Pere Christophe is a major character in this novel, because of how important his presence is to the plot and how important his perspective is to our understanding of the story. He is a French Jesuit missionary, or as the Wendat call him, "a charcoal crow." Upon arriving to the Huron village, the natives were belligerent and inhospitable towards him. They see crows as the bringers of the disease that killed so many of their people when their boats first came. Christophe defends himself by saying the sickness comes from God, as a punishment for their heathen behaviour. However, the Wendat are not easily converted. They refuse to believe that only man has an Orenda, they deem that everything has an Orenda. This presents a major conflict for Christophe. He must fend for his dogma against the wicked Gosling and her unholy followers. She has more support amongst the people than he, yet Christophe never questions his faith. His arrogance is what keeps him strong, However, it alienates him from the sauvages he struggles to convert. Christophe comes to Huronia with high hopes of harvesting many souls and experiencing the new world. The Huron leaders let him come in order to improve relations with the French so they could continue to receive their many European luxuries. However, the Huron people, or Wendat as they are usually …show more content…
The title of the book, "The Orenda" is the Wendat word for spirit. In Christian theology only man is blessed with the holy spirit and we are destined to be the masters of nature because we were created in God 's image. In contrast, the Huron believe everything has an Orenda, from the deer they hunt to plants they grow and even the furs they wear. This belief is one that is so principle to their spirituality and is the exact opposite of the western way of thought. The Wendat believe they are a part of nature, whereas Christophe believes he is above