the province of Tabasco. In the introduction to the 1962 edition of the book, Greene mentions that he journeyed through Mexico between 1937 and 1938 specifically to write this novel.

Greene notes that the towns he visited are reflected in the novel: El Frontera, where the story begins; Tabasco, a prohibitionist town; Villahermosa, where he developed the character of the priest and found the inspiration for the lieutenant; and Las Casas, where churches remained standing despite priests being banned from entering them.

Greene employs various techniques in this novel that align well with its religious theme. One example is how the priest is literally "called back" three times just as he is about to escape, each time to administer sacraments to a dying individual. This repetition of a plot motif is common in all mythologies, and the threefold calling is especially fitting for the novel's Christian theme. Instances from the Bible include God calling Samuel four times, Peter denying Christ three times, and, most relevant to this novel, Christ telling Peter three times at the end of Saint John's Gospel that if he truly loves Him, he should feed His sheep. Greene, known for his mastery of suspense, leverages the story's self-consciously mythic quality to create irony. Both the reader and the priest are aware that the mestizo must betray the priest to enable his martyrdom, yet Greene skillfully maintains suspense about the timing of this betrayal.

Greene deliberately uses the conventions of saints' lives to contrast with his own narrative. At the beginning of the story, a woman is reading a martyr's tale to her children. Greene parodies the romanticism of these tales: in her story, the martyr forgives his executioners and dies exclaiming, "Viva el Cristo Rey!" Greene then subverts this traditional narrative by presenting a more realistic account of the whisky priest, who spends the night before his execution drinking brandy and wishing he were elsewhere. The ironies persist: by the end, the reader is ready to accept the whisky priest as a saint (despite his belief that he dies a failure). However, in the conclusion, the woman from the opening scene reappears, now recounting a romanticized version of the whisky priest's death. In her rendition, he also shouts, "Viva el Cristo Rey!" Although her version may seem overly romanticized, it aligns with Greene's theme: through imagination, no matter how embellished, a person can find a form of redemption.

Greene employs several techniques that enhance his religious themes. For instance, the priest is detained three times just as he is about to escape, each time being called back to administer last rites to a dying individual. This kind of repetition is common in all mythologies, and the specific motif of being called three times is deeply embedded in the Bible. Greene, a master of suspense, juxtaposes myth against the storyline. Both the reader and the priest are aware that the half-caste must betray the whisky priest for him to achieve martyrdom, but the timing and impact of the betrayal remain uncertain, adding tension to the narrative.

Greene also draws on the conventions of saintly tales. At the story's outset, a woman is reading a martyr's story to her children. Greene parodies the romantic nature of these tales: the martyr forgives his executioners and dies exclaiming, "Viva el Cristo Rey!" At the conclusion of The Power and the Glory, Greene mirrors the saint stories by recounting the more realistic final night of the whisky priest, who spends it drinking brandy and wishing he were elsewhere. The reader is led to accept the whisky priest as a saint without the need for embellishments on his life story. Yet, as the same woman narrates the priest's execution, she depicts him shouting "Viva el Cristo Rey!" Although her version seems overly romanticized, it aligns with Greene's theme: despite its gaudiness, imagination provides a form of redemption for humanity.

A complex theological novel that resists simplistic analysis, The Power and the Glory has sparked debate among both Catholic and secular critics. Greene's break from conventional piety—choosing to depict his priest as a "sinful" man—has influenced modern Catholic literature to adopt a less sentimental approach. Four years after the publication of The Power and the Glory, Evelyn Waugh presented an unsentimental view of Catholicism in Brideshead Revisited (1944). American Catholic writers like Flannery O'Connor and Walker Percy have further developed Greene's themes, paving the way for stories that might have been deemed offensive before Greene's work.

Greene's novel, The Power and the Glory, and his travel book, The Lawless Roads (1939), known in the United States as Another Mexico (1939), were inspired by a trip he took to Mexico in 1938 and 1939. The immediate social issues addressed by the journey and the novel are clear: Greene traveled specifically to investigate the persecution of the Catholic Church in certain southern Mexican states. The novel narrates the tale of a fugitive priest, the last remaining in his area, who, despite knowing he will be executed if caught, chooses to stay and provide sacraments to his people. The priest's travels in the novel mirror Greene's own experiences.

