Father Renteria’s religious struggle…hits close to home
One of the most interesting and powerful points in Juan Rulfo’s novel Pedro Paramo is the use of religion in context will all of the characters associated in the book…most pointedly, Father Reneria. In a community where everyone uses the tools of relgion to get by on a day to day basis, Father Reneria began, we can assume, as a faithful, loving, hopeful, moral, and dedicated man of the cloth that strived to live a good life in his faith. However, a disillusionment of this religion is birthed by two cataclytic events in Father Reneria’s life. Upon the killing of his brother by Miguel Paramo, and the rape of his niece, Reneria embarks on an inner struggle with himeself, his faith, and the outside corruption of the world and society.
Is the outside world and society so powerful that it can take a man of such extreme faith, such as Reneria, and turn him against himself and his faith? If this is so for a priest, what hope can we as “mere people” have in store for ourselves. If the leader of the church and community struggles with inner thoughts of greed, hate, and revence….how can just and ordinary person continue on a path of rightousness and goodness. Are daily prayers and confession enough? Is it true forgivemess if one asks for the forgiveness and then CONTINUES to pursue the acts they orignally asked forgivemess for?
A poingnant moment in the book is during Reneria’s confession. The struggle is so apparent that the words “i have sinned” and the taste of blood in his mouth leaves a vision that Reneria is losing his faith..his very life to the corruption and greed around him in his life. Rulfo uses the loss of Reneria’s faith and morality to prove a point. Is there a way to eternal salvation by acts alone? Is society’s faith in itself strong enough to overcome and use only partial parts of relgion to achieve its whole goal?
I have witnessed many levels of faith, morality, good acts, and more associated with relgion my entire life. Rulfo uses a priest to show the power of society and its pressures on just about anyone, regardless of their faith level, title in life, or even WANT TO in life. He also uses the people of Comalan to demonstrate how easily people are swayed to believe what THEY want to believe to be true, rather than what is true (subjective).
The church I attended growing up had something HORRIBLE happen while going there. The pastor was arrested for rape, child molestation, child pornography, and assault. The entire church was uprooted, split, and many never returned due to a loss in faith. How could the “big guy” get so far gone? Was the outside corruption so much that he lost his original morality? Did he ever have any morals at all? If the pastor can be so easity swayed away and led astray….what would happen to us “regular” followers? Is is enough, as Rulfo makes the point in his novel, that a simple prayer or daily confession is enough to erase away all the sin and guilt?
Rulfo points out society’s weaknesses and criticizes the greed and corruption of a people. He goes so far as to show the one figure that should not be corrupted….be corrupted to such a degree in his heart that he essentially loses who he is. The absence of faith in Renteria and the people of Comalan shows just how powerful the outside world can be and the pressures it brings upon people, even those dedicated to living their lives for a good purpose.
I, however naive it sounds, still believe to the nth degree in human spirit, love, hope, and faith. If not, i would not be able to stand it….I just look at my family, friends, and loved ones and know that no matter how hard this world pushes you down….you will stand again.
on March 24th, 2007 at 12:40 am
Interesting thoughts on Rentería. I think Rulfo was also trying to point out that even those whose lives are dedicated to being our moral “shepherds” and examples to the rest of us are often the most confused about how to lead people. For most of the pueblo, Rentería was like a merchant of God: they called on him as soon as someone died to make sure the deceased would get into heaven. Ironically, nobody seemed too concerned about living their lives in such a way that they would not need all those extra masses and prayers to make it into heaven.
on March 25th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Amy,
You have very interesting points. It is very scary to believe those closed to God can commit the worst acts. Rulfo makes a very serious criticsm of religion because it is not enough to seek a priest for confession and then go about their merry way without truly being repentent.
Something else that was very striking to me in the novel was the willingness of the people to accept Pedro Paramo’s decisions. Before the revolution erupted everyone waited patiently for change or accepted their fate.
I think his death symbolized the end of a ruthless elite. Comala was abandoned but, the people that were living had started a new beginning far away. This new beginning can be seen in our historical records with the formation of a new democratic govenment.
As far as Comala, it remained with all the ghosts of the past. Most had committed such deeds that their souls could not find eternal rest.
on March 28th, 2007 at 9:38 am
I also wondered about Father Renteria and the town’s dependence on him and last rites to save their souls from the acts of their life. It seemed as it they were deferring their spirituality and salvation to him instead of taking responsibility for themselves. The irony was that the Father was in spiritual crisis himself. In connection with this I noticed that there was a lot of superstitution in Comala. Dolores says the photography is witchcraft, Abundio thinks the devil is literally behind him ready to destroy him, Dolores will not sleep with her husband because the moon is not right. This superstitution is part of their religion belief system, and gives importance to their deferrance of salvation to Father Renteria and his rites and ceremonies. The post of ALH is relevant here because she discusses the fact that Rulfo was a moral realist. If his not critizing the town’s beliefs, he at least wants the reader to question them.
on March 29th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
I think one thing to remember is that priests, and other ministers, are human. They are faced with the same temptations and fears. They are not infallable and they don’t claim to be. They are not God.
Of course, it is always shocking to see a leader of a church do something horrible. Nothing justifies it, but the fact remains that they are human. I am reminded of the priest in Lazarillo de Tormes.
In regards to the “acts alone” comment, I am not sure I know where you are coming from. It seems to me that it was more like “words alone.” Saying “I am sorry” and meaning it are two different things.
I think too many times people blindly believe things simply because it is told to them. Father Renteria is human and if people’s intentions are not pure, how was he to control that? I think that this representation is trying to state that redemption does not come from words, but intention and heartfelt meaning. I mean, these villagers went through the motions. Where was the heart? Where was the faith? And was that the responsibilty of the priest? or the people themselves?
It is interesting to see that excuse-making and lack of personal responsibility is universal.
on March 30th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
You confront some important issues that should be talked about more and I appreciate that you are willing to discuss things like confession, absolution, etc. Priests are human too, but it is true that they are set apart by God to perform specific acts and ministries. The realization that just because a man is a priest does not set him above temptation and therefore a great and noticeable fall, reminds me of readings from the early church fathers in which they argue that priests and monks are attacked and tempted more than lay people because they are the influence in their communities. This is all the more reason for us to pray for our spiritual father and clergy in general.
on April 9th, 2007 at 1:08 am
To me Rulfto seemed to be painting a very pessimistic view of the church and the clergy through the character of Father Renteria. He seemed to be as corrupt as the rest of the town, choosing material gratification over true faith, but the people blindly continued to seek him out for absoluting from their sins. I think that this is Rulfo’s comment about people, faith and religion at the time in Mexico.
I am sorry for your experience in your church as a child and imagine that an experience like that might tarnish someone’s faith. Unfortunately humans make mistakes which have true consequences. I agree with you that we have to have faith and hope and continue to believe even in the midst of trials.