Die of having lived!

When we first face the title Death comes for the archbishop, we tend to think it will be a sad and cruel story. Nevertheless, the reading blossoms a beautiful and moving narrative about two French missionaries who come to the New World, New Mexico more specifically. Although many novels from the Realism show the dark side of the Catholic Church, Willa Cather honors the priests and their labor among the Mexicans. They bravely fight for a peaceful and noble life where there used to be illiteracy in many senses.

When Father Latour and Father Vaillant look back their lives when they are already aged, they say to each other: “But it has not been so bad, Jean? We have done the things we used to plan to do, long ago, when we were Seminarians, - at least some of them. To fulfill the dreams of one’s youth; that is the best that can happen to a man. No worldly success can take the place of that.” (p. 261) Later, when Father Latour catches a bad cold, his disciple Bernard tells him: “But you should not be discouraged; one does not die of a cold”. He then replies: “I shall not die of a cold, my son. I shall die of having lived”. (p. 269) Life should be, after the catharses given by this precious reading, a matter of living, whatever it may cost. Living has to be our goal and dying will be simply the rest after having lived so much. The two men gave their lives for the mission they believed to be infinite and they gained the entire fulfillment one can dream of. I want to accomplish the beauty of living eternally, both alive and dead.