Priest

“I was a priest. I was sworn to God not to know another’s body while I lived—not even to know my own body, if we were getting technical about it.”

Tyler explains The Tension Between Sexual Desire and Christian Morality. As a Catholic priest, he took a vow of celibacy, so his sexuality is even more restricted than that of most Christians. The verb “know” in this context alludes to language used in the Bible and suggests that, with Poppy, Tyler will embark on a journey of self-discovery as well as sexual discovery.

“It’s supposed to be like the world’s best strip club. But no one knows what it’s called or where it is, not until you’re personally invited. Word is that they don’t let you come until your annual clears a million a year.”

Tyler’s brother Aidan details the adult entertainment venue—a space that plays a critical role in the story. The club’s exclusivity reflects Poppy’s elite appeal. Tyler connects the two and realizes that Poppy likely worked there.

“I liked how it felt. Having men watch me with hooded eyes, wanting me and only me—not my education or my pedigree or my family’s connections. But even more than that, on this raw, primal level, I loved the way the men responded to my body. I loved that I made them hard.”

Poppy undercuts a standard strain of feminist theory championed by canonized feminists like Andrea Dworkin and Catharine MacKinnon. They believe that sex work, in whatever form, dehumanizes women. Poppy, conversely, believes that working as an adult entertainer is empowering and liberating since she’s in control. Growing up, she was valued only for her socioeconomic status and connections, so being wanted for her body was a refreshing change.

“Said I screamed sex with my tits and my mouth, and not only did I always want it, but I always looked like I wanted it. And he couldn’t have that in the precious Haverford family portrait. The worst thing was, I knew he wasn’t saying it like an insult.”

Through describing what Sterling has said about her, Poppy conveys her emphatic sexual characterization. The quote connects Sterling to confining tropes about women and marriage, with Sterling believing that a good wife isn’t overtly sexual. At the same time, Sterling is somewhat pro-sex. He realized that he was complimenting her: A sexually potent woman isn’t a negative or an “insult.”

“You are a good priest, Father Bell. But you’re also a good man. And doesn’t a good man deserve a little indulgence every now and then?”

Poppy splinters Tyler’s identity. When he’s a priest, he has an identity; as a “good man,” he possesses a separate identity. The diction—the word “indulgence”—alludes to the Catholic Church’s nefarious history. In the Middle Ages, the Church sold “indulgences” to people who wanted to avoid punishment in the afterlife.

“Almost every variation of Christianity had been in the business of suppressing sex and its enjoyment, but suppressed desires didn’t just disappear.”

Tyler reveals that negative views about sex aren’t exclusive to Christianity. Through Poppy, Tyler comes to see sex as a part of God’s plan, and in his last sermon, he encourages the worshippers to see God as compassionate and not as a figure fixated on punishing consensual sexual conduct.

“I honestly didn’t know what to do. We were urged to flee temptation, but what if my job was helping the temptress?”

The story builds suspense through the theme of Accepting the Uncertainty of Destiny. Tyler spends a lot of time wondering whether Poppy represents a threat to his life as a priest or is a part of his fate. If God put her in his life, then he should embrace her. She’s not a “temptress”; she’s part of “God’s plan.”

“I’m not damaged, I didn’t grow up unloved. I’m not a blank slate for males to exert their agency on. I chose to sleep with Sterling. I chose to let you go down on me. I wanted those things, and you don’t get to tell me that I didn’t.”

Poppy counters another trope about women and sex. Using blunt diction, she contests the theory that women who like rough sex are “damaged.” She doesn’t have sex—rough or otherwise—out of trauma. She has agency, and she chooses to have sexual encounters that fulfill her desires.

“But how was I going to sit in a hotel ballroom staring at a sea of priests and presume to lecture them on the perils of errant priest sexuality?”

Tyler often conflates sexual abuse and his sexual relationship with Poppy, but the connection is illusory. Poppy consents to and encourages the sex. Victims of a priest’s sexual abuse don’t and can’t consent. Nevertheless, the comparison reveals Tyler’s belief that he’s harming Poppy. He can’t reconcile her sexual desires with what he’s learned from standard feminist theory, nor can he align his sexual activity with his religion’s teachings on sexual morality.

“The kiss that had sealed something, something that transcended the physical and the spiritual. They were no longer separate and divided, but one.”

The kiss at the altar represents one of the key turning points in the story. The intimate moment combines Poppy, Tyler, and God, pushing Tyler to see his relationship with Poppy as compatible with his Christian beliefs.

“Feel free to call me any time.”

The story features many humorous moments, and Poppy’s quip qualifies as a standout line. After Poppy and Tyler basically have phone sex, Poppy utters a common phrase that belies the intense moment that she and Tyler just had. The gap between the saying and the activity creates the humor.

