Death Comes for the Archbishop (Part 1)
Reading Guide Part 1 : Prelude & Books 1-3
Welcome to Reading Revisited, a place for friends to enjoy some good old-fashioned book chat while revisiting the truth, beauty, and goodness we’ve found in our favorite books.
Hello fellow Reading Revisited friends, I am pleased to be your guide through this month’s book. But before we begin the tour, I must first tweak your expectations just a bit by admitting that aside from a couple of blurbs for RR last year and a handful of hurried high school papers an unspecified number of years ago, this is my first time writing about literature in any capacity, let alone with the intention of accompanying other readers through a book. So, while I can’t promise the cohesive analysis or well-articulated insights that you’ve become accustomed to from our faithful RR hosts, I do hope not leave you too parched for thoughtful or enjoyable content as we wander through the deserts of this great novel. Perhaps, with some intercession from our Holy Mother, we may even happen upon our very own Agua Secreta. And so, on that encouraging note, let us begin.
Prelude
We open in Rome where three Cardinals and a missionary, Bishop Ferrand, have gathered to discuss the appointment of an Apostolic Vicar to shepherd the Faith in the newly acquired and expansive American territory of New Mexico. Bishop Ferrand urges the Cardinals to endorse a younger, nonnative priest, Father Latour, for the task that will require a life of great sacrifice.
In this initial section, Cather sets up stark contrasts between the Old World and the New World. First, with her depictions of the residents, she describes the Cardinals of the Old World as being younger, content in their homelands and enjoying a meal with agreeable conversation, juxtaposing them with the Bishop of the New World who is older, a missionary and less concerned with the pleasures at hand as with the work that must be done. Then, with her descriptions of the terrains, she lays out the Old World’s lush landscape and condensed territory full of well-connected cities and advanced civilization as opposed to the New World’s harsh landscape and vast territory scattered with settlements and uneducated peoples. These comparisons give us a helpful context by which to approach the coming story.
Cather’s references to Greek Mythology in relation to the New World, when Bishop Ferrand is described as the Odysseus of the Church and then the mention of cleansing the Augean stable (one of Hercules' 12 labors), gives one a sense of the pre-Christian, almost pagan state of the New World, not without goodness or truth, but ready to be brought into a fuller communion with them.
There is also a notable story within the story (which I am given to understand is generally something to pay attention to) in which Cardinal Allande tells Bishop Ferrand about his great-grandfather giving a highly valued El Greco painting of St. Francis of Assisi to a Franciscan missionary who took it to the New World where all knowledge of it had been lost over the years. Was it potentially damaged, altogether destroyed, or possibly hidden away in a dusty corner? The Cardinal expresses the idea that if the new Vicar has “a discerning eye” (p. 12) he may be able to recover the great work. This lost treasure could be seen as an objective correlative for the Faith that was taken to that land long ago, has since been neglected and is now in unknown condition, awaiting one who will restore its beauty .
As we end the scene in the Old World the sun has set, making ready for the story to dawn in the New World.
Book 1
While this novel is historical fiction, Cather did base her main characters, Father Latour and Father Vaillant, off the lives of two priests by the names of Jean-Baptiste Lamy and Joseph MacheBeuf who lived in New Mexico in the nineteenth century. She also embeds a number of real events and people into the story.
This book is considered a biographical narrative, though the story itself is not told strictly in sequential order. Rather, it is crafted with vignettes that meander about the timeline perhaps as the mind might wander through the memories of one’s life, with little side stories here and fond musings there. It is in this manner that I, also, will construct the reading guides by selecting some images and impressions from the book to briefly reflect upon.
Directly, we become acquainted with the challenges and sacrifices that Bishop Ferrand foretold would be demanded of the new Vicar. Father Latour’s year-long journey from Cincinnati to Santa Fe is riddled with perils and misfortunes, only to have his authority rejected when he finally arrives. Much like finding water in the desert, the manner in which Father Latour endures these trials draws forth for us a wellspring of insights into his character, as if “some subterranean stream found an outlet here, was released from darkness” (p. 31). We find Father Latour steadfastly untroubled by his difficult circumstances. He turns his attention to Christ’s sufferings in the midst of his own: “The young priest blotted himself out of his own consciousness and meditated upon the anguish of his Lord” (p. 20). He maintains a spirit of authenticity in all his actions: “His manners, even when he was alone in the desert, were distinguished” (p. 19). Not to mention that he risked his life to save his beloved books from a sinking ship! All these examples construct a durable frame through which we may view Father Latour as we proceed through the story.
An intriguing idea that is touched upon in this section is a look into the differing views on the nature of miracles. Father Latour reflects that his friend, Father Vaillant, “must always have the miracle very direct and spectacular, not with Nature, but against it” (p. 29). He, however, regards the wonder of such events quite differently when he relates, “the Miracles of the Church seem to me to rest…upon our perceptions being made finer, so that for a moment our eye can see and our ear can hear what is there about us always” (p. 50). Father Latour’s perspective appears to identify miracles as more of an embrace between nature and the Divine Will than a bypassing of the natural order. This feels to be of some significance in a story where the landscape fills such a large role.
