Black Robe by Brian Moore
"Black Robe" by Brian Moore is a historical novel set in the seventeenth century that explores the complex interactions between Jesuit missionaries and Indigenous peoples in North America. The narrative follows Father Laforgue, an inexperienced Jesuit, as he embarks on a perilous journey to a Huron village to aid fellow missionaries. Throughout his journey, Laforgue grapples with his own beliefs and prejudices as he encounters a rich and vibrant Indigenous culture that contrasts sharply with his own. The novel highlights themes of cultural conflict, faith, and the consequences of colonialism, as Laforgue's initial desire for martyrdom evolves into a profound empathy for the people he aimed to convert.
Significant characters include Daniel Davost, Laforgue's helper who finds himself drawn to Indigenous ways and faces a pivotal choice between his French identity and his connection with the Algonkin tribe. The elder Chomina represents the voice of wisdom and foresight, understanding the detrimental effects of trade with the French on Indigenous life. Through its nuanced portrayal of both Jesuit and Indigenous perspectives, "Black Robe" invites readers to reflect on the complexities of cultural exchange and the moral dilemmas faced by its characters. The novel has received critical acclaim for its depth and empathy, although some critiques suggest that it may lack a sense of wonder.
Black Robe by Brian Moore
First published: 1985
Type of work: Historical chronicle
Time of work: The 1630’s
Locale: Quebec and a remote Indian village
Principal Characters:
Father Laforgue , a Jesuit priest, missionary to the Huron Indians and the protagonistDaniel Davost , a young man who accompanies Father Laforgue on his journeyAnnuka , a young Algonkin girl who is in love with Daniel DavostChomina , an elder of the Algonkin and Annuka’s fatherFather Jerome , the Jesuit missionary whom Father Laforgue attempts to aid
The Novel
Brian Moore’s Black Robe is a historical novel that focuses not only on the Jesuits of the title but also on the Indians that they attempted to convert in the North America of the seventeenth century. Moore emphasizes the conflicts between these two very different cultures. As he states in the “Author’s Note”: “This novel is an attempt to show that each of these beliefs inspired in the other fear, hostility, and despair, which later would result in the destruction and abandonment of the Jesuit missions, and the conquest of the Huron people by the Iroquois, their deadliest enemy.” The novel, however, begins with the arrangements for Father Laforgue to set out on an arduous and dangerous journey to a remote Huron village to provide relief or aid to the sick or dead Jesuits there. Father Laforgue is inexperienced but eager to prove himself; he even looks forward to martyrdom on the journey. There is no doubt about his courage or his dedication; he is completely out of his element in the world of the Algonkin and Huron, however, and this dislocation challenges his most fervent beliefs and attitudes.
The picture the reader receives of the “Savages” on this journey is compelling. In contrast to the Jesuits, they are perfectly adapted to their environment. They see the land as alive, are guided by dreams, and live a communal life in which everything is shared. They despise the French, who hoard their goods rather than share them and have no respect for the land. The Indians also have a rich and bawdy language that contrasts sharply with the abstractions of the Jesuits. Father Laforgue is repelled by the Indian way of life, but his helper, Daniel Davost, is attracted to it and to a young Indian girl, Annuka. This attraction creates the first conflict of the novel. Laforgue sees him with the girl and fears for his soul, while the Algonkin believe that Daniel can never really be one of their group. Daniel must make a choice when the Algonkin decide to abandon Father Laforgue at the rapids, and he chooses the Algonkin over the Jesuits; this, however, complicates the problem the Algonkin have. If Daniel joins them, word will get out that they have abandoned the Jesuit. Thus, Chomina, their elder, argues for a compromise; he, his family, and Daniel will guide Laforgue to the village.
When Chomina and his small group return to Father Laforgue, they are all captured by the Iroquois. The Iroquois keep them alive in order to torture them and make them cry out. The two Frenchmen cry out early, but the Indians refuse, since to do so would mean that their enemies control their souls. They do manage to escape when Annuka clubs their guard, and they continue on their journey to the village. There is, however, a conflict when the dying Chomina refuses to be baptized by Father Laforgue. His reasons are worth noting: He asks Laforgue if there will be any members of his tribe in the Christian paradise, and when he finds out that there will not, he refuses. It would not be a paradise to him if he were to be separated from his people.
When Father Laforgue reaches the end of his journey, he finds one dead Jesuit, another suffering from a stroke, and a large percentage of the Indians sick from fever. Some of the Indians believe that the Black Robes have brought on the disease, while others fear their power as demons or witches. They are about to kill the Jesuits when an eclipse occurs. This convinces them of the power of the Black Robes’ god, and they ask to be baptized. Father Laforgue, however, believes that it would be a mockery unless preceded by some instruction in the faith. Father Jerome, the missionary whom Laforgue has met at the village, is, in contrast, interested in the number of “Savages” converted, and he repeats the common accusation against the Jesuits as his defense: “The means are fair, if the ends are good.”
