Sometimes [Quixote] envied the certitude of those who were able to lay down clear rules--Father Heribert Jone, his bishop, even the Pope. Himself, he lived in a mist, unable to see a path, stumbling. (p. 99)
This is Father Quixote’s self-assessment about adhering to Church Law. I doubt his parishioners in El Toboso ever guessed the doubts that tormented him. We’re lucky that the ex-mayor inspires such self-scrutiny. How dull for readers if he were less honest, more rigid and didactic in his beliefs.