Sharing my analysis again. This is not certainly correct, okay? Hahaha.
Religious Symbols as Recurring Images
“Damnation” has always been the description of Comala, a place where restless spirits continue to reside due to their immoral acts. But notice, throughout the story, the people have been portrayed being religious, even Don Pedro said few lines about God when he was still living, “Weight him and forgive him, as perhaps God has forgiven him.”(2638) and that was during the death of Miguel. Another example is the situation of Eduviges. She committed suicide and her sister was asking Father Renteria to grant absolution for Eduviges’ sin because their prayers were not enough, but he denied it since they cannot afford to pay for a Gregorian mass unlike Don Pedro who can just give gold coins for his criminal son to be saved. Thus, after that scene, Father Renteria recited the list of saints as if to purify the sin he committed. The discontented souls also, even after their death were still praying, “. . .the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection of the flesh. Amen.”(2632. These ghosts which are also elements of the marvelous real, appeared as if they were just normal people themselves and chanting prayers. The priest himself who is considered as a religious icon was also the one who caused the fall of Comala, “It is my fault. . . Because I am afraid to offend the people who provide me. It’s true; I owe them my livelihood. I get nothing from the poor, and God knows prayers don’t fill stomach.”(2640) Because of his personal interests, he contributed to the sinful acts diffusing all over the town. Another point is that he was a hypocrite for instigating that prayers and masses can save people, when he himself even stated that prayers cannot even feed him. And then instead of helping the people to repent, these priests even condemned those people who cannot afford to pay them, “. . .we don’t even make an effort to pray for them anymore, to help them out of their purgatory. We don’t have enough prayers to go around. . . None of us still lives in God’s grace. We can’t lift our eyes, because they are filled with shame. . . At least, that’s what the bishop has said.”(2652). Religious symbols like prayers and the church have lost its true meaning because people placed their prayers in vain that instead for using it as an instrument of goodness; they use prayers for their own conceits, “He can afford to buy salvation. Only you know whether this is the price. As for me Lord, I throw myself at your feet to ask for the justice or injustice that any of us may ask. . . For my part, I hope you damn him in hell.”(2638).
These religious symbols signify that the people in Comala have skewed the concept of faith in God from being good, serving and loving others into confessions and chanting prayers. They just relied on these things to justify their mistakes and that is because of the incapability and self-centeredness of Father Renteria. The virtuous acts that should supposedly be acts of praising God lost their essence and turned to be just superstitions and lost its meaning. These religious habits just turned as their “amulets” or maybe more like “spells” in which they believe could vindicate their sins and could grant them redemption, “Say an Ave Maria to the Virgin and I’m sure nothing will go wrong between now and morning.” (2868). That line was stated by Angeles as a suggestion to her old friend which shows that they treat novenas as powerful spells that could drive away misfortunes out of their way.
Hence, aside from showing that some people during that time fought hollow revolts since others did not possess any goal, Juan Rulfo, based on my readings, also satirizes the essence of religion during that time. There are a lot of religious symbols that are recurring throughout the novel that it seems people in Comala were pious, but they were not. The author exudes a satire by juxtaposing two contrasting elements such as immorality and religiosity and adding a dark humor in it.
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