PART FIVE: Perhaps an Intention

Summary

Although a new bridge is built, the people of Lima can never forget the terrible calamity that happened to the first Bridge of San Luis Rey. Those who go over the bridge or pass by it always have a prayer on their lips. Many others write poems and essays about the accident, but Brother Juniper's work remains the only monumental authority on the people that were killed when the bridge broke.

This final chapter tells more about Brother Juniper. He decides to write about the accident to show the omnipotent ways of God. In his book, he tries to prove that the calamity was an act of Providence. To prove his point, he tries to find out everything that he can about the five victims of the bridge accident by interviewing and collecting information from relatives and acquaintances of the deceased. Some of the information that he collects is good, and some is bad. He finds that no single person can give a full picture of one of the victims. Therefore, he puts all that he learns into a large book. The Peruvian officials consider the book to be heretical. They burn him and the book in the public square. Brother Juniper defends his work until the end. Even as he waits for his execution, he is sure that God approves of his work. As the flames begin to consume him, he utters the name of St. Francis.

The chapter also gives a detailed account of the funeral service held at the Cathedral of Lima for the five victims of the accident on the Bridge of San Luis Rey. The Archbishop takes his seat and listens gravely to the hymns sung by the choir. Don Andres, the Viceroy, enters and grieves for Don Jamie, his dead son. Captain Alvarado makes an appearance and philosophically muses on the fate of Esteban, who was to have sailed with him on his next journey. The Abbess comes with several sisters to grieve over Pepita and Esteban, whom they have raised in the convent. Camila does not appear. She had started on the journey to the Cathedral, but she stopped midway, overcome by emotion. She entered into a little church to give vent to her grief over the loss of her precious Jamie. She also grieves for not expressing her love to Uncle Pio.

Camila broods in misery for a year after the accident. Then she decides to approach the Abbess to share her grief. Travelling to the convent, she enters with apprehension, wondering what she will say. On seeing the Abbess and looking into her kind, old face, Camila breaks down and opens her heart to her. The Abbess listens patiently and tries to soothe the wounded spirits of the disfigured actress. Dona Clara also comes to the convent to unburden her heart, for she feels guilty about how she has treated her mother, the Marquesa. The Abbess consoles the young lady and takes her around the convent to show her the plight of unfortunate human beings needing love and care. Dona Clara watches as the Abbess showers attention on the sick and the troubled. Her cold, arrogant heart is touched and she wants to help.

In the end, some good comes out of the tragic accident of the San Luis Rey Bridge. Camila finds some measure of peace in her confession to the Abbess. She will probably become a better mother to her other sons. In a similar manner, Dona Clara is touched by the plight of the poor children in the convent and promises to give them help. There is hope that these women, who have been unable to love in the past, will now be able to love freely as a result of their suffering over the loss of relatives on the Bridge of San Luis Rey.

Notes

This concluding chapter of the novel reveals the outcome of the tragic accident. The funeral of the victims is described, with the Archbishop, the Abbess, the Viceroy, and Captain Alvarado in attendance. Camila does not make it to the service, for she is so overcome with grief for Jamie and Uncle Pio that she must stop along the way.

The fate of Brother Juniper is also discussed. Having been an eye witness to the accident, he feels he must find out about the five victims. He gathers all of his information into a huge book, which is judged as heretical. As a result, he and the book are burned. Even as the flames consume him, Juniper does not lose his faith in God or the findings revealed in the book.

The general public in Peru also has a strong reaction to the accident. They thank God that they were spared and think about their existence in relation to the universe and society. Even after a new bridge is built to replace the broken one, the people seem to always offer a prayer when they cross over it or even see it.

The accident also causes Camila and Dona Clara to re-assess their lives. In their grief and guilt, they both travel to the convent to confess their sorrow to the Abbess. Camila admits that she has loved Uncle Pio and regrets that she never expressed it to him. Hopefully in the future, she will be more honest with her emotions and able to love her two sons even more. Dona Clara now understands her mother's love and confesses that she has treated the Marquesa very shabbily. Now the wife of a wealthy Spanish lord, Dona Clara is touched by the plight of the poor children in the convent and promises to help them. The accident on the bridge, therefore, has warmed the dark, cold hearts of two selfish women, who now want to express their love. As the narrator concludes the novel with the words of the Abbess, the meaning of the book becomes clear: There is a land of the living and a land of the dead, and the bridge (between the two) is love, the only survival, the only meaning.