38 pages • 1 hour read
Brian MooreBlack Robe
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1985A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Cultural Differences and Colonialism
One of the most important themes in the novel is colonialism, specifically the point at which two cultures clash. Given that the modern audience understands the historical context of European colonialism in North America, this adds an additional element of dramatic irony. When local peoples are worried about losing their culture by accepting Christianity, for instance, and the priests assure them that this will not happen, the audience knows the priests are wrong. This historical context makes the theme of colonialism more tragic and poignant.
At the beginning of the text, the colonial project is in its early stages. The settlers have formed small fortifications but not yet colonies in a true sense. Two Frenchmen cast envious eyes toward the Dutch and British colonies, which are further ahead in terms of establishing a presence in this unknown land. However, colonialism is not only an institutional concern for the characters. The Europeans and the local people seem to have unilaterally exclusive belief systems. While the local people do not care much if the Jesuits practice Christianity (they will not try to convert them), the same cannot be said of the Jesuits. In fact, furthering the Christian faith seems to be the key motivation for the European presence in North America. The Europeans see this missionary work as a moral duty, even when the locals do not want to be converted. The Europeans lie, use violence, and manipulate events, demonstrating their lust for power and that the end point of colonialism will be the domination of one culture by the other.
The local people are aware of these dangers. In Ihonatiria, one old man explicitly states that to accept the conversion to Christianity would be to surrender everything that makes them unique. They will not only have to give over their land and resources to the Europeans, but they will have to give over their entire culture. He equates the looming specter of Christianity with the sickness in the Huron village. Both are equally destructive and will result in the domination by the Europeans.
The Loss of Faith
If colonialism is the systemic theme of the novel, then the individual theme of the novel is loss of faith. Numerous characters drift away from their beliefs, the difficulty of the situation affecting their ability to believe in a higher power. Laforgue’s gradual disillusionment is the primary example, though this also affects Daniel. Both characters begin the story with the expressed purpose of converting local people. By the end, however, they find that these conversions are hollow and unrewarding.
Daniel’s loss of faith occurs quickly. He leaves Québec with the promise that he will eventually be sent back to France to be made a Jesuit priest. No sooner is he out on the river with the Algonkin than he abandons these plans. Daniel falls in love with Annuka and, in doing so, seems to move away from the priesthood. He stops dressing like a priest and begins to adopt many of the affectations and aesthetics of the Algonkin people. He crouches as they do, uses similar expressions, and can relay minor cultural differences to the uninformed Laforgue. However, this conversion is superficial. Throughout, Daniel maintains an inner belief. He never truly understands the Algonkin religion and even mocks it when Annuka explains it. He makes a confession when he is about to die. When he sees Laforgue struggling to baptize the Huron, he leaps to the priest’s side. Though Daniel abandons the aesthetics of his faith, he never truly stops believing in the Christian God.
Laforgue’s crisis of faith is much more profound. Though he never willingly divests from the aesthetics of the Jesuits (though he has them stripped from him), he begins to inwardly doubt himself. Laforgue loathes himself when he realizes that he no longer prays. He worries that his actions are not informed or approved of by God, believing that he is no longer worthy. As Laforgue begins to see the destructive nature of colonialism (as Jerome insists that they quickly baptize the Hurons without teaching them about God, thus destroying their culture without truly saving their souls), he wonders how he can begin to forgive himself. Laforgue cannot bring himself to become part of the machine that is wreaking so much havoc, but at the same time, he knows that he must. The final lines of the novel suggest that Laforgue is rekindling his faith in God, that he is earning his worthiness, but this remains vague. Given all the destruction and horror that Laforgue has now seen, he will never be able to reclaim his innocence; his faith in God—while it may return—will never be the same again.
The Natural World
The natural world forms a beautiful and terrifying backdrop to the story. The true scope of this natural world is revealed slowly; the further the narrative moves away from the European camp, the more awe-inspiring and dramatic the scenery becomes. Scenes such as the moose hunt, the blizzard on the river, and the journey up the rapids are examples of points when the natural world imposes itself on the narrative as much as any character, forcing the Europeans to acknowledge that they are in a place that is far beyond the realm of their understanding.
The journey begins in the nascent town of Québec. Again, there is dramatic irony at play: The audience is aware that Québec becomes one of the biggest cities in Canada. This awareness is juxtaposed against the tiny, dirty, grimy, and poor trading outpost that is portrayed in the novel. The village is the Europeans’ attempt to tame the natural world, to impose their order on the Canadian wilderness. At the point depicted in the novel, this attempt seems to be failing.
The narrative soon moves away from the town and into the wilderness. To the Europeans, it seems as though they are traveling into a great unknown, but the locals are familiar with the territory and, as a result, they treat it differently. Whereas Québec is an attempt to impose order on a fixed location, the Algonkin move frequently. They set up camp afresh every night and, when they leave, nature reclaims the site. They do not impose themselves on nature, but they work in tandem with the natural world; the difference between the Algonkin and the European approach to habitation reveals the inherent incompatibility between the two cultures. Whereas the Algonkin respect nature, the Europeans wish to dominate it. This key difference will not be resolved in the course of the novel. Given what the audience knows about colonialism and environmentalism, however, the moral certitude of such a dynamic becomes clear: Respect for nature is vital, and the Europeans’ approach to dominating the natural world reveals the negativity at the heart of their culture.
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