It's not surprising that Greene appears sympathetic to the Church's position, given that he converted to Roman Catholicism in 1926. Although his initial interest in the Church stemmed from his relationship with a Catholic woman, Vivien Dayrell Browning, whom he married in 1927, Greene insists, "my conversion was not in the least an emotional affair. It was purely intellectual. It was the arguments of Father Trollope at Nottingham which persuaded me that God's existence was a probability." Reflecting on his journey to Mexico, Greene has remarked that his religious faith "is all bound up with my loyalty to the underdog — and so it has been ever since. In Mexico, the underdogs were the Catholics."

This religious commitment to the underdog — what Pope John Paul II calls "a preferential option for the poor" — may explain the novel's unexpected sympathy for the revolutionary police lieutenant who relentlessly pursues the priest and eventually sends him to the firing squad. While the novel undoubtedly makes the reader feel that the lieutenant is wrong in persecuting the priest, it portrays him as fundamentally a good man, one who cares for the impoverished. Coming from a peasant background himself, he once fails to recognize the priest and, thinking him just another poor, old man, gives him money. His opposition to the Church is rooted in his belief that it has failed the people. As a secularist, he evaluates by a purely materialistic standard: If the people remain in poverty, the Church has failed. Although the priest maintains that the spiritual needs of the people are also important, he acknowledges some truth in the lieutenant's view and, perhaps more significantly, recognizes the compassion underlying it.

By contrasting the priest and the revolutionary, Greene brings to light social issues that may be even more relevant in the 1980s than they were in the 1940s. Questions arise such as: What is the Church's role in aiding the poor? Should the Church be involved in revolutionary efforts to redistribute wealth? These concerns are particularly pressing in Central America, especially in countries like El Salvador and Nicaragua. While Greene's novel does not foresee Liberation Theology — it's hard to imagine this priest donning a red beret and carrying a gun like Father Ernesto Cardenal, S.J., the Cultural Minister of Nicaragua — it does pose questions that any serious examination of the Church's role in Latin American society must address.

Additional Commentary

Greene has always been a provocative and controversial author, often stirring offense due to political or religious viewpoints. Although the narrative in The Power and the Glory is not inherently offensive, its underlying perspectives on Catholicism might raise concerns. Greene noted that even the Vatican was divided on the matter. When Pope Paul VI learned that the book, which he had read, was condemned by the Holy Office, he remarked: "Mr. Greene, some parts of your books are bound to offend some Catholics, but you should pay no attention to that."

The theological conflict between the priest and the lieutenant is central to the novel's controversy. While the story elicits sympathy for the priest, the lieutenant is also portrayed as a compassionate man who genuinely cares for the poor. Coming from a peasant background himself, the lieutenant demonstrates his kindness when he mistakes the priest for a destitute old man in prison and gives him money. His opposition to the Church stems from his belief that it has failed the people. As a secularist, he judges by a purely materialistic standard: if the people remain impoverished, the Church has failed. Although the priest argues that the spiritual needs of the people must also be met, he acknowledges some validity in the lieutenant's perspective and perhaps recognizes the underlying compassion in his stance.

While Greene parodies the typical, sentimental tales of saints' lives, the novel still aligns with that tradition. Despite lacking the sentimentality found in much popular religious literature, it shares similarities with the Quo Vadis? legend. In this legend, Saint Peter, fleeing imprisonment in Rome, encounters the risen Christ. When Peter asks Christ, "quo vadis?" (where are you going?), Christ responds, "to Rome, to be crucified." Consequently, Saint Peter returns to Rome and his martyrdom, mirroring the priest's return to his calling, imprisonment, and eventual martyrdom.

However, Greene's unique approach, portraying his priest as a "sinful" man, has steered modern Catholic literature towards a less sentimental direction. Evelyn Waugh, another English Catholic, released Brideshead Revisited in 1945, shortly after The Power and the Glory. This work offers an unsentimental perspective on Catholicism. Similarly, orthodox Catholic American authors like Flannery O'Connor and Walker Percy have continued this trend. Perhaps the closest comparison to Greene's priest is the protagonist of Georges Bernanos' novel, Diary of a Country Priest (1937). Although Bernanos' priest is not as outwardly sinful as Greene's, he does not seem heroic. It is only the reader, not his parishioners, who can perceive his true saintliness.