While we are on the topic, I must say that Cather’s descriptions of the landscape are stunning and engaging. Through the mind of Father Latour she transforms the monotonous, cone-shaped hills of the desert terrain into a meditation on the omnipresence of the Trinity. Even in a land so seemingly desolate as this, where one’s physical needs often go unmet, the earth cannot help but provide for Father Latour’s spiritual needs, offering him a cross-shaped tree by which to make his devotions and refresh his soul.
Book 2
In this section, we come to see that Father Vaillant is a man of contradictions. When we first encountered him he had made great strides in preparing a fully functioning Vicariate for Father Latour in a relatively short amount of time by means of his affability and vitality. However, as attractive as his personality is, equally as unattractive is his physical appearance. We also find a discrepancy between his great zeal as a missionary priest and his reservations about going further into the New World. He tells Father Latour no less than three times in the course of their Christmas-meal conversation, “this is far enough.” Yet, we see the enigmatic nature of his actions at play when Father Vaillant a short time later artfully acquires a pair of fine white mules for he and Father Latour that are especially suited for travelling far and wide over the rugged terrain. These rather amusing inconsistencies in his character serve to enliven the story, much the same way as a hidden spring might offer refreshment to a road-worn wayfarer.
It is in these chapters we first encounter the famed trapper, Kit Carson, in whom Father Latour finds a kindred spirit. “One felt in him standards, loyalties, a code which is not easily put into words but which is instantly felt when two men who live by it come together by chance.” (p. 75). Kit Carson is an instrument of Westward Expansion from the American colonies just as Father Latour is in spreading the Faith in the Western Hemisphere.
Book 3
In these pages we begin to detect in Father Latour that quality of having “a discerning eye” which Cardinal Allande hoped for in a Vicar. As a good shepherd must know his flock, Father Latour is finally able to travel about his diocese and get to know the people. He encounters an array of priests and villages, gathering insight into the state of their spiritual needs. In Book One we are told that Father Latour is “sensitive to the shape of things” (p. 18). The context of these words, of course, is in relation to the geometric shapes of the landscape, however, the idea certainly develops with the story in a figurative sense. We see Father Latour’s keen sensitivity at work when he divines that “there was something very engaging about Gallegos as a man. As a priest, he was impossible; he was too self-satisfied and popular ever to change his ways” (p. 83). And his impression of the church at Acoma being built by one “not altogether innocent of worldly ambition…built for their own satisfaction, perhaps, rather than the needs of the Indians” (p. 101) is a sufficiently accurate assessment made even before Father Latour is told the legend of Fray Baltazar. Then, his reflections of Father Jesus being “simple almost to childishness, and very superstitious. But there was a quality of golden goodness about him” (p. 85) displays Father Latour’s graciousness in meeting people where they are and not condemning them for their flaws. He is faithfully acting in persona Christi to his people.
I must offer one more quick word on the landscapes, because I was utterly engrossed in the poetry of Cather’s descriptions of the mesa plain having “an appearance of great antiquity, and of incompleteness; as if, with all the materials for world-making assembled, the Creator had desisted, gone away, left everything on the point of being brought together” (pp. 94-95). This, along with likening the mesas to cathedrals and the clouds above them to smoke from a censer, call back to Father Latour’s mission to bring together the fragments of the Church that has fallen into disrepair (could this be another allusion to St. Francis of Assisi?).
Conclusion
So much more could be said as Cather has woven such beautiful imagery throughout her story like little unknown trails just waiting to be discovered, but alas we must end here for now. I look forward to exploring more trails with you again next week.
Death Comes for the Archbishop Reading Schedule
Full PDF and Audio Recordings for our Paid Subscribers
Wednesday, April 16th: Introduction/Reading Schedule
Monday, April 21st: Reading Revisited ep. 47: Intro to Death Comes for the Archbishop w/ Brittney Hawver and Elise Boratenski
Wednesday, April 23rd: Prelude and Books 1-3
Wednesday, April 30th: Books 4-6
Wednesday, May 7th: Books 7-9
Monday, June 9th: Reading Revisited ep. 58 - Revisiting Death Comes for the Archbishop
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In Case You Missed It:
On the Podcast:
What We’re Reading Now/Next:
May
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
June
Trust by Hernan Diaz
July
Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
A Few Reminders:
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Great analysis, Brittney! I was totally blown away by Cather in this section. I usually struggle to be as invested in vignette style narratives, BUT I’m finding this one very compelling.
I also love your thoughts on the old world vs new world in the preface, and am interested to see how she carries out that theme and examines the interplay between culture and religion (I especially loved the way she does this with the Angelus bells from Spain in book 1).
Excited to have you as our guide :)
I just finished Book 1 Monday and read some of Book 2 yesterday and I am LOVING it. I knew it wasn't super plot driven and I remember reading it slowly last time I read it, but this time I am enjoying every page!