The cathedral and the spire becomes an obsession to Jocelin as he describes it as a living, breathing building. He describes the building like a man lying on his back.
‘The nave was his legs placed together, the transepts on either side were his arms outspread. The choir was his body; and the Lady Chapel where now the services would be held, was in his head.’ He describes the spire as ‘the crown and the majesty.’ The great one of all!
Jocelin seems to be a very religious man because when he enters the side door into the cathedral, he always says to himself, ‘Lift up your heads, O ye Gates!’ The question of whose glory he is working for arises from the beginning of the novel. He often seems to identify himself with God or Christ and he seems to think that the vision is his rather than Jesus Christ’s, ‘What can I do on this day of days when at last they have begun to fashion my vision in stone, but give thanks’. The use of the word ‘my’ signifies that Jocelin has forgotten that God has sent him the vision to build a spire on the cathedral. He thinks that it is his great idea! Jocelin forgets he is creating the spire for God, and prays to thank God, as if he is thanking God for giving the spire to him.
Nobody really gets on with Jocelin because they see him as an arrogant man and they see that putting a spire on the top of the cathedral is a stupid idea. At the beginning of the novel young voices are heard insulting Jocelin, ‘Say what you like; he’s proud.’ ‘And Ignorant’. The only person Jocelin communicates with without reluctance is the one who cannot reply and apparently does not judge, the dumb sculptor, Gilbert. The way he ignores Father Adam’s efforts to catch his attention is indicative of his vanity, ‘Later dear man. When I have prayed.’ Even Pangall’s talk of a man killed and his own fears of death prompt only abrupt and dismissive responses. When Pangall sheds a tear on Jocellin’s shoe, ‘a wet star with arms to it and tiny globes of water that slid off the dubbin into the mud of the yard.’ Jocelin reacts impatiently, looking away to where the spire will be. The aunt’s letter also contains a plea which has clearly been ignored before: ‘Can you not spare a word for me?” This is also ignored as he states, ‘Answer? What need is there to change a decision? We shall make no answer.’ The money for the spire was supplied by Jocelin’s aunt who was the prostitute of the King. Jocelin already knew the King had died and knew that he had left his aunt with a lot of money. Therefore Jocelin wrote to her and said if she supplied him with money for the spire then he shall grant her with a place of death in the cathedral.
Sasha Bates
The one and only person who Jocelin has great affection for is his ‘daughter in God’, Goody Pangall. Jocelin thinks that she ‘is entirely women’ and she is the one topic of conversation that he discusses with interest with Pangall. For example when Pangall is worried about the builders, the first question Jocelin asks is, ‘Is your good wife? Do they work too near her?’ and Pangall reply’s no, ‘Do they treat her as some men will treat women in the street? Call after her? Speak lewdly?’
In conclusion to this essay, Jocelin has become obsess ional over the spire because he has forgotten that the vision is from God and when he thanks God, it shows he is grateful that god has given this vision to him however it is not for Jocelin, it is for God. Jocelin also does not listen to anybody else’s comments. All he cares about is himself and how he looks rather than the cathedral.