# Chapter XIX explained — Elmer Gantry

> Chapter companion for Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis.

## What happens

Elmer Gantry arrives in Banjo Crossing to begin his new pastorate, expecting a grand reception but finding indifference from the locals. He meets Nathaniel Benham, a wealthy merchant and church trustee, who gives him a cool welcome. Elmer then encounters Cleo Benham, Nathaniel's daughter, who is immediately smitten with him. He also meets Jane Clark, his young landlady, and struggles with his old temptations while resolving to pursue a life of decency.

## Themes in this chapter

### Class and Social Climbing

Elmer's disappointment at the lack of a grand reception and his assessment of Banjo Crossing's rustic simplicity highlight his social aspirations and class consciousness.

### Hypocrisy and Corruption in Religion

Elmer's internal struggle between his desire for purity and his immediate attraction to Jane Clark reveals the hypocrisy of his professed holiness.

### Gender and Sexuality

Cleo Benham's idealized purity and Elmer's predatory thoughts about Jane Clark illustrate the tensions between religious virtue and sexual desire.

## Character check-ins

### Elmer Gantry

Arrives in Banjo Crossing as the new Methodist pastor, feeling a mix of benevolence and despair at the humble reception.

### Nathaniel Benham

The leading trustee of the church and a wealthy merchant; gives Elmer a dry, questioning welcome.

### Cleo Benham

Nathaniel's daughter, a devout church worker who falls in love with Elmer at first sight.

### Widow Clark

Elmer's landlady, mentioned as absent due to a family emergency.

### Jane Clark

The widow's daughter, a jolly girl of fourteen or fifteen who welcomes Elmer and shows him to his room.

## Key lines

> The Reverend Elmer Gantry was in a state of grace. Having resolved henceforth to be pure and humble and humanitarian, he was benevolent to all his traveling companions, he was mothering the world, whether the world liked it or not.

Elmer felt virtuous and determined to be kind and selfless, acting as a caretaker to everyone around him, regardless of their response.

_Highlights Elmer's self-deception about his moral transformation._

> He knew that she was the sort of wife who would help him to capture a bishopric. He persuaded himself that, with all her virtue, she would eventually be interesting to kiss.

Elmer saw Cleo as a means to advance his career in the church, convincing himself that her goodness would make her worth pursuing romantically.

_Reveals Elmer's calculating nature and his view of marriage as a strategic move._

## Links

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