The Power and the Glory is one of the most powerful of Greene's major
novels, and the one considered by most critics to be his finest. The theme of
the hunted man establishes an exciting and nightmarish atmosphere to the novel
which is like a thriller. But there is much more in it than a simple manhunt.
Greene has created characters that are human and symbolic at the same time. The
priest and the lieutenant represent the dualism in the human spirit - godliness
as opposed to godlessness, love as against hatred, spirituality as against
materialism, and concern for the individual as against concern for the nation.
After the lieutenant captures the priest, there is a dialogue between the two
men which lies at the heart of this story of good and evil. The lieutenant's
ambition to catch this man is a disinterested one. He has no personal enmity
towards the priest but sees him as a symbol of the poor who are corrupted by
the church. He is a nihilist who wants to destroy the church along with
memories along with his own unhappy childhood. Though the lieutenant is the
antithesis of the priest his obsession with the hunt and his dedication to his
job (of eradicating Catholicism) lead him to lead a life that is priest-like,
e.g. He lives in very simple lodgings. The lieutenant's hunt for and
persecution of the priest turned the priest into a martyr in the eyes of the
people. The lieutenant hates the rich and loves poor, but he cannot understand
or tolerate pain.
On the other
hand the priest has endured pain, anxiety and guilt for years but sees in his
suffering the presence of God's love. The priest is very conscious of his
weakness and failure both as a man and as a priest. An alcoholic, a scandalous
priest with an illegitimate child, a man terrified of pain and death, he has no
illusions about himself. In fact his self-knowledge raises him to the level of
a hero. He is redeemed in our eyes by his keen sense of responsibility for his
sins and for the suffering he has brought upon others. His purgatory is in
Mexico in his years of flight and in his tormented conscience. He accepts his
loss of peace in the belief that the only reason God denies him rest is so that
he could save a soul. After he sees Brigitta, his love and sense of
responsibility for this child overwhelm him. Through her he finds his
salvation. The lieutenant and the priest provide a foil for each other and one
realises that the lieutenant needs the priest to absorb his hatred. This
symbolic relationship between the two characters is of fundamental importance
to the novel.
Conflict between Good and Evil in The Power and the Glory
The problem of
conflict between evil and good is prominent in the novel. Greene believes that
in the ultimate analysis it is God's justice that is predominant over man's
idea of justice. The problem of evil and suffering is at the centre of human
tragedy. When good and evil are engaged in a fight, the fate of this battle
depends on the fortitude and integrity of each individual involved in it. In
this novel, Greene shows a situation where cruelty, corruption have full sway,
and crime, lust and unhappiness fill the land. This is a world of sin and
suffering. The protagonist is a priest who does wrong and who is aware of his
corruption. When he was young, he suffered from the sins of pride, complacency,
weakness for drink, as well as the sin of the flesh. As he grows older, his
sins increase. He is aware of his evil and sin and is unable to do anything to
save himself from damnation. Greene shows that both Padre Jose and the whisky
priest are aware of their sacrilege. The real battle between the forces of good
and evil takes place in the soul of the priest. In his death, the evil is
defeated and the forces of good transform the priest into a saint.
The Power and
the Glory as a Reflection of the Socio-Political Situation
This novel shows
a state where religion has been outlawed. Only two priests are left to carry on
the word of the gospel. One of them (i.e. Padre Jose) marries and bids farewell
to his vocation, the other is the whiskey-priest, who indulges in illicit sex,
gluttony, pride and drinking. He also suffers from cowardice and flees the
parish, but he cannot bring himself to leave his faith. He knows that he is
sinning but is incapable of saving himself. The priest is a man hunted by the
law because this is a state where the church has been banished from the land
and the people do not have the freedom to follow their faith. This is a place
where there is religious persecution, a world that is full of squalor,
desolation, wanton cruelty and corruption. Yet the people have a desperate need
for faith, and it is this that may save them from a sterile civilisation and
graceless materialism. Thus this is the perfect locale for the depiction of
Greene's story.
Conclusion
In The Power and the Glory, Greene shows a
situation where the church has been banished from the country. The protagonist
is a priest gone bad but who is aware of his corruption. Sins of the flesh
attract him and increase as he grows older, and he sleeps with a woman and
begets a child. He loves this child of sin, but his pursuit of his vocation is
his saving grace. He is pursued by the Lieutenant, who is well-meaning but
misled. The priest is finally betrayed by a mestizo he goes to help. He is
arrested, put into prison and executed. Greene portrays his characters vividly
and realistically. The two main characters in this novel, viz., the priest and
the Lieutenant, are nameless and represent ideologies rather than individuals.
Both have their good points and weaknesses, and they serve as foils to each
other. The novel depicts the conflict between good and evil in the outer
physical world, as well as the inner world of the human mind as seen in the
case of the priest. When he dies, the evil is defeated and good triumphs.
Greene's The
Power and the Glory uses the technique of the thriller of the hunter and the
hunted, having all the ingredients of betrayal, chase and hunt. But as Greene
becomes involved with more profound themes, he uses a more complex technique
with the use of symbolism and emphasis on subtle psychological aspects. A study
of the above novel, gives an idea of the literary trends during a particular
period in English literature. They also indicate some aspects of the philosophy
and style of that particular writer.
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