Willa Cather’s novel entitled “Death Comes for the Archbishop” is a depiction of true service and faith. The whole story gives different faces of priesthood – the positive and negative descriptions of being priests. The author wants to convey the fact that priesthood is not always being a model for the Christians because through their journeys and missions, they also learn many things beyond their expectations.
Therefore, it can be said that this novel unleashes the life and struggle of priests in the name of service and belief. Father Jean Marie Latour, the protagonist in the story describes the faces of life in and out of priesthood.Cather makes a significant attack in discussing both sides of the frame – the believers and the follower of God or the priests. Each book of the novel is about the significant journey of the protagonist along with his friends that he encounters in his missions. One of the most distinct characters that bring new perspective in life to Father Latour is Father Vaillant.
These two characters become best friends during their journey to New Mexico. However, they were separated because one of them needs to take the path of service – Father Vaillant.In the end, where the title ties up with the story, gives lesson to the readers on how they view missionary priests in their lives. Cather wants to show that service is more important than being together as friends but despite of being separated to one another, the impact of friendship and bond will go even after death. The author does not only want to illustrate the characters of the priests but also the importance of friendship, faith, service, and conviction. From all of these, literature is always the mirror of the society – whatever occurrence may happen in our culture, we can have its account through literary pieces.
