Silence

by

Shūsaku Endō

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Father Garrpe, a Portuguese missionary priest, accompanies Rodrigues to Japan in order to be a priest for Japanese Christians and find out what happen to Father Ferreira, their former mentor. Garrpe hides with Rodrigues in the village of Tomogi, where they meet the first Japanese Christians. The two priests are close friends, and Garrpe’s support and good-humor emboldens Rodrigues in their first weeks in Japan. Although Garrpe is separated from Rodrigues when they flee Tomogi and thus absent from most of the story, his own faithful strength provides somewhat of a foil for Rodrigues’s eventual weakness. When several Christians are about to taken to Nagasaki to be persecuted for their faith, Rodrigues encourages them to apostatize to spare themselves and their village from suffering, but Garrpe obviously disagrees. Unlike Rodrigues, who physically suffers little himself, Garrpe drowns himself in the sea—this way, although his refusal to apostatize resulted in the death of several Japanese Christians, at least he can die with them and try to reach their sinking bodies. Garrpe’s death is one of the final events that breaks Rodrigues’s spirit, thus leading him to eventually apostatize himself, even though Garrpe certainly would’ve spurned Rodrigues for his weakness in doing so.

Francisco Garrpe Quotes in Silence

The Silence quotes below are all either spoken by Francisco Garrpe or refer to Francisco Garrpe. 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:
Apostasy Theme Icon
).
Prologue Quotes

Their plan was to make their way into Japan in the throes of persecution in order to carry on an underground missionary apostolate and to atone for the apostasy of Ferreira which had so wounded the honor of the Church.

Related Characters: Sebastien Rodrigues, Francisco Garrpe, Christovao Ferreira / Sawano Chuan, Juan de Santa Marta
Page Number: 5
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 1 Quotes

“In that stricken land the Christians have lost their priests and are like a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Someone must go to give them courage and to ensure that the tiny flame of faith does not die out.”

Related Characters: Juan de Santa Marta (speaker), Sebastien Rodrigues, Francisco Garrpe
Page Number: 12
Explanation and Analysis:

Every day we keep praying that [Santa Marta’s] health may be restored as soon as possible. But he makes no progress. Yet God bestows upon man a better fate than human knowledge could possibly think of or devise […] Perhaps God in his omnipotence will make all things well.

Related Characters: Sebastien Rodrigues (speaker), Francisco Garrpe, Juan de Santa Marta
Page Number: 18
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

Never have I felt so deeply how meaningful is the life of a priest. These Japanese Christians are like a ship lost in a storm without a chart. I see them without a single priest or brother to encourage and console, gradually losing hope and wandering bewildered in the darkness.

Related Characters: Sebastien Rodrigues (speaker), Francisco Garrpe
Page Number: 30
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

He had come to this country to lay down his life for other men, but instead of that, the Japanese were laying down their lives one by one for him.

Related Characters: Sebastien Rodrigues, Francisco Garrpe
Page Number: 142
Explanation and Analysis:

Yes, crouching on the ashen earth of Gethsemane that had imbibed all the heat of the day, alone and separated from his sleeping disciples, a man had said: “My soul is sorrowful even unto death.” And his sweat became like drops of blood. This was the face that was no before [Rodrigues’s] eyes. Hundreds and hundreds of times it had appeared in his dreams; but why was that only now did the suffering, perspiring face seem so far away? Yet tonight he focused all his attention on the emaciated expression on those cheeks.”

Related Characters: Sebastien Rodrigues, Francisco Garrpe
Related Symbols: Christ’s Face
Page Number: 147
Explanation and Analysis:
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Francisco Garrpe Quotes in Silence

The Silence quotes below are all either spoken by Francisco Garrpe or refer to Francisco Garrpe. 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:
Apostasy Theme Icon
).
Prologue Quotes

Their plan was to make their way into Japan in the throes of persecution in order to carry on an underground missionary apostolate and to atone for the apostasy of Ferreira which had so wounded the honor of the Church.

Related Characters: Sebastien Rodrigues, Francisco Garrpe, Christovao Ferreira / Sawano Chuan, Juan de Santa Marta
Page Number: 5
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 1 Quotes

“In that stricken land the Christians have lost their priests and are like a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Someone must go to give them courage and to ensure that the tiny flame of faith does not die out.”

Related Characters: Juan de Santa Marta (speaker), Sebastien Rodrigues, Francisco Garrpe
Page Number: 12
Explanation and Analysis:

Every day we keep praying that [Santa Marta’s] health may be restored as soon as possible. But he makes no progress. Yet God bestows upon man a better fate than human knowledge could possibly think of or devise […] Perhaps God in his omnipotence will make all things well.

Related Characters: Sebastien Rodrigues (speaker), Francisco Garrpe, Juan de Santa Marta
Page Number: 18
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

Never have I felt so deeply how meaningful is the life of a priest. These Japanese Christians are like a ship lost in a storm without a chart. I see them without a single priest or brother to encourage and console, gradually losing hope and wandering bewildered in the darkness.

Related Characters: Sebastien Rodrigues (speaker), Francisco Garrpe
Page Number: 30
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

He had come to this country to lay down his life for other men, but instead of that, the Japanese were laying down their lives one by one for him.

Related Characters: Sebastien Rodrigues, Francisco Garrpe
Page Number: 142
Explanation and Analysis:

Yes, crouching on the ashen earth of Gethsemane that had imbibed all the heat of the day, alone and separated from his sleeping disciples, a man had said: “My soul is sorrowful even unto death.” And his sweat became like drops of blood. This was the face that was no before [Rodrigues’s] eyes. Hundreds and hundreds of times it had appeared in his dreams; but why was that only now did the suffering, perspiring face seem so far away? Yet tonight he focused all his attention on the emaciated expression on those cheeks.”

Related Characters: Sebastien Rodrigues, Francisco Garrpe
Related Symbols: Christ’s Face
Page Number: 147
Explanation and Analysis: