“I Am a Priest”: The Construction and Adaptability of Identity in the Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse
Abstract
The following paper investigates the construction and adaptability of identity, especially in regard to gender, religion, and culture in Louise Erdrich’s novel The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse. The goal of this paper is to explore how a broader understanding of one aspect of identity, can lead to a more complex understanding of other aspects of identity. This work performs textual analysis to examine how the character Agnes/Father Damien’s gender and their religious persona are constructed in the novel as they blend their religious beliefs and their masculinity/femininity as well as how this causes them to exist in an in-between state where they are both man/woman and Catholic/Ojibwe in their spiritual beliefs. Secondary research is used to give context about gender, religion, culture, and identity, as well as how those aspects relate specifically to The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse.