To Cuba and Back · Chapter
IX explained
The narrator visits the Belen (Bethlehem) Jesuit college in Havana, observing its operations, the discipline of the order, and the contrast between the Jesuits' austere personal lives and their lavish altar vestments.
What happens
The narrator visits the Belen (Bethlehem) Jesuit college in Havana, observing its operations, the discipline of the order, and the contrast between the Jesuits' austere personal lives and their lavish altar vestments. He reflects on the history and controversies of the Society of Jesus, and notes the Cuban taste for excessive decoration in churches.
Themes in this chapter
Religion and Moral Hypocrisy
The chapter contrasts the Jesuits' austere personal lives with the lavish altar vestments, and critiques the Cuban taste for excessive decoration in churches, highlighting moral and aesthetic tensions.
Cultural Contrast Between North and South
The narrator compares Cuban religious practices and the Jesuits' methods with Northern sensibilities, noting differences in education, recreation, and decoration.
Travel as a Lens for Social Critique
The narrator uses his visit to the Belen to observe and critique the Jesuits' system, Cuban culture, and religious practices, reflecting broader social and moral issues.
Characters to notice
- Unknown Narrator
The narrator visits the Belen, describes the Jesuit college and its activities, and reflects on the history of the Jesuits.
- Father Antonio Cabre
A young Jesuit in charge of mathematics and astronomy, with a spare frame and intellectual countenance, who shows the narrator the laboratory and observatory.
- The Jesuits
The order of Jesuits at the Belen, described in detail regarding their dress, discipline, educational work, and the controversy surrounding their system.
- Coolies
Mentioned as a file of Coolies in Chinese costume marching under overseers, seen by the narrator on his morning walk.
- Cubans
Described as having a childish taste for excessive decoration in their altars.
- Ignatius Loyola
Founder of the Jesuits, mentioned in the historical reflection on the order.
Key passages
“The Cubans have a childish taste for excessive decoration. Their altars look like toy shops.”
Cubans prefer overly ornate and childlike decorations in their churches, making altars resemble toy stores.
Critique of Cuban religious aesthetics.
“A strange, eventful history, is that of the Society of Jesus!”
The history of the Jesuit order is full of dramatic and remarkable events.
Introduction to the historical reflection on the Jesuits.
“The Jesuits make strong friends and strong enemies.”
The Jesuits inspire both intense loyalty and fierce opposition.
Summary of the polarized views on the order.