Maria and Brigitta

Character Analysis

The priest's former lover and their daughter, Maria and Brigitta remind the priest of his sinfulness. He doesn't show signs of wanting to rekindle his affection for Maria, but he's madly in love with Brigitta, praying to God that he spares her even if it means eternal damnation for him.

If Maria has moral qualms about having a child with a priest, she doesn't show it. She's focused more on criticizing the priest for his poor clothing. In her mind, priests should look respectable and aristocratic (2.1.14).

Brigitta is a troubled youth. The kind who would shop at Hot Topic and have long angular bangs that always cover her face. She laughs at inappropriate times and maliciously. She stares at her father "with acuteness and contempt" (2.1.59). The narrator describes her as both old and young—in a less wholesome way than Coral Fellows. No doubt she's had a rough little life: an absent father, poverty, being teased because she's the daughter of a priest who should have been celibate. She is a sign that the priest is not good for the people he serves. No wonder she's so emo.