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Billy
The parson is a priest who comes upon Culla Holme, Billy, and the rest of the hog drovers in the aftermath of the stampede that costs Vernon his life. The parson repeatedly tells the drovers not to seek revenge against Holme but changes his tune when he comes to believe that Holme is neither repentant nor a Christian. The book also associates him with the prophet who figures in the nightmare Holme experiences at the very beginning of the story, and so he foreshadows the way that Holme’s path will bring him full circle rather than reaching an endpoint.
Parson Quotes in Outer Dark
The Outer Dark quotes below are all either spoken by Parson or refer to Parson. 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:
).
2. Pages 5-18 Quotes
There was a prophet standing in the square with arms upheld in exhortation to the beggared multitude gathered there. […] The sun hung on the cusp of eclipse and the prophet spoke to them. This hour the sun would darken and all those souls would be cured of their afflictions before it appeared again. And the dreamer himself was caught up among the supplicants […] Me, he cried. Can I be cured? The prophet looked down as if surprised to see him there amidst such pariahs. The sun paused. He said: Yes, I think perhaps you will be cured. Then the sun buckled and dark fell like a shout. […] They waited a long time and it grew chill. […] It grew cold and more black and silent and some began to cry out and some despaired but the sun did not return.
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The book opens with Rinthy shaking her brother Culla Holme awake from a nightmare that is detailed, in part, in this passage. In the dream, Holme finds himself in a biblical scene filled with disabled and ill people waiting for healing from a prophet. Although he is physically well, in the dream, Holme recognizes that he needs some sort of healing. The book wants readers to understand that Holme is as warped or diseased spiritually as the other sufferers are physically. The prophet promises healing to come with the return of the sun after an eclipse. But the darkness never Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisci voluptate et. Voluptas suscipit alias. In et eveniet. Eaque et
20. Pages 213-227 Quotes
Well neighbor, I says, I believe ye ort. He gives ye eyes to see and then he tuck em away. And maybe you never was much of a christian to start with and he figgered this’d bring ye round. They’s been more than one feller brought to the love of Jesus over the paths of affliction. And what better way than blind? In a world darksome as this’n I believe a blind man ort to be better sighted than most. […] The grace of God don’t rest easy on a man. It can blind him easy as not. It can bend him and make him crooked. And who did Jesus love, friends? The lame the halt and the blind that’s who. Them is the one scarred with God’s mercy. Stricken with his love. Ever legless fool and old blind mess like you is a flower in the garden of God. Amen.
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Soon after the hog stampede, while Billy and the other drovers blame Holme for instigating the event and weigh how to best mete out punishment for Vernon’s accidental death, a parson overtakes the party on the road. While ostentatiously suggesting that justice is the proper realm of earthly civil authorities, if not God, he nevertheless eggs them on to lynch Holme for his crimes then and there. Then, he offers to baptize Holme—an offer that Holme rejects. The parson responds by describing this sermon that he once gave to a blind man who railed against God and his fate. This Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum
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Parson Character Timeline in Outer Dark
The timeline below shows where the character Parson appears in Outer Dark. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
20. Pages 213-227
Tensions are rising between the drovers and Holme when a bespectacled parson comes along the road behind them. Realizing that something is amiss, he asks the drovers...
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The parson falls in beside Holme as they walk across the meadow. He wants to know where...
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