LIII explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Religion and Hypocrisy

  The narrator mocks the credulity of pilgrims and the commercialization of relics, while also noting the fighting among Christian sects in the church.

• Satire of Tourism

  The guide's relentless showing of dubious relics and the narrator's ironic commentary highlight the absurdity of the tourist experience in the Holy Land.

• The Past vs. the Present

  The narrator contrasts the ancient, sacred history of Jerusalem with its current state of decay, poverty, and commercialized piety.

• Colonialism and Otherness

  The description of Jerusalem's diverse but impoverished population under Muslim rule reflects a colonial gaze and a sense of otherness.

Characters to notice

• The Narrator

  Describes his emotional reaction at the tomb of Adam and his overall impressions of Jerusalem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

• St. Helena

  Mentioned as the mother of Constantine who traveled Palestine and discovered many relics, including the true Cross and the copper plate from the cross.

• The Good Lord Luigi

  Not directly present; the name appears in the canonical list but not in this chapter excerpt.

• St. Denis

  Not directly present; the name appears in the canonical list but not in this chapter excerpt.

• Count Leonardo

  Not directly present; the name appears in the canonical list but not in this chapter excerpt.

• Christopher Colombo

  Not directly present; the name appears in the canonical list but not in this chapter excerpt.

• Frezzolini

  Not directly present; the name appears in the canonical list but not in this chapter excerpt.

• Whitely

  Not directly present; the name appears in the canonical list but not in this chapter excerpt.

Key passages

• “A fast walker could go outside the walls of Jerusalem and walk entirely around the city in an hour.”

  The city is so small that a quick walker can circle it outside the walls in just one hour.

  The narrator emphasizes the compact size of Jerusalem.

• “To see the numbers of maimed, malformed and diseased humanity that throng the holy places and obstruct the gates, one might suppose that the ancient days had come again, and that the angel of the Lord was expected to descend at any moment to stir the waters of Bethesda.”

  The crowds of sick and disabled people at the holy sites are so large that it seems like biblical times, as if the angel might come to heal them.

  The narrator uses irony to describe the beggars and invalids in Jerusalem.

• “The tomb of Adam! How touching it was, here in a land of strangers, far away from home, and friends, and all who cared for me, thus to discover the grave of a blood relation. True, a distant one, but still a relation.”

  Finding Adam's tomb moved the narrator deeply, as if discovering a long-lost relative in a foreign land.

  The narrator humorously exaggerates his emotional connection to Adam.

• “I think St. Helena, the mother of Constantine, found this wonderful memento when she was here in the third century. She traveled all over Palestine, and was always fortunate.”

  St. Helena, Constantine's mother, supposedly discovered the copper plate from the cross during her travels in Palestine, as she was lucky in finding relics.

  The narrator recounts the legend of St. Helena's relic discoveries.

• “The walls and roof of this grotto still weep bitter tears in memory of the event that transpired on Calvary, and devout pilgrims groan and sob when these sad tears fall upon them from the dripping rock.”

  The grotto's damp walls are said to weep for the Crucifixion, and pilgrims cry when the water drips on them.

  The narrator describes the sentimental and superstitious practices of pilgrims.