In regard to religious ideas and practices, Equiano is the only main character from the last three books and movie that Bishop Hovius would agree completely with. After analyzing the main characters in A Bishop's Tale, Equiano's Travels, The Unredeemed Captive, and The Black Robe, there were many similarities between Bishop Hovius and the rest of the characters, but only one complete match. In order to compare and contrast Hovius' religious ideas and practices with the characters of the other books and movie, I looked at what religion they believed in, how they treated women, how they portrayed their religion to others, and how they handled people of other races. Throughout A Bishop's Tale, it is clear that Bishop Hovius is a strong believer in the Catholic faith. Along with Hovius, the Indians of The Unredeemed Captive, the Indians and French of The Black Robe, and Equiano from Equiano's Travels, all possessed a belief in Catholicism.
[...] the reader that even the women who breached the Catholic faith by having premarital sex received sympathy from Hovius. Similar to Hovius' respect for women is the respect provided to women by the Indians and Englishmen of The Unredeemed Captive, the Indians of The Black Robe, and Equiano. However John Demos makes it seem as if the Indians of The Unredeemed Captive have no respect for women by writing, “Women were more likely than men to be captured, and men (as noted) were more likely to escape altogether; their chances of death, however, were roughly the same” (The Unredeemed Captive, pg. [...]
[...] The Indians also spend a lot of time questioning the Catholic faith. They all know that they are Catholic, but they are unsure of how much the religion really helps their lives. After analyzing religious beliefs, how women are treated, and how the characters portray their religion, Bishop Hovius could not agree with the English settlers, the French, or the Indians in The Black Robe. Although Bishop Hovius did not live during the time of slavery, it is easy to see that he would be an abolitionist. [...]
[...] After analyzing the religious beliefs and the way in which each main character group treats women, Bishop Hovius would not agree completely with the English settlers or the French travelers. Bishop Hovius believed that in order to continue the growth of the Catholic faith, he must get out to the people and show that he was proud of his religion. Harline and Put write, “Occasionally he notes confirming “several hundred” or multitude” on a given day. Surely by the end of his life the total ran into the tens of thousands” Bishop's Tale, pg 274), which showed that Hovius often spent his free time at public confirmations where he could show everyone that it was easy to become Catholic and that he was not embarrassed to stand in public and preach his faith. [...]
[...] Because of the degrading way the Indians act towards people of other races, they cannot be in complete agreement with Bishop Hovius. While all of the main characters and character groups in The Unredeemed Captive, Equiano's Travels, and The Black Robe have at least one major similarity to Bishop Hovius, only Equiano is similar in the three major categories of religious ideas and practices. Even though Equiano is an African slave, he holds many of the same beliefs and practices when it comes to Catholicism. [...]
[...] called Hovius out on this, the archbishop stopped wearing the silk robe. It is also written that during dinners, Hovius would move his seat so he would not be at the head of the table and would not be viewed as better than the rest of the people he was eating with. Through these things, Hovius shows that he believes everyone should look the same no matter what status you are. In a broader context, this can be viewed as the cliché “it's what's on the inside that counts.” Equiano had the same view when it came to deciding on how to treat people. [...]
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