In the Story Fathers Blessings by Mary Caponegro, the narrator tells the story from the Priest’spriest’s perspective. He is an unreliable narrator who causes a lot of psychological problems along the Way. The Priest’spriest’s language is, at times, stiff. The use of the name Faraday may also be symbolic to the extent that it means far from day. The Priestpriest may thus be far from current events or the moment in which the story is told.
If the Priestpriest is far from the day, this by extension would also mean that he is therefore close to the night or darkness. Night or evening signifies evil, mischief, and anything sour. Thus the Priestpriest may appear as humble, caring, and religious from the first impression. However, this may not necessarily be the case as looks and first impressions are deceiving.
The existence of a Polaroid photograph indicates that since the Polaroid camera was invented in 1948. Therefore this is probably the period after 1948. However, in the Priestpriest’s own description, he says, “The road to the rectory is seldom plowed in winter, and in spring the potholes impede smooth travel. When it rains, the roads turn almost instantly to clay, so that only in a skilled driver’s hands and at high speeds can they be traversed successfully” (Marcus 45).
This is a bit confusing, for, in the Polaroid era, there existed excellent and reliable tarmac roads around the country. The Priestpriest also has this exalted sense of belief in the self. Instead, he lacks in many aspects, and this can be attributed to his clueless behavior. Mrs. Callahan daughter says he is a man after all, no matter what any of you say” (Marcus 45)
The Priestpriest is of dubious character, and this is ironical. His unreliability is further exemplified by the remarks on sincerity on his part, and he even marvels at his own eloquence (Marcus 45), not to mention his inconsiderate behavior. This makes the reader doubt and question himself about the Priests every turn.