Mexican society tends to be religious, that is why the elements of Catholicism can be observed in many areas of Mexican’s life. This essay will investigate the Christian motives in Mexican literature, namely, the novel by Juan Rulfo “Pedro Paramo”. In this paper I will argue that the novel “Pedro Paramo” shows a typical view of Mexican Catholicism by focusing on Mexican beliefs of purgatory and ghosts, its role and image in the novel. Investigating its influence on plot and characters and making a comparison with The Bible and Catholic Doctrine of Purgatory’s description of these terms are crucial parts of the essay.
Latin American society is strictly Catholic due to historical reasons of being colonies of Catholic Spain and Portugal, therefore the influence of Catholic Church is very sensible, especially in literature. Mexican people’s view of Catholicism differs from European that is why it is important to compare it with the verses from the Bible, understand their interpretation and find its motives in the novel.
The author of “Pedro Paramo” Juan Rulfo raises Mexican Christianity elements all over the novel. According to Christianity, a deceased person goes to Hell, Heaven or purgatory after death. The purgatory is a place, where souls, that are sinful for Heaven, but too pure for Hell, go to be purged of their sins (de Chaparro 2007, 13; Espinosa 1910, 407). It is believed that, every person suffers in purgatory at a place where he commits its sin (Nageleisen 1861,