Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Life of Galileo, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Progress vs. Tradition
Persecution
Ideas as Infection
Work vs. Passion
Greatness
Summary
Analysis
The Little Monk comes to visit Galileo. He tells Galileo that, ever since Clavius declared Galileo’s findings to be correct, he has struggled to reconcile them with his faith. The only option the Little Monk sees is to abandon astronomy altogether.
This scene is another moment (like the previous one with Sagredo) in which a sincere, intelligent man faces the real-life consequences of the struggle between tradition and progress.
Themes
The Little Monk doesn’t doubt Galileo, he says, but he doubts that telling the truth about the universe will help anyone. He thinks it will only serve to confuse them and shake their faith. As a priest, he can’t allow that. Galileo reminds the Little Monk that he’s not just a priest; he is also a physicist. He hands the monk a bundle of manuscripts containing valuable scientific research, but reminds the monk that he’s not supposed to read it. Yet, before the papers are even out of Galileo’s hands, the Little Monk has become absorbed in them. Galileo likens the papers to an apple from the tree of knowledge from which the Little Monk has now taken a bite.
Galileo has already been associated with Satan because of the apple symbol Brecht employs throughout the play. While this is generally a playful association (because Galileo isn’t actually the devil and he’s not turning people towards evil), it’s also a sincere one in many ways. The Little Monk has very real doubts about his faith, which were caused by Galileo. Yet, it is the Little Monk’s faith that secures everything in his life: if he doesn’t have it, he no longer has the access to food, shelter, and community, since all these are provided by the Church.
Themes
