Religion_in_Pedro_Paramo_and_the_President

In The President and Pedro Paramo, Catholicism is represented through character struggles. This paper aims to compare these struggles related to religion, specifically in the cases of Father Renteria and Nina Fedina and determine the purpose of these concentrated religious references by both authors. The first mention of Father Renteria describes that he “tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep” (Rulfo, 30); already from the onset, Rulfo portrays him as troubled by something, and, because he is named as “Father Renteria” rather than his full name or anything else, it discreetly attributes this uneasiness to Catholicism. Before having written anything else about this priest, Rulfo creates a quick association of uneasiness to priest to Catholicism. As he is questioning himself, he asks “and why purify their souls anyway, when at the last moment...” (Rulfo, 30). The ellipses suggest a thought that Renteria left out, leaving the reader to guess what he does at the last moment. Further reading supports that Renteria may be revoking his saving of the people; the people of Comala are referred to as souls lost in purgatory and the city itself embodies a mysterious coldness that sends the souls in Hell back for a blanket, as if Comala were more inhabited than Hell. Referring back to the quote, Renteria has a tone of resignation. This initial influx of negative connotations with a major religious figure set the mood for the conflicts with the church later on in the novel. In his conversation with Maria Dyada who wishes for him to save her sister Eduviges, Renteria refuses to absolve her because of her suicide. Maria laments “So many good acts stored up for her salvation and then to lose them like that, all at once!”(Rulfo, 31). She describes this process as if her only goal in life was salvation. It seems like a critique of both the unnecessary strict and fatalistic nature of Catholicism and also the way of life for the people of Comala who want to die and be saved as quickly as possible. Even the suicide is regarded by Maria as “out of the goodness of her heart” (Rulfo, 30), implying that the desire to die is either common or a respectable mindset. The exchange between her and father consists of her pleading and his refusal and then offering excuses, such as “perhaps with Gregorian masses” (Rulfo, 31) which Maria cannot afford and “perhaps with many prayers” which Maria says is already in motion. He cannot bring light into the situation and this redundant process of praying for someone’s salvation when she supposedly cannot receive it in the first place deems Father Renteria useless. He quiets her with “Let us put our hope in God” (Rulfo, 31) after telling her to just leave things as they are, which effectively highlights than nothing came of that plea and rather than helping her, he prefers to placate her and quell a possible change. The aforementioned quote ends their conversation. He appears to have a tone of resignation as he cannot solve the problem but by mentioning emotion-heavy words like “God” and “hope”, at least he is satisfying her need for some sort of religious comfort. It seems to be meaningless though in that he is a priest and he cannot offer any resolution. As he drifts to sleep later than night, he thinks to himself “Here I am reciting the saints as if I were counting sheep” (Rulfo, 31). By comparing saints to a common superstitious ritual, Rulfo discreetly attributes the same value of counting sheep to sleep as remembering saints’ names to being pious. In addition, the mundane nature of counting sheep and Renteria’s condescending tone allude to the meaninglessly ritualistic way the habitants of Comala treat religion. In addition, Renteria’s conversation with the priest from Contla provides the premise that, because he cannot absolve Renteria because of his own impurity, there is likely to be a whole string of priests that are not fit for their position, which explains why so many souls are stuck in purgatory. Rulfo seems to speak directly to the audience when the priest states “[people] are full of superstition and fear” (Rulfo, 71). This further supports the idea of corruption within the church. In the case of Nina Fedina, as she sits in a cellar awaiting her trial, she begins to make a “hurried prayer” (Asturias, 110). From the onset, the descriptor “hurried” implies she may not be familiar with praying and therefore is doing it quickly and hastily, isn’t comfortable with praying and wants to get it over with, or has decided on the prayer by impulse. During her prayer, she conveys a vacillating trust in the Virgin Mary by having contrasting pleas that are on the verge of certainty of the Virgin Mary helping her and her not being sure at all if she can. With “Virgin Mary, it is said that you never abandon anyone who has sought your aid, implored your help, and claimed your protection” (Asturias, 110), Rulfo balances what might seem genuine with a ton of desperate uncertainty by including Fedina’s repeated exclamations of The Virgin’s name, which make her appear as if she were begging the Virgin to listen to her. Along with that, “do not reject my prayers” and “ I throw myself at your feet” (Asturias, 110) continues the reader’s questioning of whether she believes in God and prays because she sincerely thinks God will save her, or if she only does so because of her situation. Earlier, she speaks about her child’s future baptism but instead of getting excited over the religious significance of it, she basks in the material-oriented details, which suggest she may not be intrinsically religious. When she cannot pray anymore and instead continues in the comfort of a well-versed litany, it strengthens some skepticism about her religiousness because she prefers the drone of a three repeated words than talking directly to God. The litany encompasses fourteen lines that Asturias interrupts with statements about her physical state and concerns about her baby. This portrays a stream of consciousness where she cannot focus solely on the prayer and instead thinks about herself between lines and also as a possible hint from Asturias about life that despite incessant prayers, problems cannot be quieted. The harmony of the prayer is broken three times by these statements and each time the proceeding chunk of prayer is shorter, at first three lines, then two, then one, creating a countdown effect that further affirms her eventual doom. Rulfo uses Father Renteria as a vehicle to express the counterproductive nature of the church in Pedro Paramo, where characters are bound by strict rules for salvation. Similarly, Asturias employs Nina’s character to illustrate the futility of religion, but specifically in terms of offering mercy in tragic situations. In both novels, the authority figures are corrupt and do not believe wholly in Catholicism, but the desperate characters below them rely on it; this suggest that religion is just for the weak and helpless. The end result is the same: no weaker character receives her plea. In conclusion, both instances communicate a situation where religion became dysfunctional. Asturias, Miguel Angel. The President. Long Grove: Waveland Press, Inc., 1997. Print. Rulfo, Juan. Pedro Paramo. New York: Grove/Atlantic, Inc., 1994. Print.