Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Power and the Glory, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Complexity of Religious Figures
Ideology and Reactionary Ideas
The Nature of Sin
Government vs. Religion
Duty, Sacrifice, and Persecution
Summary
Analysis
The whisky priest has a difficult time navigating through the jail cell. There are people everywhere, but he can only see them when lightning flashes in the night sky. All around him, people ask him for things: money, food, cigarettes. He also disturbingly hears two people have sex somewhere in the cell. To make matters worse, the cell reeks from the one bucket toilet everyone has to share. Unsettled, the priest finds a spot up against a wall where he can partially sit down.
People are packed into the jail cell like animals, and, as such, they resort to their base instincts. All around him, the priest hears and occasionally sees people who have not had their base material needs met for some time. These are people who desperately need help beyond that which he can offer. As such, all he can do is move off to the side, separating himself as much as he can.
Themes
Next to the whisky priest, there is an old man who is ranting and raving. He tells the whisky priest, not knowing who he is, that priests have made his life terrible. A nearby woman explains that priests took the old man’s child from him because the child was a “bastard.” The woman believes the old man got what he deserved. The priest thinks about the cruelty of the word “bastard,” which reminds him of Brigitta. After thinking on Brigitta for a moment, he tells the old man that the priests should not have taken his child from him.
The old man's ranting reveals deep-seated bitterness and resentment toward the clergy. His tirade reflects the suffering he has endured. This suffering stems from the loss of his child due to societal judgment, which stems from the church. His initial anger toward the whisky priest represents a broader disillusionment with religious authority. The whisky priest sides with the man, perhaps on a personal level, but also on a moral one. It is a notable moment because the whisky priest is questioning the authority of the Catholic church.
Themes
However, the old man quickly alters his opinion and claims that priests know best what is right and wrong. He insists that what he did was a mortal sin, for which he should be punished. The whisky priest responds that the priests should have treated the old man’s situation with compassion rather than punish a sin, which had already been committed. The old man responds that the whisky priest does not know what he is talking about because he is not a priest. In response, the whisky priest informs the old man that the opposite is true.
The old man's rapid shift in opinion—from blaming the priests to asserting their authority and his own culpability—reveals internal conflict and ultimately a submission to societal norms. Additionally, the old man speaks to the whisky priest with authority because he does not know of the whisky priest’s true identity. Wanting to help the man, the whisky priest risks his life by revealing his identity.
Themes
Several people around the whisky priest warn him that he should not have said anything because there are disreputable people, even murderers, in the cell with him. The priest tells them that his jailers do not know his identity and asks that no one disclose it because it would be a sin. However, he suspects that his jailers will learn his identity when daylight arrives, and they will shoot him as a result. The nearby woman asks the priest if he is afraid, and the priest admits that he is. A different man tells the priest he should not be afraid of a little pain. However, the priest admits he is afraid, nonetheless. The man responds, “You believers are all the same. Christianity makes you cowards.” The priest acknowledges the man’s point and admits that he is largely scared because he is worried that he will end up in hell.
The people in the cell are quick to judge those around them. However, they do appear to be largely Catholic, as they wish to help the whisky priest. Also, the whisky priest reveals the human side of himself, admitting that he is afraid. In this way, he sharply contrasts himself with someone like Juan, the brave and perfect martyr Luis’s mother reads about to her children. Despite his religious authority, the whisky priest is unsure of whether he has lived a good enough life to end up in Heaven. He worries that the God he has spent his life serving will think he is better suited for Hell.
Themes
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In the prison cell, the whisky priest discovers he enjoys the companionship of the other prisoners and feels a deep love for them. The woman tells the priest she ended up in jail because she owned banned books. She asks the priest if he’ll hear her confession. However, before he can, she yells at the people having sex in the cell for their behavior. In response, the priest tells her she will not be able to properly atone for her own sins until she stops judging those of others. The woman defends herself, claiming that the sin of the couple having sex is “ugly.” The priest disagrees, arguing that sin can be “beautiful,” and likely seems that way to the couple. The whisky priest’s words disturb the woman. She starts thinking he is a bad priest and tells him it will be a good thing when he is dead.
The interaction with the woman in the cell exposes the tension between compassion and judgment within quotidian religious practice. Despite the woman's request for confession, her quick condemnation of others' behavior exposes her own hypocrisy. The whisky priest's response challenges her narrow-mindedness, emphasizing the importance of empathy in spiritual redemption. His assertion that sin can be "beautiful" reflects a nuanced understanding of human nature and morality, unsettling the woman's rigid beliefs and prompting introspection.
Themes
Eventually, morning arrives, and a policeman makes the whisky priest empty the bucket toilets from all the cells. Now that there is light in the jail, the whisky priest spots Miguel, the young man who was taken from Maria’s town, in a different cell. Miguel is with a few other men, all of whom look battered and bruised. The whisky priest locks eyes with all of these men, knowing they know who he is. He stands still, giving the men a chance to reveal his identity to the jailers. However, none of them do.
The whisky priest gives Miguel and the other man the chance to give him up in part because he wants to be caught. Although he knows it would be sinful for these men to betray him, he does not want the burden of their lives on his shoulders any longer. However, as long as they remain loyal to him, he refuses to give up his identity to his captors.
Themes
Walking further along the cells, the whisky priest sees the mestizo. Although the mestizo immediately recognizes him, he does not make a fuss. The mestizo knows he will not get a reward for turning in the priest because he himself is currently in jail. When the priest finishes emptying the toilets, a policeman sends him to speak with the lieutenant. The lieutenant tells the priest he is free to go. He even gives the priest a coin when he learns the priest has no money. The kind act shocks the priest, who tells the lieutenant he is a good person.
The mestizo is the exact opposite of Miguel and the other men. He has no reason other than financial benefit to betray the priest but cannot wait to do so. His decision to hold his tongue for the moment is selfishly motivated. Meanwhile, the priest’s interaction with the lieutenant is a glimpse at the type of person the lieutenant could be if his anti-Catholic ideology was not his motivating force.
Themes
