Nostromo Religion Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

"And you—you are a perfect heathen," he said, in a subdued, deep voice. He made a step nearer, pointing a forefinger at the young man's breast. Decoud, very calm, felt the wall behind the curtain with the back of his head. Then, with his chin tilted well up, he smiled. "Very well," he agreed with the slightly weary nonchalance of a man well used to these passages. "But is it perhaps that you have not discovered yet what is the God of my worship? It was an easier task with our Barrios." (II.5.107-109)

Here, Martin is bantering with Father Corbelán about Martin's (lack of?) religious views. Just a little while before, the padre had said that Barrios's god is a bottle. Martin seems to find it funny when Corbelán "teases" him about being a heathen.

Quote #8

"The introduction of a pure form of Christianity into this continent is a dream for a youthful enthusiast, and I have been trying to explain to you why Holroyd at fifty-eight is like a man on the threshold of life, and better, too. He's not a missionary, but the San Tomé mine holds just that for him. I assure you, in sober truth, that he could not manage to keep this out of a strictly business conference upon the finances of Costaguana he had with Sir John a couple of years ago. Sir John mentioned it with amazement in a letter he wrote to me here, from San Francisco, when on his way home." (III.I.35)

The chief engineer is talking about Holroyd and his enthusiasm for bringing "a pure form of Christianity" to South America. The implication is that his financial stake in the San Tomé mine is making it possible for him to pursue that dream.

Quote #9

The first Cardinal-Archbishop of Sulaco had preserved his fanatical and morose air; the aspect of a chaplain of bandits. It was believed that his unexpected elevation to the purple was a counter-move to the Protestant invasion of Sulaco organized by the Holroyd Missionary Fund. (III.11.30)

After the creation of the Occidental state, Father Corbelán becomes Cardinal-Archbishop. As you can see here, some people thought this was just a slick political move to help prevent the spread of Protestantism.