The Power and the Glory was adapted for the screen by Dudley Nichols and directed and produced by John Ford as The Fugitive in 1947. Despite Ford's reputation as a great filmmaker, the movie was not a commercial success and is considered by many critics to be one of his weakest films. Upon its initial release, the film did receive some positive reviews, notably from the New York Times, which described it as a "thundering modern parable on the indestructibility of faith." However, the film attempted to meet conventional expectations of priestly behavior: Henry Fonda's portrayal of the priest depicted him as a stronger character than Greene's original, and the lieutenant, portrayed as a complete fanatic, is revealed to be the father of an illegitimate child. These changes diluted the power of Greene's vision. Conversely, CBS produced a more faithful television adaptation in 1961, which featured Sir Laurence Olivier as the priest. This version sparked outrage among viewers. The television adaptation also cast George C. Scott as the lieutenant and Julie Harris as Maria, the woman with whom the whisky priest had a child.

Greene has authored several other "Catholic" novels, with The Heart of the Matter generally regarded as the best. In this novel, Major Scobie, a fundamentally good and honest man, is driven to suicide by pride, love, and perhaps a misguided sense of duty. The novel's religious question is whether Scobie, a Catholic, might have found salvation, despite the Church's stance that suicide is an unforgivable sin. Greene's answer, provided by a priest at the novel's conclusion, aligns with the themes of compassion and forgiveness evident in The Power and the Glory: "The church knows all the rules, but it doesn't know what goes on in a single human heart."

The book that most closely mirrors The Power and the Glory is Monsignor Quixote. Characters from The Power and the Glory reappear in this adaptation of the Don Quixote story: the priest becomes Monsignor Quixote, who once again finds himself on the road, this time pursued not by revolutionaries but by his more modern Bishop. The priest is accompanied by the literary descendant of the Mexican lieutenant, the Communist ex-mayor of the town, whom Quixote insists on calling Sancho. The debate between religion and politics resumes, but this time with a comedic tone. There is even an implication that both Catholicism and Marxism are as outdated as Don Quixote's chivalry.

Allain, Marie-Francoise. The Other Man. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983. This book features a series of interviews with Graham Greene.

Allott, Kenneth, and Miriam Farris. The Art of Graham Greene. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1951. Despite its thematic approach, this book remains one of the best on Greene. The chapter titles highlight Greene's "obsessive" themes: the terror of life, the divided mind, the fallen world, and the universe of pity. Even with their narrow focus, the analyses are remarkably insightful and convincing.

Consolo, Dominick P. "Graham Greene: Style and Stylistics in Five Novels." In Graham Greene: Some Critical Considerations, edited by Robert O. Evans. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1963. Consolo's pioneering study examines four "Catholic" novels and The Quiet American, providing a thorough and detailed analysis of Greene's recurring techniques in characterization, narrative perspective, structure, and syntax.

DeVitis, A. A. Graham Greene. New York: Twayne, 1964. DeVitis presents a strong critique of those who interpret Greene's work as purely theological argumentation.

Hoggart, Richard. Speaking to Each Other. London: Oxford University Press, 1970. Hoggart focuses on The Power and the Glory as representative of Greene's novels, analyzing the "seedy" settings, "allegorical" symbols, "nervous, vivid, astringent" style, puppet-like characters, and melodramatic plots. He finds these elements powerful yet unrealistic.

Lodge, David. Graham Greene. Columbia Essays on Modern Writers, no. 17. New York: Columbia University Press, 1966. This book offers a sympathetic and often insightful survey of Greene's novels.

Spurling, John. Graham Greene. Contemporary Writers, no. 14. London: Methuen, 1983. A concise overview of Greene's life and career, with particular attention to his later works.

Stratford, Philip. Faith and Fiction: Creative Process in Greene and Mauriac. Notre Dame, IN: Notre Dame University Press, 1964. Stratford provides a perceptive account of Greene's adolescent crisis and persuasively demonstrates how this experience influenced Greene's adult persona.