Clothing and Appearance

There is much emphasis on clothing and appearance in this novel, especially as it relates to stereotypes and first impressions. Cardinal Bem is particularly sensitive to dress and his own transformation from a great and respected leader of the church to a bum sleeping under a bridge and back again is revealed symbolically through a description of his clothing and cleanliness and how these affect the way others view him. His first experience with this is when he casts off his collar and walks through the streets of Ricany as a normal man. He is very surprised at how invisible he feels without his special clothing.

As he spirals into despair and confusion, he first soils his own clothing by having to lay in the dirt to hide from his pursuers, and then is forced to change clothes altogether, including changing his fine Italian shoes for...