Right from the very beginning to the finale of Ramón J. Sender’s novel, there are multiple references to Paco as a Christ figure in Réquiem por un campesino español.
Paco dies at Easter
Our first indication is the reference to the dried palm leaves left over from the Palm Sunday celebrations at the church. Palm Sunday takes place on the Sunday before Easter Sunday (known as Resurrection Sunday in Spanish) and kicks off the start of Holy Week.
From this, we can deduce that the requiem mass for Paco is taking place around Easter and that Paco died around the same time the year before. More on this key detail to come.
Paco shows compassion for the poor and socially excluded
Secondly, when Paco is a young boy, the parish priest, Mosén Millán, takes him to visit a dying man to give him the Last Rites, a Catholic sacrament for those who are about to die. The dying man and his wife are extremely poor and live in a cave outside the village.
Paco is deeply impacted by the family’s poverty and social exclusion, so much so, that he remains committed to help the poor for the remainder of his life. As a councillor, he becomes a hero for the poor as he fights for their cause.
This compassion for the poor is another reference to Paco as a Christ figure. Jesus was born in a stable and spent much of his time with the poor and socially excluded.
Paco avoids violence
Another incident from Paco’s childhood again points us to Christ, this time for a different reason. On this occasion, Paco is caught playing with a gun with other children and hides it behind the altar. He refuses to hand it over to Mosén Millán because he is worried that other children who are worse than him, might use it.
“Añadió que lo [el revólver] llevaba para evitar que lo usaran otros chicos peores que él.”
This determination to avoid violence again references Paco as a Christ figure.
In fact, another example of this trait can be seen towards the end of the novel, when Paco shoots randomly from his hideout when armed men come to take him. Afterwards, Paco is concerned that he might have killed one of the men, though the priest assures him that he did not.
Paco is executed despite being innocent
Now we come back to why Easter is so relevant to this theme. Towards the end of Sender’s novel, despite being innocent, Paco is shot because of his political aims and is killed alongside two other peasants by the rebel group that has come from the city.
“¿Por qué me matan? ¿Qué he hecho yo? Nosotros no hemos matado a nadie. Diga usted que yo no he hecho nada. Uste sabe que soy inocente, que somos inocentes los tres.”
At Easter, Christians remember that Jesus was executed, despite having done nothing wrong, alongside two criminals, by the Roman authorities.
“A veces, hijo mío, Dios permite que muera un inocente. Lo permitió de su propio Hijo, que era más inocente que vosotros tres.”
Paco’s colt is victorious
Finally, at the very end of the novel, a colt bursts into the empty church right before the priest stands up to begin the mass.
On Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt. The people waved palm branches, signifying victory, as He did so.
As you can see, the allusion to Paco as a Christ figure throughout Réquiem por un campesino español is evident, with many parallels. The interesting question, however, is why does Sender compare his hero to Jesus in a novel that so openly criticises the position of the Church during the Spanish Civil War?
For more themes in this novel, download the PowerPoint Presentation which overs an in-depth overview of the plot, main characters and themes.
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