says about the priest, "He had always known what I did not know and what, when I learned it, I was always able to forget" (14). Perhaps the priest's greatest contribution to Henry comes in their discussion of love:'You do not love Him at all?' he asked.'I am afraid of Him at night sometimes.''You should love Him.''I don't love much.''Yes,' he said. 'You do . . . When you love you wish to dothings for. You wish to sacrifice for. You wish to serve.''I don't love.''You will. I know you will. Then you will be happy.' (72)The priest is essentially teaching Henry what love is. When asked if he loves God, Henry replies that he fears Him sometimes. Henry implies that the feeling he most associates with love is fear. But through his conversations with the priest Henry gains a better understanding of what love is. From this it is reasonable to say that Henry may never have fallen in love with Catherine if not for the priest. Hemingway reemphasizes this point later in the book when Count Greffi reminds him, and the reader, " not [to] forget that [love] is a religious feeling" (263).Henry's feeling towards the priest is clear. His feeling towards religion, however, is not. Throughout their conversations, it is evident that Henry respects the priest. Yet he continually puts up a front against God and religion itself. The priest says "You understand but you do not love God" and Henry replies "No" (72). Henry says, "it is only in defeat that we become Christian," implying that only those who don't have the power to disobey the church will abide by its rules (177). Henry also tells the priest "We are all gentler now because we are beaten. How would Our Lord have been if Peter had rescued him in the Garden?" (177). He is implying that the Christian God is no god at all, just the product of circumstance. What is deceiving about Henry's statements is that they appear to express strong opposition to the church, and a complete lack o...
