Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop depicts Father Latour and Father Vaillant's struggle to reestablish Catholic authority in their newly formed diocese from New Mexico. They are responsible for straightening out a territory which has fallen back into pagan behavior under the jurisdiction of priests who neither observe nor apply several Catholic sacraments (celibacy, marriage, confirmation). As Latour became more familiar with his diocese, he discovered that Indian cultures had values ​​parallel to European and Catholic cultures, and his humility appealed to the natives. Cather uses Latour as a friendly colonial vessel, a paradoxical character who believes in both the futility and necessity of his work. Latour understands that his efforts and those of Father Vaillant are only superfluous attempts to impose culture on a group of people who already have one. Although Latour recognizes the futility of his work, his continued emphasis on interference in New Mexico betrays a certain amount of vanity and hypocrisy, unattractive characteristics of an archbishop. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Toward the beginning of his reign as archbishop, Father Latour recognizes that the quickest way to restore Catholicism in dioceses is to replace entrenched Catholicism. corrupt Mexican priests and more traditional ecclesiastics. Latour undertakes these tasks because, as he wrote in a letter, he believes he "can help [Mexican priests] more than they think." The Church can do more than the Fort to make these poor Mexicans “good Americans”. And it is for the good of the people; there is no other way for them to improve their condition. (pp. 35-36) The words “help,” “poor,” and “condition” reflect a blatant white savior complex in young Latour and establish the presumed moral elevation of the Church over those over whom it presides. . Padre Martinez, a current priest who presides over Taos, feels the same way. Martinez warns Latour against interfering in Taos, saying, “We have a living Church here, not a dead arm of the European Church. Our religion was born from the soil and has its own roots… The Church… established here has been cut off; it is the second growth, and it is native. (p. 146) Martinez defends his jurisdiction by invoking nature, arguing that his diocese is indigenous. A similar incident occurs when Vaillant visits Manuelito Lujon's ranch. When he arrives, he demands that the men be brought from the fields and married to their mates. The women of the ranch discuss the futility of Vaillant's efforts. They say, “No, times aren't so good anymore,” the other agreed. “And I doubt all this marriage will make them better.” What is the point of marrying people after they have lived together and had children? (p. 194) The women of the ranch recognize that the situation in their community is bad, but they question the effectiveness of marrying people who have already had children. Both Martinez and the Lujon women raise a good point: How can priests impose foreign Catholic traditions on a group of people ruled by cultures and temptations that the priests cannot understand? Father Vaillant and Father Latour, both believing they have a clear vision of what is good and evil, place themselves on a vain pedestal in front of the Indians. Thus, Martinez and the Lujon women identify a problematic aspect of Catholic intervention in the dioceses of New Mexico: without the necessary integration into Indian communities, the assumption ofThe moral superiority of priests makes true connection impossible. Latour's tolerant acceptance of Indian cultures, but his role as a white missionary belies his admiration for Indian tradition. While exploring the surrounding dioceses with his Indian guide, Jacinto, Latour realized that "he had no means of transferring his own memories of European civilization into the Indian mind, and he was quite willing to believe that behind Jacinto there was a long tradition, a history of experience, that no language could translate to him.” .” (p. 92) Cather uses words like “civilization” and “transfer” to suggest a taming, a transfer of enlightenment and religion from one higher society to another lower society. So, not only does Latour believe that the Indian mind would not be able to understand the nuances of European culture, but he believes in Indian culture so deeply that he could never understand it. Yet throughout the second half of Death Comes for the Archbishop, Latour actively pursues his dream of building a Catholic cathedral in Santa Fe, choosing the exact site and stone himself. For Latour, the cathedral would serve as a physical manifestation of his heritage. Cather writes that, "as [Latour] cherished this wish and meditated on it, he came to think that such a building might be a continuation of himself and his goal, a physical body filled with his aspirations after his departure from the stage. " (p. 175) Vaillant does not support the proposal, apparently surprised by Latour's materialism. He says: "I did not think that you would embark on a beautiful construction, when everything with us is so poor - and we are ourselves so poor." (p. 241) Vaillant's objections are well-founded; during his years as archbishop, Latour witnessed the poverty in which many Indians live. Yet, he says, "the Cathedral n. It's not for us, [Vaillant]. We are building for the future... It would be a shame for any man coming from a Seminary which is one of the architectural treasures of France, to make another ugly one. church on this continent where there are already so many" (p. 212). The construction of the cathedral can only be financed by the destitute inhabitants of the diocese, but Latour argues that the cathedral will show the strength of the Catholic Church in the region of New Mexico, a symbol that a man from the “architectural treasures of France” would appreciate. Despite his respect for indigenous culture, Latour sees nothing wrong with taxing his diocese to finance a vain ode to his heritage. and to his religion, a religion that, in many ways, is not his own. Ironically, the aspect of the Southwest that Latour loves most is precisely what it is Latour's duty to destroy. as he travels through the desert in his retreat, delighting in the wild air He remarks that "this peculiar quality of the air of the new countries has disappeared after being tamed by men...the air [is] losing. ] this lightness, this aromatic and dry smell... one could only breathe this on the luminous edges of the world. , in the large grassy plains or in the sagebrush desert. (p. 444) And, in the quote above, Latour notes that the air of New Mexico is light and pure because it has not yet encountered "the men" who seek to tame it. As a missionary, Latour was one of those “men,” chosen to inundate the people of New Mexico with different aspects of a foreign culture that the Indians neither needed nor necessarily wanted. The “men” transform the “aromatic” air of the region into something heavy and impure. Cather leaves the reader wondering if Latour realizes that he is, by his vocation, part of the problem that taints the region »,.