Especially
when we consider Greene's reputation as the "Catholic" novelist, it
is easy to see a common theme in some of the major works that we have read this
year. In both The Power and the Glory and The Heart of the
Matter, we have seen the protagonist go to his death, and the reader is
allowed to see the effects of his death on those around him. The two
characters, the whisky priest and Major Scobie, both die in the hope of a
better world in the wake of his death. This sacrificial aspect reflects (to borrow
a phrase from another esteemed English teacher here) a Christ impulse in both
characters. Like Jesus, both of these men went willingly to their deaths in the
hope of promoting a greater good. Greene uses the final parts of both The
Power and the Glory and The Heart of the Matter to examine
their respective characters' success in their sacrifices.
In
The Power and the Glory, the whisky priest's death has immediate effects
on the people around him, and they seem to be for the better. First, Mr. Tench,
having unexpectedly received a letter from his wife, resolves to leave Mexico
after witnessing the execution. We as the reader can have high hopes for his
future, as he is abandoning the isolation we see around him for perhaps a more
faithful and more fulfilling life with his wife. Meanwhile, the lieutenant
appears to be undergoing a change of heart. After his interaction with the
priest, in which the priest is frustratingly non-argumentative, the lieutenant
begins to question whether killing the priest was the right thing to do.
Finally, the boy comes to understand the significance of the priest's
martyrdom, and rejects his previous petulant arrogance towards the Church and
helps to shelter another runaway priest. All of these positive changes in
people were sparked by the priest's death. While that was not his goal, we
can still see the Christ impulse reflected in him, as he died for the good of
others.
 |
| Maybe a better question than its usual counterpart for Scobie to ask himself. |
On
the other hand, Scobie does intend his death to improve people’s lives. He
prays to God, and says that “I can’t desert either of them [Louise and Helen]
while I’m alive, but I can die and remove myself from their blood stream. They
are ill with me and I can cure them.” (294) That said, Greene strongly suggests
that the reader should question whether or not Scobie was successful in
improving either Louise’s or Helen’s life. Louise, though she appears to be
handling his death quite well, cannot seem to get over it to the extent that
she can reciprocate Wilson’s love. Louise also apparently knew about the affair,
and so had legitimate reason to do the same with Wilson, yet seems incapable.
Meanwhile, Helen tells Bagster that she doesn’t love anyone, and her faith in
God has been shaken. Scobie’s death has taken a major toll on her, and it is
questionable how well she can recover, even considering how young she is. Not
only has Scobie apparently damned himself (overlooking the comforting words of
Fr. Rank bringing that into question), he has actually devalued the lives of
the people he was trying to save, and thus Greene shows how misplaced Scobie’s
Christ impulse is.
Now
that we have reached the end of the novel, my remaining question concerns the
future of those two women, Helen and Louise. Can Scobie’s suicide have a
positive effect on them in the long run, or will they be forever hindered by
their memory of him?
1 comment:
I think it's strongly implied at the end of the novel that Scobie's suicide cannot have a positive effect on them in the long run. As you point out, the immediate effects on Helen and Louise are negative: Helen becomes apathetic and seems to just give up on renewing any sort of relationships (although I believe she never believed in God or the Church so I can't say her faith was "shaken"), while Louise seems to come to a standstill and condemns his actions. The best thing that could happen is that they eventually move on and return to normal, but they will always remember Scobie. For Louise the memories will be bitter, and for Helen they will at least be sad.
Furthermore, I think there is a valid comparison to be made between the whiskey priest and Scobie, simply because they are such opposites. The whiskey priest thought he was sacrificing himself for nothing, that he had no impact or importance to anyone, and in his last moments he thought only of himself and how much it would hurt to die. Scobie, meanwhile, is absolutely full of his own importance and commits suicide with the intention of making an enormous (positive) difference in the lives of Helen and Louise. The one who was unaware of his own importance, who would never willingly take his own life with certainty, since even when he followed the mestizo to the American he still thought in terms of risk and not certainties, made the greatest impact. Scobie's decision to kill himself, meanwhile, was really a way for him to opt-out of choosing to hurt either Helen or Louise and have to live with the decision, since he wouldn't really need to worry about them after he died.
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