Analysis Of Paulo Coelho The Devil And Miss Prym

The Devil and Miss Prym Desire and temptation are very closely linked. We are tempted by the things that we desire and in many cases will do whatever it takes, even if this entails going against our own morals, to achieve them. The struggle to be satisfied when we desire something often puts us in a position where we are tempted go against our own beliefs. In the novel The Devil and Miss Prym, by Paulo Coelho, there are many examples of characters who endure this temptation in which they contemplate the unimaginable. In the novel, Chantal is living in the town of Viscos and is soon approached by a stranger who is trying to discover more about the correlation between man and good and evil. The stranger has a mass amount of gold on him and …show more content…
Now the morals of the people of viscos are questioned. They decide that for the good of the town they will kill Berta, an older woman. In their eyes, Berta is a useless old lady who is a little out of it ever since the death of her husband. They are so caught up in the idea of this gold, that they haven’t even seen, nor do they know where it came from, or if it even exists. They do not hesitate to start plotting ways to attain this gold. The people of Viscos even the priest and mayor, come up with a plan that will involve many people pointing guns at Berta, but not all will be loaded. That way, there isn’t anyone who has to live with the guilt. The priest says, “I need everyone here to agree” he continues, “I need everyone here to say out loud whether they agree or disagree, so that God can hear you and know that He has valiant men in His army” (169). This quote shows that even though the townspeople have put their morals aside for their desire for gold, they still are somewhat thinking levelheaded. It also shows that they are putting their desires first without considering the hardship that Berta will have to go …show more content…
She says this is because, “She knew her time had come; her husband had not appeared to console her; and she realized that the money she had saved would end up in the hands of the shareholders of the bank where she had deposited it” (177). Berta was one of the few that had no desire for the gold, yet she was the one giving up the most, her life. Berta was giving up everything, and she didn’t have a choice, or a reward. She says to the people, “I will leave them with all the world’s guilt to carry on their shoulders” (177). In attempt to keep her content, they had promised a fountain to be built and dedicated in her name, for she gave up her life for the people of Viscos to live a better