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Without doubt, the most seriously misleading things in the Da Vinci Code deal with Jesus Christ and the Church, not with Opus Dei, but 
since many people have already pointed out The Da Vinci Code’s numerous mistakes regarding art, history, and theology, I thought that it might be useful – for the sake of completeness, if for no other reason Рto dedicate a blog to the peculiar treatment of Opus Dei in Dan Brown’s novel. This treatment is in many ways laughable and, in others, oddly ambivalent, and I hope that the blog will be both entertaining and at least somewhat thought provoking.
Everyone says that The Da Vinci Code is a great “page-turner,” and I guess that’s true. One can hardly wait to see what our poor narrator is going to get wrong next Рwhat howler lurks, like a banana peel or a clown armed with a cream-pie, on virtually every single page.
As a matter of fact, I suspect that Dan Brown had a good laugh while writing the novel (I‚Äôm sure he is not as poorly informed as his narrator and characters seem to be), and one can happily read The Da Vinci Code as a kind of slapstick comedy, in which it matters little whether the author-comedian‚Äôs gaffes, dropped drawers, and pies in the face are entirely intentional or not; the slip-ups are usually funny enough in themselves. The Code is definitely full of amusing mistakes. Pointing them out should help people see that fact-checking didn’t play much of a role in the writing of this novel.
Moreover, in addition to the comical absurdities, there are clearly other more serious elements at work in the novel, and the errors in The Da Vinci Code raise some interesting questions about Brown’s project.
In the end, I suspect that any book this popular needs to be taken seriously at some level.
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Its’ a “formula” book, on the “Perils of Pauline” principle: you lead up to a climax, end the chapter leaving the reader hanging, and have the next chapter deaql with something else. Reader gets anxious to find out what ensued from the climax at the end of the previous chapter (Pauline left tied to the railroad track in the old movie serials).
Well, that’s just it. Why is this formulaic potboiler SO intriguing to so many people? What need does it fill? I find that more interesting than the book itself which for me was a forgettable read which barely held my interest long enough for me to finish it.
Poking fun at its inanity is fine for a while. But ultimately the question of WHY must be addressed. Its popularity didn’t result from some corporate conspiracy against the Church, just the appreciation of the common reader, like my aunt who pressed the book on me telling me it was fabulous.
I agree. It is a paint-by-numbers job. One imagines the author sitting by the word processor, some book like “Let’s Plot: How Do Write Fiction” open by his side. The single best literary analysis of DVC is Dave Barry’s parody (see the link on the blog). But most products of this sort don’t sell gazillions of copies, so THE key question is “Why this one?” I have a couple of hunches. First, Brown does have a nose for intriguing material: the Templars, codes, the golden proportion, great works of art, the history of Christianity, gnosticism, ritual sex, Constantine, Opus Dei. It’s all interesting stuff, even though he gets it all wrong. Second, I suspect that the novel speaks to a need for a richer culture than the one most people now live in: art, religious mysticism, sexuality, history – it’s a rich and, in some ways, very Roman Catholic cocktail.
I’ve wondered if that was part of Brown’s motivation–not just to produce a movie-worthy book but one that explored his own fantasies about the sensuous aspects of Catholicism, one that he had fears and suspicions about, coming as he did from a Protestant New England background. (one look at the spare esthetic of a New England church and you’ll know what I mean.) Dan Brown may have unintentially produced the modern equivalent of “The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk”, but one less obviously malicious.
Could it be his fans have similar ideas about Catholicism that the book satisfies? It would be interesting to see a breakout by religion of his fans. Maybe Protestants and Jews are the more avid ones and Catholics have been more or less inoculated against the book’s charms. OTOH my aunt is Catholic. Just thinking out loud here.
Very interesting, Anonymous. I think I’ll run a separate post on this. Do you mind if I copy some of your comment? I don’t think Brown is intentionally exploring Catholicism at all, though. He seems mind-bogglingly ignorant of it. I do think he’s expressing a need for it – but writing from within a modern gnostic, ex-protestant sensibility. Only a descendent of New England Protestants could have written this book.
Be my guest. You may want to mention that “Maria Monk” is a much better read than DVC, and way funnier.
Maybe it is not so difficult to understand why so many people are interested in The Da Vinci Code. Maybe like me they grew up in Catholic families where they got some notion of God but could never get a comprehensive picture of God. Maybe they noticed that the Catholic church could not help them finding the answers to their questions on God. Maybe they wondered why the church kept talking about sin and the devil, and, more recently, felt betrayed by the church. Maybe they are still interested in the message of Jesus and, since the Catholic church cannot provide the answer, they look elsewhere. Simple, huh?
