Black Robe: Analysis of Major Characters
"Black Robe: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the complex interactions between European Jesuit missionaries and Indigenous peoples in 17th-century Canada, focusing on key characters and their evolving relationships and perspectives. Father Paul Laforgue, the central figure, is a Jesuit priest fueled by a desire for martyrdom, who navigates the challenges and moral dilemmas of missionary work among the Huron Indians. His intellectual background and initial confidence in his faith lead to a personal crisis, as he learns to appreciate Indigenous cultures while grappling with his own failings and guilt.
Daniel Davost, a young companion of Laforgue, embodies the struggle between religious devotion and personal desire, as he is drawn to an Algonkin woman, Annuka. Annuka represents the Indigenous perspective, balancing her affection for Daniel with her cultural identity amidst familial and societal pressures. Chomina, Annuka's father, serves as a voice of Indigenous wisdom, challenging Laforgue's beliefs and highlighting the tensions between European and Indigenous worldviews. Meanwhile, Father Fernand Jerome, another Jesuit, illustrates the risks of dogmatic zeal and the perilous nature of missionary pursuits. Lastly, Neehatin, an Algonkin leader, adds layers of complexity with his secretive nature and reliance on spiritual interpretation. Together, these characters reflect the intricate dynamics of faith, identity, and cultural exchange in a historical context marked by conflict and misunderstanding.
Black Robe: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Brian Moore
First published: 1985
Genre: Novel
Locale: Quebec and a remote Indian village
Plot: Historical
Time: 1635
Father Paul Laforgue, a Jesuit priest and missionary to the Huron Indians. A slight, pale, thin-bearded intellectual, born and educated in France, he dreams of the glory of martyrdom in the wilderness. Fired by religious fervor, he learns the Algonkian and Huron languages and prepares meticulously for work among “the Savages.” Confronted with the realities of life among the Indians, he accepts his own misery and physical suffering with courage; he is forgiving of the sins of others but is haunted by guilt for his own human weaknesses. Initially secure in the correctness of his culture and religion, he comes to respect many of the Indian ways and to question his religious certitudes. A man of conscience, he refuses to acquiesce in the religious sophistry of Father Jerome and baptize Indians before they understand and accept the faith. Because his own faith is not absolute, he comes to see himself as unworthy of martyrdom. In the midst of his crisis of faith and unsure of God's will, he dedicates himself to his work in hope of achieving “God's” favor and out of compassion for the Indians as fellow human beings.
Daniel Davost, who accompanies Father Laforgue on his journey to Ihonatiria. Not yet twenty years old, he has been in New France for one year after having promised to serve God for two years in a distant land. Intelligent and adaptable, with a talent for languages, he is thought of highly by the priests. He wants to go with Laforgue not out of religious devotion, as he claims, but to continue the sexual relationship he has secretly begun with the Algonkin girl Annuka. Suffering feelings of guilt and convinced of his own damnation, he is critical of doctrinaire Christianity and is gradually drawn to the Indian way of life. He deserts Laforgue to follow Annuka and asks to marry the girl, declaring the Indians to be his people. He returns with Chomina and his family to help Laforgue, but all are captured by the Iroquois. After their escape, Laforgue agrees to marry Daniel and Annuka. When the couple finally join the priest at Ihonatiria, Daniel is dressed and painted like the Algonkin he wishes to become.
Annuka, a beautiful Algonkin girl who is in love with Daniel Davost. Formerly promiscuous, she promises to be faithful to Daniel and wants to marry him, despite her father's objections. After her father's death, she goes with Daniel to live among the Hurons at Ihonatiria.
Chomina, an Algonkin elder and Annuka's father. He acts as a moral conscience for his people and fears that they are becoming greedy and materialistic like the French. Keeping the promise he made to help Laforgue on his journey, he is captured by the Iroquois, who kill his wife and son, torture him and his daughter, and inflict wounds that later prove fatal. He acts with bravery and explains rather than condemns the brutality of his enemies. The principal spokesman for Indian beliefs and attitudes toward life, he engages Laforgue in philosophic debate, rejecting baptism and the Christian belief in a better life after death.
Father Fernand Jerome, one of the Jesuit founders of the mission at Ihonatiria and the man Laforgue is sent to help. At the age of forty-four, he has suffered a series of strokes and has difficulty moving his tall, bulky frame. He has a heavy gray beard and a pale, half-paralyzed face with one eye enlarged and discolored. His assistant, Father Duval, has been murdered by the Indians, and Jerome is drifting in and out of consciousness when Laforgue arrives. With a final burst of what Laforgue sees as misplaced religious zeal, Jerome uses the Indians'superstitions and fears to convince them that they should be baptized. Before he can reap his “harvest of souls,” however, he is murdered by a terrified Indian who blames the “Blackrobes” for the fever that is decimating the Hurons.
Neehatin, a powerful and duplicitous Algonkin leader who secretly consults his wife on decisions and stubbornly pursues an explanation for his dreams.