Elmer Gantry · Chapter
Chapter XXIII explained
Elmer Gantry, now pastor of Wellspring Methodist Church in Zenith, launches a sensational vice crusade to attract crowds and build his reputation.
What happens
Elmer Gantry, now pastor of Wellspring Methodist Church in Zenith, launches a sensational vice crusade to attract crowds and build his reputation. He manipulates the press, dresses theatrically, and expands the church's institutional activities. Cleo helps him set up a gracious home, but their finances are strained. Elmer surveys his rival ministers—Chester Brown, Otto Hickenlooper, Mahlon Potts, and Philip McGarry—and resolves to outshine them all.
Themes in this chapter
Hypocrisy and Corruption in Religion
Elmer's calculated vice crusade, manipulation of the press, and focus on personal ambition over genuine piety exemplify religious hypocrisy.
Ambition and the Pursuit of Power
Elmer openly schemes to become the leading preacher in Zenith, eyeing Chicago, New York, and a bishopric, driven by personal ambition.
Manipulation and Showmanship in Evangelism
Elmer dresses like an actor, advertises spicy sermon topics, and tips off reporters to build his reputation, highlighting showmanship in ministry.
Characters to notice
- Elmer Gantry
Elmer plans a vice crusade, manipulates the press, dresses calculatingly, and expands Wellspring's institutional programs to build his reputation and attract crowds.
- Cleo Benham
Cleo secures two thousand dollars from her father for their new home in Old Town and furnishes it with taste, though Elmer pressures her and later criticizes her.
- Chester Brown
Chester Brown is a rival Methodist preacher known for his ritualist style, literary sermons, and articles in national periodicals.
- Otto Hickenlooper
Dr. Hickenlooper runs a large institutional church with social service programs, radical forums, and classes in various subjects, rivaling Elmer's ambitions.
- Mahlon Potts
Dr. Potts is a pompous, respectable preacher with the largest congregation in Zenith, known for flowery sermons and safe orthodoxy.
- Philip McGarry
Philip McGarry is a controversial, liberal Methodist minister known for his criticism of bishops and social institutions, and his emphasis on the leadership of Jesus.
Key passages
“I'll build a new church. I'll take the crowds away from all of 'em. I'll be the one big preacher in Zenith. And then—Chicago? New York? Bishopric? Whatever I want! Whee!”
Elmer vows to construct a new church, draw congregations away from all other ministers, and become the foremost preacher in Zenith, with aspirations for even greater heights.
This reveals Elmer's grandiose ambition and his view of ministry as a path to personal power.
“He dressed as calculatingly as an actor. For the pulpit, he continued to wear morning clothes. For his church study, he chose offensively inoffensive lounge suits... For addresses before slightly boisterous lunch-clubs, he went in for manly tweeds and manly soft collars, along with his manly voice and manly jesting.”
Elmer selected his attire with the same care as a performer, wearing formal morning clothes for sermons, bland suits for his study, and rugged tweeds for club speeches to project a masculine image.
This illustrates Elmer's deliberate use of appearance to manipulate his public persona.
“He criticized everything. He criticized even bishops—for being too fat, for being too ambitious, for gassing about Charity during a knockdown-and-drag-out strike.”
Philip McGarry was known for his sweeping criticism, including of bishops whom he accused of being overweight, overly ambitious, and hypocritical in their talk of charity during labor conflicts.
This highlights McGarry's role as a gadfly within the Methodist establishment.