Well, Marc, you’re more or less strengthening my case: no doubt, people are interested in the DVC because, ultimately, they are still interested in Christ. That’s a very good sign. Naturally, I’m sorry that you decided to look outside the Church for the answers to your questions about God and Jesus Christ. I would say that, when it comes to providing such answers, the Catholic Church, with a billion-or-so members after 2 millennia of existence, has a relatively strong track record. At least, not one to be dismissed lightly. I’m a little surprised by your reference to sin and the devil, things which have not figured prominently in most Catholic preaching for some time now.
Father Wauck: I wanted to ask you if you recommend any specific books regarding the errors of DVC. I’ve already bought and read The Da Vinci Hoax by a Mr. Olson and thought it was great. But I would REALLy appreciate more books in this regard. If there are any books regarding the specific question of Opus Dei en DVC, they will be of course ESPECIALLY welcome.
People, specially friends and ex-students of mine are reading DVC and I’m trying to explain the errors. I actually think its evident that God permitted this book to be published in order to actually bring more people to Opus Dei and Catholicisim, or at least, like Pope Benedict XVI once said in an interview, bring maybe few people but with stronger faith to re-evangelize the world through their life and faith in this relativism-filled world. Still, it hurts when loved ones leave the Faith or Opus Dei because of these books, and I for one cannot just give up!
Anyways, great site!! I hope you can incorporate more literature on how to counter DVC!
One of the best books that explains the errors on DVC is ‘De-Coding Da Vinci’ by Amy Welborn. Fully recommendable. This book is intended to help you unpack all of Dan Brown’s mistakes, and inventions, and to explore the truth behind The Da Vinci Code. Through the analysis of Brown‚Äôs sources, Amy Welbron analyses if they‚Äôre really trustworthy witnesses to history.
IT’S A NOVEL!!! NOT A HISTORY TEXTBOOK. GET OVER IT.
Would that everyone had such clear ideas about The Da Vinci Code…
Pointing out that it’s no history textbook is what this site is all about. Many folks have taken the novel too seriously as a source of information, and I hope that this site will serve as an antidote of sorts. My overall message here is not much different from Rick’s: “Lighten up. Laugh when you read that.”
A man went to the doctor:
“Doctor, doctor… I think I’m a grain of corn”.
“No, you’re not a grain of corn”
“Doctor, doctor… I think that being a grain of corn, the Hens want to eat me”
“Don’t worry, repeat to yourself many times every day, ‘I am not a grain of corn… I am not a grain of corn’”
“Doctor, I KNOW that I am not a grain of corn… but does the Hen know that?”
Father Wauck:
My compliments to you on your efforts to help dispel the reckless and malevolent intents of Mr. Brown in his book. Alas, his current trial may yet result in only a slap on his hand for cheap plagiarism.
And while sadly DVC (both book and movie) will lead astray many ignorant of the history of the Church and your society, it will likely result in a swell of curiosity about Opus Dei, and eventually and assuredly great respect for Opus Dei from those who may not have heard of it otherwise.
Fr. Wuack, this really is very interesting. I liked your comical view of it. I read the Da Vinci Code quite some time ago with wide eyes and disbelief. I read it as most do, thinking that there was a lot of fact behind it and couldn’t help but be surprised as to “how much research” had been done for Dan Brown to so boldly lay all these things out that had never been brought to our attention before. The fact that most religious traditions were based on pagen rituals and such.
Later, as I came to my Catholic faith (and Praise God that even after the potential soiling of faith that this book has caused many) and I began reading and learning about Jesus Christ and the history behind the church, I realised how misrepresented the Catholic church and other Christian religions have been. It’s quite sad.
The more I read about the errors of this book, the more I annoyed I become, that Dan Brown has knowingly lied and spread his slanderous garbage about religious organisations and Jesus Christ. Because let’s face it, could he really be so uninformed?
Sad!
Anyhow, I love this blog, and I’m going to add it to my blog roll!
Jessica
YOU ARE SO MISGUIDED THAT THE DEVIL HAS BLINDED YOUR EYES AND EARS TO THE TRUTH.
THERE IS A REALHELL AND A HEAVEN WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS IS TRUE
I WAS CHANGED COMPLETLY INTO A BETTER PERSON THIRTY YRS AGO ALL BECAUSE OF JESUS I CAN GIVE YOU PROOFE HE DIED FOR YOU AND THIS IS WHAT YOU DO AND SAY
HE LOVED US CAN YOU DIE LIKE THAT??