Fourth Tempter Character Analysis

The fourth tempter encourages Becket to pursue martyrdom, arguing that he should shun the worldly, political order of the king and focus on achieving sainthood. Though Becket doesn’t reject the idea of martyrdom, he finds fault with this tempter’s reasons for proposing it. The fourth tempter thinks Becket should become a martyr because of the glory and renown associated with the sainthood he’d achieve; he appeals to Becket’s emotions and desires, but not to any higher spiritual principle, such as fate or God’s plan. While this tempter is the closest to getting at the core of Becket’s outlook on the relationship between politics and religion, and manipulating that outlook, he nonetheless disgusts Becket with his forwardness and appeals to secular notions of glory and fame. Perhaps this tempter reveals to Becket the dangers of his own selfishness and human longing for fame; it’s as if the fourth tempter gets too close for comfort by revealing Becket’s real, personal motivations for martyrdom. In a way, then, this tempter is responsible for initiating Becket’s spiritual evolution towards becoming an instrument of God’s will—of fate—and not a puppet of his own human greed.