In Roman Catholicism, a breviary is a book that contains the service to be delivered each day, which includes certain prayers, hymns, and lessons. Father Flynn spent a lot of time studying the breviary; however, in an important moment in the story, Eliza walks in on him half asleep, with the breviary having fallen from his lap. This scene stands out because Father Flynn’s loss of physical grip on things relating to Catholicism—most notably, the chalice, but also the breviary—represents his loss of metaphorical grip on religious teaching that are relevant to the community.
Get the entire The Sisters LitChart as a printable PDF.
Breviary Term Timeline in The Sisters
The timeline below shows where the term Breviary appears in The Sisters. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Sisters
...life. She recalls how she would bring him his soup and “find him with is breviary fallen to the floor, lying back in the chair and his mouth open.” What’s more,...
(full context)
