martínez”). For decades after, the villagers would whisper that Lucero had seen Martínez in torment in the other world. Later, when all of Lucero’s money was counted (he had French, Spanish, American, and English coins), it was valued at 20,000 American dollars.
The fact that Lucero sees Martínez being punished in hell speaks most directly to the novel’s condemnation of greedy, selfish, materialism. But the myriad currencies under Lucero’s bed also connect to this period of historical flux. In Lucero’s lifetime, four different countries warred for sovereignty, so much so that the old priest did not even know what kind of currency to hoard.
Themes
Literary Devices
