Death Comes for the Archbishop Setting Analysis Essay

What do you think the most notable aspect is of Death Comes for the Archbishop? Is it the characters, the dialogue, the plot? No, it’s none of those. As odd as it may seem, the most notable part of Death Comes for the Archbishop is the setting. But why? Why is the setting as notable as it is? Simply put, it’s because the setting is a character in itself. 

The author gave the setting its own character arc. When we first start the book, we find ourselves stranded in the middle of the desert, with no hope for survival, and no water nearby. Nevertheless, his horse finds a village which contains a stream and a group of people looking for a priest. Moreover, he is fed a meal and helps the village by baptizing children and marrying couples. There is the first arc. We go from a dry, sandy desert to a village with a stream and houses. 

As far as he could see, on every side, the landscape was heaped up into monotonous red sand-hills, not much larger than haycocks, and very much the shape of haycocks. One could not have believed that in the number of square miles a man is  able to sweep with the eye there could be so many uniform red hills. (Cather 1)

There are small changes throughout the whole book such as these that cause it to feel like a character. By the end of the book, he has achieved his final goal and built a cathedral. Because the setting has these simple changes, it allows the reader to become immersed in its world and makes it feel alive.

What else generates the feeling of a character for the setting? Besides the setting arcs, the descriptions really bring the setting to life. Willa Cather goes into great detail at every given opportunity, just so she can describe something as simple as what color a bird is, what a house looks like, or even a house’s furnishings. “His dining-table was made of planks covered with oilcloth. He had no linen at all, neither sheets nor serviettes, and he used his worn-out shirts for face towels.” (Cather 258) Describing the setting so thoroughly allows the reader to gain a better understanding of the characters surroundings and it renders the book alive.

Ordinarily, the setting of books is often unappreciated, and just quickly gets glanced over, but Willa Cather wanted to avoid that happening to her book. The arcs and detail put into it makes it feel like the setting itself is the lead role. Without the setting, Death Comes for the Archbishop might not be regarded as one of her best works and might even just have faded into obscurity. When death comes for the archbishop, you can be sure to appreciate the detail that goes into the description of his final moments, and his surroundings as he passes.