The Bridge of San Luis Rey

by

Thornton Wilder

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Archbishop of Lima Character Analysis

The highest religious official in Lima. Although he is occupies a position of grave authority, the Archbishop is generally decadent and silly, spending his time hosting large dinner parties and flirting with actresses, like Camila Perichole. He devotes little time or effort to his parishioners. In fact, his greatest frustrations are the frequent pleas of his colleague, the Abbess, that he appropriate more church funds for her charitable works.

Archbishop of Lima Quotes in The Bridge of San Luis Rey

The The Bridge of San Luis Rey quotes below are all either spoken by Archbishop of Lima or refer to Archbishop of Lima. 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:
Acts of God and Individual Will Theme Icon
).
Part 4: Uncle Pio Quotes

The Archbishop knew that most of the priests of Peru were scoundrels. It required all his delicate Epicurean education to prevent his doing something about it; he had to repeat over to himself his favorite notions: that the injustice and unhappiness of the world is a constant; that the theory of progress is a delusion; that the poor, never having known happiness, are insensible to misfortune. Like all the rich he could not bring himself to believe that the poor (look at their houses, look at their clothes) could really suffer.

Related Characters: Archbishop of Lima
Related Symbols: Churches and Abbeys
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 81
Explanation and Analysis:
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Archbishop of Lima Quotes in The Bridge of San Luis Rey

The The Bridge of San Luis Rey quotes below are all either spoken by Archbishop of Lima or refer to Archbishop of Lima. 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:
Acts of God and Individual Will Theme Icon
).
Part 4: Uncle Pio Quotes

The Archbishop knew that most of the priests of Peru were scoundrels. It required all his delicate Epicurean education to prevent his doing something about it; he had to repeat over to himself his favorite notions: that the injustice and unhappiness of the world is a constant; that the theory of progress is a delusion; that the poor, never having known happiness, are insensible to misfortune. Like all the rich he could not bring himself to believe that the poor (look at their houses, look at their clothes) could really suffer.

Related Characters: Archbishop of Lima
Related Symbols: Churches and Abbeys
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 81
Explanation and Analysis: