The Crime of Father Amaro
"Ah, farewell, farewell!"
The story concerns the arrival of Father Amaro Vieira, a handsome, virile young priest with no real calling for the ministry, in his new parish. He stays at the house of a certain São Joaneira, who is also the mistress of Amaro's superior, Canon Dias. Soon Amaro is overwhelmed by the physical desire for the pious and impressionable daughter of São Joaneira, Amélia.
They soon develop a mutual infatuation that becomes a manipulative and destructive affair. Amaro and his fellow clergymen systematically break up Amélia’s engagement to a local freethinker to gain access to her. When Amélia inevitably gets pregnant, the “crime” of the title moves from a metaphorical breaking of vows to a real-life, terrifying conspiracy to protect Amaro’s reputation and career.
They soon develop a mutual infatuation that becomes a manipulative and destructive affair. Amaro and his fellow clergymen systematically break up Amélia’s engagement to a local freethinker to gain access to her. When Amélia inevitably gets pregnant, the “crime” of the title moves from a metaphorical breaking of vows to a real-life, terrifying conspiracy to protect Amaro’s reputation and career.
This novel, first published in 1875, stands as a foundational masterpiece of Portuguese realism and naturalist literature. Set in the provincial cathedral town of Leiria, the novel is a scathing, darkly comedic, and tragic indictment of clerical corruption, religious hypocrisy, and the stagnant bourgeois society of 19th-century Portugal.
View all my reviews
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment