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Summary
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
It’s 1848, and three cardinals are hosting a missionary bishop from America in Rome. As the sun sets, the churchmen admire the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica and the beautiful oak trees. The cardinals are French, Italian, and Spanish, while the bishop (Father Ferrand) is Irish by birth. The stakes of this conversation are high—the Provincial Council at Baltimore wants a new vicariate in New Mexico, a chunk of territory just annexed to the United States.
The story begins at a pivotal moment for the Catholic church. In 1848, a new (and controversial) pope had just taken over, and the imperial aims of the American government were clashing with the religious (but equally colonial) aims of Catholic missionaries. Although the novel will eventually focus on the rural simplicity of life in the American Southwest, this beginning—which emphasizes the scale, history, and power of the Catholic church—reminds readers of the high stakes and geopolitical importance of that simplicity.
Themes
Garcia Maria de Allande, the Spanish cardinal, was once one of the most prominent men at the Vatican. After Pope Gregory XVI died, however, Maria de Allande found himself disagreeing with the new papal regime and so withdrew from church politics. Now, he focuses mostly on building up a Catholic presence in remote areas, like the outer reaches of the United States. But while Maria de Allande and his colleagues watch from afar, men like Ferrand—whose diocese encompasses “the icy arms of the Great Lakes”—know firsthand how difficult such missionary work can be.
Like many of the characters in the novel, both Maria de Allande and Ferrand were real people. Interestingly, while both men ostensibly share the same goal, Ferrand’s on-the-ground experience of the rugged, “icy” landscapes allows him to think more pragmatically than Maria de Allande can. This is an important idea: over and over again, priests like Ferrand and (later) Latour will discover anew just how much their natural environments shape every facet of their daily lives.
Themes
While the cardinals are skeptical that a new vicariate is necessary in New Mexico, Ferrand insists that this vast new territory could hold great importance to the Catholic church. The people in New Mexico were evangelized 300 years ago, but as Ferrand emphasizes, the church has not maintained its presence in the area. Instead, the old churches are in ruins, the priests are undisciplined, and many of the converted indigenous peoples and Mexicans no longer practice even the basic tenets of the faith.
Though New Mexico has only recently become a United States territory, there is a long history of Catholicism—and of European settlement—in the region. As Ferrand references, 300 years ago, Spaniards claimed the area for themselves as “Santa Fé de Nuevo Mexico.” In 1821, the area was named part of independent Mexico. And now, the Mexican-American war has made this same chunk of land a part of the United States, albeit against the will of many residents.
Themes
Maria de Allande argues that there is already a bishop in Durango, Mexico, who is technically responsible for the area Ferrand wants to organize. But Ferrand points out that 1,500 miles separate Durango from New Mexico. Moreover, it is almost impossible to get from one place to the other: “the very floor of the world” there, Ferrand explains, “is cracked open into countless canyons and arroyos.” This distance and difficult terrain make it hard to communicate at all, much less enforce discipline when priests are misbehaving.
Once again, the physical shape of the New Mexican land dictates the kind of human activity that is possible there. Moreover, Ferrand’s phrasing—that the “floor of the world” is “cracked open”—suggests that there is something particularly epic and ancient about the rocky terrain he describes, as if the boundaries between the material and spiritual worlds are blurred.
Themes
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Though the bishop of Durango has his own favored candidate for the new vicariate, Ferrand is firm that the new vicar must be young, zealous, and organized. While the other priests agree with much of Ferrand’s logic, they are put off by his vehemency and his inability to enjoy the delicious food and drink. Ferrand explains that he has lost his taste for the finer things since living in America.
The tension between religious passion (or missionary zeal) versus material delight will surface over and over again in the narrative. Ferrand’s insistence that his lack of desire for delicacies stems from his New World home is also salient: over the course of the story, the American branch of Catholicism grows further and further from its Roman roots.
Themes
Ferrand stresses that this new bishop will have a difficult job: there will be shortages of food and water, not to mention the threat of violent uprisings from indigenous populations. Ferrand thinks the only person who can handle this job is a parish priest named Jean-Marie Latour, who’s currently working in Ferrand’s Great Lakes diocese. Maria de Allande, knowing his voice could be the deciding factor in whether Latour gets appointed, weighs the possibility.
The way Ferrand discusses these indigenous tribes is telling—rather than acknowledging the harm Catholic settlers have caused, Ferrand paints the displaced tribes as the source of danger.
Themes
Finally, Maria de Allande explains his investment in the matter. His grandfather was a collector; in his old age, some missionaries from what was then known as New Spain came to beg from him. Maria de Allande’s grandfather, wanting to be generous, had offered them the opportunity to pick from his store of paintings—but he was dismayed when the priests chose an El Greco painting of St. Joseph, one of his favorites. When the old man hesitated, one missionary had confronted him: “you refuse me this picture because it is a good picture. It is too good for God, but it is not too good for you.”
In this crucial moment, Maria de Allande recounts his grandfather’s struggle, when the wealthy collector was forced to pick between his love of art and his loyalty to the Catholic church. Though the missionary in Allande’s story paints this as a black-and-white choice, Allande (like the novel itself) recognizes that material attachments are sometimes deeply intertwined with faith and belief. This painting will reappear later in the narrative, but with none of the history or context presented here.
Themes
Though the missionaries took the painting back to the New World, Maria de Allande later learned that the El Greco treasure might have been destroyed. Still, Maria de Allande cannot help but hope that the new bishop will keep an eye out for this painting. Ferrand will not promise that Latour will take on such a search. Night falls, and the cardinals begin to discuss opera. Ferrand is bored by the conversation, and he wonders if his time on the frontier has caused him to lose interest in all talk of art. Before the night ends, Maria de Allande whispers that Latour will be the first bishop of this new vicariate.
Just as Ferrand refused wine, his reply to Maria de Allande reflects the American priest’s more ascetic views—Ferrand will not give any of his attention to any form of art, whether it is fine food or opera or a long-lost painting. Still, the fact that Allande agrees to select Latour as the new bishop suggests that Ferrand’s indifference to material pleasure impresses the cardinal. And indeed, Ferrand’s lack of self-interest is later mirrored in his mentee Latour’s selflessness.
Themes
Literary Devices
