Prince of Darkness (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: J. F. Powers
- First Published: 1946
- Type of Plot: Satire
- Time of Work: The early 1940's during World War II
- Setting: A town in the American Midwest
- Principal Characters: Father Ernest Burner, Thomas Nash Tracy, Father Quinlan, Father Keefe, The dean, Father Ed Desmond, The archbishop
- Genres: Short fiction, Satire
- Subjects: Values, Religion, Spiritual life or spirituality, Devils or demons, Materialism, Priests
- Locales: Midwest (U.S.)
The Story
The story's title, “Prince of Darkness,” alludes to the devil. Father Ernest Burner is an ambitious but unsuccessful priest who lacks a spiritual vocation. He goes through the empty motions of his clerical duties during the morning, noon, and night of one day, but still craves a parish of his own. Fat, sweaty, and impatient, he stares with malignant eyes, seethes with resentment, and is crudely blasphemous. He uses his Roman collar as a putting ring in golf and deposits a burnt match in a holy-water font.
Dwelling in his private hell, Burner is surrounded...
[The entire page is 1315 words long]
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