“But I had to check this one box, settle this final question, because I didn’t want to go to feminist ally hell on top of the other hells I was destined for.”

Multiple times, Tyler refers to himself as a “feminist ally.” The term highlights the tension between traditional feminism and Poppy. As a “feminist ally,” Tyler thinks that he should be gentler with Poppy and not have rough anal sex with her. Yet his belief erases Poppy’s agency since she wants to have rougher sex with him.

“St. Margaret’s needs her, Father Bell. I certainly hope you don’t plan on fucking that up.”

Millie showcases her blunt character when, like Tyler, she uses a curse word. Millie also highlights her compassion and pragmatism. She’s a Christian who believes that God doesn’t reduce a person to their sexual choices.

“I’m sanctifying you from the inside out. You feel that? That’s my finger fucking your ass. And in just a minute, it will be my cock. It will be my cock consecrating you.”

The chrism oil reveals how Tyler incorporates Catholic products into their sexual encounters. At first, the scene is subversive. The oil isn’t supposed to be used as a lubricant; however, since Tyler earnestly believes that his relationship with Poppy is holy, it makes sense for him to consecrate a part of her body.

“[N]othing short of being with this woman every minute of every day would be enough to stop the yawning hunger low in my belly.”

Tyler uses hyperbole to stress his intense desire for Poppy. Phrases and words like “every minute,” “every day,” and “yawning hunger” spotlight the intense fulfillment she provides him. He can’t get such dramatic meaning anyplace else, not even as a priest.

“I’d be leaving behind Father Bell, the man I’d become, and I’d have to molt him away like so much dead flesh and ruined feathers, and grow a new shape with painful new pink skin.”

Tyler’s ongoing meditation on leaving the priesthood continues the theme of fate versus pre-established identity. The thought of becoming someone else is difficult. Embracing a new role is “painful,” but eventually, Tyler transforms into Poppy’s husband.

“Love and want are essentially the same thing. Not that a man like you would know that.”

Sterling presents an unholy version of love. He believes that a person loves someone when they want that someone as if they were an object. Tyler doesn’t view Poppy as a commodity. He loves her as a person, which allows him to see her holiness.

“I turned up the Britney as loud as the speakers would go, and brutalized my screaming muscles with more weights, more sit-ups, more squats, chugging whisky straight from the bottle in between each set.”

In the novel, the music of Britney Spears symbolizes catharsis. On the weekend of Lizzy’s funeral, Sean heard Spears in the car and let out his emotions. In the rectory, Tyler blasts Spears to express his jealousy over Poppy and Sterling.

“I want you to claim me like property. And if you hurt me, I’ll tell you. You trust me to say stop, and I’ll trust you to stop if I say it. Sound good?”

Poppy continues to touch on the complications of sexual desire. She doesn’t want Tyler to treat her like “property” all the time, and Tyler sees her as a person, but in a sexual situation, she wants Tyler to see her as an object. Yet Poppy’s humanity never vanishes. She can still say “stop,” so her agency remains.

“In a way, it’s easier to dwell on sin and guilt than it is to dwell on love and forgiveness—especially love and forgiveness for yourself. But that’s what’s been promised to us, and I for one, will not refuse God’s promise of a full, love-filled life.”

Tyler alludes to humanity’s preference for punishment over compassion, arguing that it is easier to denounce than to support. His sermon applies to him. He won’t hurt himself for his attraction to Poppy: He’ll embrace Poppy and celebrate their love.

“I wanted to move forward, I wanted to explore this new life, and I wanted to start exploring it right the hell now.”

Priest features many of the elements of standard romantic comedy narratives, including incompatibility, conflict, and misunderstanding. Tyler’s declaration mirrors Harry’s realization in the classic romantic comedy film When Harry Met Sally. In a similar situation as Tyler, Harry discovers that he wants to marry Sally and tells her that he wants to start their lives together right away.

“Actually, despite the national splash on social media, where I was simultaneously demonized and turned into something of a celebrity because of my looks, my own parishioners had reacted so much better than I deserved.”

The story takes place in the present, and Simone provides a realistic outcome for Tyler once he goes “viral” and makes a “national splash.” The mostly positive attention undercuts comparisons to abusive priests. Tyler didn’t hurt Poppy, and his love and care generate many fans.

“‘Oh, rough luck, old sport,’ he said sympathetically.”

Aside from alluding to When Harry Met Sally, Simone alludes to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby. The eponymous antihero Jay Gatsby uses the term “old sport.” Similar to Sterling, Gatsby leads an extravagant, affluent life. Unlike Sterling, Gatsby has earnest feelings for his romantic interest, though neither Gatsby nor Sterling ends up with the woman they desire.