The Jesuits also insist that the Indians must give up their old ways after they are baptized: “One wife, no human flesh, no curing rituals, the dream, all of it.” The Indians are very reluctant to do so, and one elder suggests accepting baptism and going on with the old ways, but another makes it clear that the vow binds them. It is the beginning of the end for their way of life. After Father Jerome dies, Father Laforgue must confront his dilemma more directly. It is obvious that he is not the same man who set out on his journey; he now questions the purpose of the mission and his own faith in the Church and its teachings. He asks why the noble Chomina should be cast into the “outer darkness” while the sophistic Father Jerome becomes a “saint and martyr.” He knows that the baptisms are a “mockery” of everything in which he believed; they make his earlier ideals look ridiculous. In this moment of spiritual and personal crisis, one of the Indians confronts him.
“Do you love us?”
He does baptize them, but he now has a prayer for their physical salvation rather than their spiritual salvation on his lips. “Spare them. Spare them, O Lord.” He asks himself the question that the Indian had posed, “Do you love us?” and responds with the same answer: “Yes.” He has moved from attempting to change and “convert” the Indians to a desire to preserve them, and from bringing God’s divine love to them to giving his very human love.
The Characters
Father Laforgue changes much from the beginning to the end of the novel. In the beginning, he does not see the Indians as human beings; they are merely objects or obstacles to the fulfillment of his fate as a martyr. His physical journey, however, is a journey of understanding, and he begins to perceive their reality and their attractiveness. He has to agree with Daniel that the “Savages” are better Christians than the French since they not only share everything they have with others but also forgive offenses against them that the French never would. After escaping from the Iroquois, he discovers that he has lost his breviary and cannot say his daily office. The reader thus sees him move symbolically away from the Jesuits and closer to the Indians. It is also at this time that he begins to question the extent and power of God’s mercy to the “Savages.” By the time he enters the village of Father Jerome, he knows that he is “unworthy” to be a martyr and his feelings toward the Indians have changed from hate to love.
Daniel Davost begins the novel not with assurance but conflict and doubt. The immediacy of his sexual experience with Annuka and the freedom of the Indian life lead him to reject his earlier training; he “spits in the face of Jesus” and defends the ways of the Indians. His moment of choice comes when he must either follow Father Laforgue or join the Algonkin; his choice of the Indians makes his allegiance clear, and by the time the novel ends, Annuka declares, “you have killed the Norman in you.” He has become an Algonkin.
Chomina is not the chief of the Algonkin, but he is singled out from the others by his clear-sightedness. For example, he is the only one who sees that the trade with the French will inevitably work against the Indians’ interests. He believes that in that trade, the Indians have become “greedy” like the French, and it will be their “undoing” and their “ending.” He is similar to the other Indian elders in his belief in dreams, his love of his family and his tribe, and his close contact with nature.
Critical Context
Brian Moore is the author of more than a dozen novels, but none, perhaps, has had as favorable a reception as Black Robe. For example, James Carrol in The New York Times Book Review called it an “extraordinary novel” with an almost “mythic purity.” Grace Ingoldby in the New Statesman spoke of it as being “remarkable” with an “utterly compelling story.” Even the Jesuit magazine America gave the book a highly favorable review. The one exception to this chorus of praise is the review of M. T. Kelley in Books in Canada. Kelley found “no sense of wonder in the book” and thought that the “compelling mythic material” was “diminished” rather than exalted. Carrol’s remark that “each culture is seen whole, with intelligence and sympathy” is more representative of the reception of Black Robe.
Bibliography
Book World. XV, March 3, 1985, p. 3.
Carrol, James. Review in The New York Times Book Review. XC (March 31, 1985), p. 7.
Christian Century. CII, May 15, 1985, p. 504.
Commonweal. CXII, May 17, 1985, p. 313.
Hawley, John C. Review in America. CLII (May 4, 1985), p. 376.
Ingoldby, Grace. Review in New Statesman. CIX (June 14, 1985), p. 33.
Kelley, M. T. Review in Books in Canada. XIV (June, 1985), p. 33.
Library Journal. CX, April 1, 1985, p. 159.
The London Review of Books. VII, June 6, 1985, p. 22.
Los Angeles Times Book Review. April 7, 1985, p. 1.
The New Yorker. LXI, July 8, 1985, p. 72.
Newsweek. CV, March 18, 1985, p. 75.
Publishers Weekly. CCXXVII, February 8, 1985, p. 67.
Time. CXXV, March 18, 1985, p. 82.
Times Literary Supplement. June 7, 1985, p. 627.