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The cruciform tree symbolizes the power of Christian miracles—but more than that, it also suggests that religious grace is linked to and inextricable from natural bounty. When Bishop Latour gets lost on his way back to Santa Fé, he fears that he will die of starvation. But just before his horses give out, Latour sees a cross-shaped (“cruciform”) tree in the desert. Latour immediately kneels to pray at the tree, and soon after, he finds a river town where he can eat, drink, and recover. The appearance of this tree has several biblical parallels: the cross shape recalls the crucifixion, the desert setting has much in common with the desert through which Christ himself wandered, and the squatty tree connects to imagery of Moses’s burning bush. In evoking these biblical scenes, Cather emphasizes both Latour’s own saint-like martyrdom and the high stakes of religious life in the new United States. But while Latour knows that his mystical friend Vaillant will see this cross-shaped tree as evidence of something “spectacular,” Latour himself is more compelled by the idea that this miracle is “with Nature,” not “against it.” In other words, more than just signaling the momentary presence of divine power in this desert landscape, Latour’s view of the cruciform tree suggests that the landscape itself contains divinity.
The Cruciform Tree Quotes in Death Comes for the Archbishop
The Death Comes for the Archbishop quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Cruciform Tree. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Book 1: Hidden Water
Quotes
[Latour] had expected to make a dry camp in the wilderness, and to sleep under a juniper tree, like the Prophet, tormented by thirst. But here he lay in comfort and safety, with love for his fellow creatures lowing like peace about his heart. If Father Vaillant were here, he would say, “A miracle”; that the Holy Mother, to whom he had addressed himself before the cruciform tree, had led him hither. And it was a miracle, Father Latour knew that. But his dear Joseph must always have the miracle very direct and spectacular, not with nature, but against it.
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Book 9: Chapter 4
Quotes
There is always something charming in the idea of greatness returning to simplicity—the queen making hay among the country girls—but how much more endearing was the belief that They, after so many centuries of history and glory, should return to play Their first parts, in the persons of a humble Mexican family, the lowliest of the lowly, the poorest of the poor,—in a wilderness at the end of the world, where the angels could scarcely find Them!
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The Cruciform Tree Symbol Timeline in Death Comes for the Archbishop
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Cruciform Tree appears in Death Comes for the Archbishop. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1: The Cruciform Tree
When Latour opens his eyes, he notices an unusual juniper tree—one shaped, in fact, exactly like a cross (“the cruciform tree”). Latour gets off his horse...
(full context)
Book 1: Hidden Water
...believes that Mary has led him here, after he prayed to her at the cruciform tree. But while Latour sees his journey as natural, he knows that “his dear Joseph must...
(full context)
