Warner-Vieyra's, "Passport to Paradise"

    This story returns us to a theme we have seen time and time again in our studying of Caribbean literature and that is the theme of death. "Passport to Paradise" also deals with dynamics of family and religion, two other subjects that have appeared a lot in our readings. The interesting thing about this story was how it views the handling of death and the afterlife. After a woman's husband has died, she is unable to get the priest to bless his body. The story says, "Eugenio, a notorious alcoholic, living in sin, had died without going to confession. No act of contrition, no absolution, no extreme unction, no benediction." While we have read about deaths, funerals, and burials, we had not gotten a perspective like this on the need and denial by a priest or religious figure after someone's death. This added stress and sorrow to the death of her husband left Eloise to a "deep depression" and just like that, like so many characters we have read about, she became isolated and lonely. Dealing with otherness, she had to figure out another way to try and reconcile the life of whom she loved. 
    Eloise's neighbor goes for a magician to help with the ceremonial passing and burial of the body. This reminded me of some of the stranger religious and spiritual practices we have read and watched that take place in the Caribbean. Following the theme of spirituality and religion, the last line of the story also caught my eye. It says, "Heaven open to everybody and sin gone out of use...Man's imagination can certainly go to unfathomable depths!" It seems as if there is a fluidity to religion in the Caribbean. We know parts of the islands are very relaxed and easy going and I think they may believe that there is not one, sole right religion but like the line says, heaven is open to everyone. It is an interesting way to think about religion because usually people assume that their beliefs and religion are the only right way to live.
-cs

Comments

  1. Nicholas ZanghiNovember 21, 2020 at 9:42 AM

    The role of religion is very prominent in Caribbean literature. This has been concluded through various documentaries and literary works we have reviewed throughout the semester. In this story, we see how religion can be a point of division. The religious figure in the story denies Eloise’s wishes leading to her depression and feeling isolated and othered. The aspect of religion is postcolonial because we often see a clash between the religion of the original colonizer and the religion of the natives in the Caribbean. That comes to fruition here, there is disagreement among beliefs. This story emphasizes the postcolonial nature of religion and its effects on Caribbean life.

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