There is much to be found in this compact work. Once the historical context of its authorship is considered – the storyline richens into profundity. A shorter byline was evasive.
A dear and close relative of mine (he calls himself “Big Daddy”, or “B-Diddy”) recommended this book, published in 1940 by British Author Graham Greene. B-Diddy read it 25 or 30 years ago or so and says it sticks to his ribs like a solid steak dinner – as though it remains not fully digested. As Big Daddy has grown older and had his triumphs disasters and redemptive rebounds to exciting and most fulfilling new territories, that Power and the Glory has been of progressively deeper meaning. B-Diddy’s next favorite work is Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, B-Diddy having read it in both English and the original edition Spanish. But back to steaks, ribs, and a full meal, B-Diddy has a way with stacking (but gratefully not mixing) his metaphor. Oddly, the fella is vegetarian…so his build on that basic metaphor is somewhat funny.
The title is an allusion to the doxology often recited at the end of the Lord’s Prayer: “For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever, Amen.”
When I shared my reading of this work with a literarily trained, well-read close friend and career supervisor, the response was words to the effect of, “Wow, you deserve some real extra credit for taking on that book!” I was previously unfamiliar with Mr. Greene’s work. I came to feel the same way, too, about the work. I still think about the book. One striking thought was a theme that vulnerable people just trying to get down the road of life can be quite abused and overwhelmed by misuse of power and wealth – and can be painfully “hot topic-ed” into silence by wrongdoers who will not brook the dissent of a bright light shined on their misdeeds. In Mr. Greene’s work, the oppressive and controlling wealth and power were that of the Mexican government. Or was it only the Mexican government? It isn’t such a simple “superheroes” good v. bad sort of story.
The Power and the Glory (P&G) was originally published in the USA under the title The labyrinthine Ways – an underwhelming title indeed for the stunning force and mental staying-power of this short novel.
The main character is a “whiskey priest”, (a made-up word by Mr. Greene) who combines a great power for self-destruction with a pitiful cravenness, adds in a substantial measure of painful penitence, and then embarks on a desperate quest for redemption and personal dignity. (I modeled that synopsis from Wikipedia, but needed a catchier lead-in than I had time to ponder and write – so I will ponder and change that sentence into my own words maybe later – but maybe never should I not think of anything more clever).
But I shall not further digress. Set during the state v. Roman Catholic conflicts of late 1920’s early 1930’s Mexico called the Christeros War or Christeros Rebellion, P&G’s never-named “renegade” protagonist priest wanders the Tabasco countryside administering the sacraments against the background of government suppression of Roman Catholic church activities. Other areas of Mexico during this period were not so strict, but the Tabasco (state) government was rigorous in it’s ban of Roman Catholicism and its attendant practices, namely the delivery of the sacrament (Holy Communion). The obvious “antagonist” in P&G is the state….or is it? The work begs the question of whether we might also be our own antagonist. P&G also asks whether some who are “persecuted” are not simply getting their just deserts in some measure. Ok, this book is indeed not quite so simple.
This isn’t to say the Roman Catholic church didn’t deserve a measure of what it got from the Mexican government; it deserved worse. The Church for centuries was misusing its wealth and influence for the self-serving manipulation of Mexican political institutions seeing most of central and south America as its own theocratic fiefdom. Do a little research on Pope Innocent III’s conflict with King John of England to learn about the 23 March 1208 sacrament interdiction. If that Roman Catholic Church v. state power history isn’t the poster child of the Roman Catholic Church meddlesome manipulation using wealth, control, ecclesiastical power and intimidation, then I don’t know what is. Oops, I digress….
Some of the symbolism and roles in the book seemed perhaps overstated and obvious – amplified perhaps. As I read, I was like, “Ok, I get it. Can’t you be a little more subtle?”
But in this writer’s humble opinion the reason for such became clear. The big themes in life sometimes are not subtle. The big themes can be obvious no matter how we or others try to hide them – and no matter how we try to ignore them or squelch them. Among life’s big themes, there may be found faith and disbelief, love and its requital (as well as its unrequited state), then there is power/wealth and the misuse of it heaped upon innocents and finally, there is the suffering of a protagonists along with that agony and pain of flocks of everyday people yearning for an attendant redemption and relief that is just out of reach. So that sounds like some big themes. I am sure this is not an exhaustive list of big life themes. Just when I have all of life’s big themes nailed down – a new one pops up.
B-Diddy has a favorite saying about trying to avoid inevitabilities through the use of brute force, which is poet Pablo Neruda’s quote: “You can pull up all the flowers but you can’t hold back the Spring.”
P&G was controversial. But good literature and the truth it represents will survive the crucible of controversy. Resoundingly condemned by the Roman Catholic church, P&G was eventually (but quietly) acknowledged by the Pope to have literary merit. Time magazine in 2005 identified P&G as one of the 20th Century’s 100 most important works.
There is another layer of rich texture underlying P&G regarding the misuse of power and wealth. Mr. Greene wrote P&G while he himself was “self-exiled” to Mexico following a scandalously negative review of the Shirley Temple 1937 motion picture, Wee Willie Winkie.
Mr. Greene wrote of Wee Willie: “[Miss Temple’s] admirers – middle-aged men and clergymen – respond to her dubious coquetry, to the sight of her well-shaped and desirable little body, packed with enormous vitality, only because the safety curtain of story and dialogue drops between their intelligence and their desire.”
Uh, Shirley Temple was 8 years old at the time Wee Willie was filmed.
Mr. Greene: A creepy review, indeed.
So creepy that 20th Century Fox sued Mr. Greene and Night and Day magazine, the publisher of the Wee Willie review, for libel. In 1938 England libel carried not only a potential fine but also a criminal proportion with a possible prison sentence.
But there is more to the story. Mr. Greene did see something deeper and more disturbing in how Shirley Temple was marketed, if not exploited, in Wee Willie and prior films. Miss Temple’s 1932 roles in eight short films known as Baby Burlesks are now universally reviled for (seriously) portraying Miss Temple in a hypersexualized manner as a toddler prostitute.
Mr. Greene’s scathingly mocking review out to shame would-be moviegoers into not viewing Wee Willie was a “voice in the wilderness” defense of Miss Temple’s dignity. Hurray for Mr. Greene.
Catching wind of the forthcoming 20th Century Fox litigation through well-connected friends, Mr. Greene fled to Mexico on 29 January 1938 because Mexico did not recognize extradition to England. The libel suit trial occurred on 22 March 1938 and Mr. Greene was safely out of the court’s reach. Night and Day was fined 3,500 British Pounds, equivalent to $301,094 in today’s US Dollars. Mr. Greene did not return to Britain until May 1938; the libel lawsuit safely concluded.
Thanks to Mr. Greene’s sharp wit and willingness to speak his mind, coupled with a bold Night and Day willing to provide a forum for free speech, we had a major collision with a wealthy and controlling 20th Century Fox which set out to use its wealth and power to “hot topic” a voice of honest dissent into silence. Great things came from that collision of honesty and greed/power/control/corruption. But for that conflict of Titans, we would not have had Mr. Greene’s self-exile to Mexico where Mr. Greene experienced the trauma of the Mexican government’s “hot topic-ing” of the Catholic Church. And the fine literary piece of The Power and the Glory simply would not exist.
I highly recommend P&G for your “make sure you read it someday” list.
Fluffy Lizard 