V.V. (15) The "Bad" Priest

[jbor]

From: JBFRAME at aol.com

> In the frame-work of a love story, Fausto and Elena have the child, Paola. 
> The mysterious bad priest advises Elena to abort the child, who is conceived
> out of wedlock. 

Of "the one we only knew as the Bad Priest", as Fausto sez (306.3 up),
what's most interesting is the strictness and orthodoxy of the religious
attitudes she holds and the stern advice she gives to Elena to join a
convent. By comparison Father Avalanche is a bit of an old fraud: he breaks
the sacred covenant of the confessional by telling Fausto that Elena's child
is his. (313.4)

I'm not certain that the Bad Priest actually "advises" Elena to abort,
though I might have forgotten this. She certainly makes Elena feel the
weight of her sin, as if her pregnancy out of wedlock is a disease (313-4),
and so there could be a type of psychological suggestion going on. But is
there anything more definite re. an abortion?

best