MovieChat Forums > The Exorcist (1973) Discussion > Was Karras just too sceptical?

Was Karras just too sceptical?

posted 8 years ago by dysartmanach
12 replies | jump to latest

I understand he struggled with balancing his identity as a scientist with his crisis of faith as a priest, but I wonder if Karras was simply too sceptical and cautious. The line in the book states the irony of the situation in which (I paraphrase) the atheist is arguing for the demon, while the priest is arguing for mental illness. Would other priests, those not enduring a crisis of faith, or even perhaps those with no scientific or medical training, have really worked as hard as Karras did to discredit the need for an exorcism? Would they have acted while Karras delayed? Does Regan suffer more because, deep down, Karras doesn't want there to be a demon, and by extension, a God?

[–] bastasch8647 8 years ago

Does Regan suffer more because, deep down, Karras doesn't want there to be a demon, and by extension, a God?

No, because deep down, as the novel repeatedly states, Karras desperately wants God to exist. The novel shows, multiple times, Karras getting excited about one or another "demonic" manifestation, but only to end up crestfallen when he finds that it's already been covered in the psychiatric and parapsychological literature as simply, merely, mind-based psychosomatic or telekinetic phenomena.

And no, Regan's suffering was not extended by Karras' skepticism, especially when it is borne in mind that the exorcism only enraged the demon and worsened Regan's condition. Had it begun earlier, her condition would have correspondingly lasted a longer time, and therefore caused her more suffering.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] Sugarminx 8 years ago

And no, Regan's suffering was not extended by Karras' skepticism, especially when it is borne in mind that the exorcism only enraged the demon and worsened Regan's condition.

Hmmm...I wonder.

The demon wants to confuse Karras to give itself time to take a stronger hold on Regan - to weaken her physically, do more damage and increase its chances of killing her in the end.

There is a point after Karras meets the demon for the first time where he asks Chris if Regan knew a priest was coming or that his mother had died. She answers in the negative. If Regan was unaware of these things, yet still mentioned them, doesn't it point to something supernatural? He seems to dismiss this, however.

I understand that proper protocols have to be followed and some sort of 'proof' obtained before resorting to exorcism, but I still wonder whether moving more quickly to the ritual might have been better for all concerned. Regan would have been stronger and the demon's power, weaker.

Academic in the end, but it's an interesting point the OP brings up.

Do the P-I-G-E-O-N

[–] bastasch8647 8 years ago

Good points. At the point you mention, Karras is clearly disturbed and baffled. That's why, in the director's cut, the very next scene shows him reviewing the real Regan's tapes as she is recording for her dad. He really looks baffled in this scene - then then very next scene shows his face lighting up and his gaze deepening when he says the words of Consecration, "this is the cup of my blood, the everlasting covenant, the Mystery of Faith". It is clear that listening to the tapes, in contrast to "that thing upstairs" that he's just encountered, are eating away at his doubt. It's a gradual process of erosion. Karras still has to work through the paranormal before he can accept the supernatural, and the novel points out that there are cases on record of possessed people being able to pluck information out of their inquisitors' minds, i.e., ESP. Karras needs to determine if he's dealing with a bizarre mental illness that has some ESP/telekinetic elements, or if there is a real supernatural force at work. At first, he has no choice but to rely on his psychiatric training, not his priesthood, because his priesthood is just about shot.

[–] ramsplp 8 years ago

The thing about Regan's knowledge that Karras was a priest: She revealed that knowledge to him in the voice of the old wino.

If Regan had said something like, "Hello Father.", one could argue she took a lucky guess. Georgetown was crawling with Jesuit priests, and maybe Karras had a certain manner about him. But Karras must have been startled, and maybe some doubts about Regan having simply a psychiatric issue began to slowly creep in even at that point.

[–] bastasch8647 8 years ago

Yeah, "Regan" knew he was a priest. But again, from Karras' POV, he had to eliminate the likelihood of some type of psychic or ESP "talent" before he could consider authentic possession. Everything the demon says could have been plucked out of Karras' mind - the old altar boy, the knowledge that Mary Karras had died, even maybe the Latin and French... I never envied Damien's position in trying to sort it all out, especially in view that he was under the gun from the two burdens of mother-guilt and loss of faith...

[–] Sugarminx 8 years ago

The thing about Regan's knowledge that Karras was a priest: She revealed that knowledge to him in the voice of the old wino.

That is interesting, isn't it?

I completely understand his desire to err on the side of caution, but there was some incredibly freaky stuff going on for a while before he decided to ask for the exorcism. I've always wondered what it was about the 'help me' scene that pushed him over the edge. I think I might have done something a little sooner in his place, but then, I'm a scaredy-cat - not a psychiatrist... 

Do the P-I-G-E-O-N

[–] bastasch8647 8 years ago

I've always wondered what it was about the 'help me' scene that pushed him over the edge.

I think that is exactly it. Karras finally felt that there must have been something more than a child's personality tragically twisted by mental illness, because clearly the "Help Me" came not from the demon (who wouldn't be asking a priest for help), but from the trapped, imprisoned Regan herself.

Granted, Karras could have ascribed the skin writing to the demon...but in all honesty, in conscience, he could not take the risk that it wasn't a desperate communication from Regan. The dermatographia was the perfect occasion, stimulator, and awakening force for all the compassion for Regan as victim that Karras had been feeling all along. He really felt that it was Regan, calling out for help. Karras responded by going to the bishop to request an exorcism. Even then, he was not completely convinced that the case was an authentic posssession:

Bishop: You're convinced it's genuine?
Karras: No, not really, I suppose...but I have made a prudent judgment that it meets the rules set down in the Ritual.

Thus, even while still doubting the demon's existence, nevertheless Karras at this point is so touched by what he perceives to be Regan's silent plea that he is willing to seek exorcism as a possible cure. And the rest of the story results from that decision.

[–] ChillerPop 8 years ago

"Would other priests, those not enduring a crisis of faith, or even perhaps those with no scientific or medical training, have really worked as hard as Karras did to discredit the need for an exorcism?"

Perhaps not, but a strictly devout Catholic priest would still need to have put Regan's case through all the proper tests (speaking an unknown language, psychic phenomena, I forget the rest of it.) I didn't feel like Damien was delaying anything, especially when the demon was messing with his head by reacting to the holy water or speaking just enough of a foreign language, but not impossibly so.

I don't see his ruling out mental illness as any fault in Damien - in fact it should be commended. When clergy gets all too exorcism happy and doesn't critically engage with science, you get something like Bob Larson - or worse (tragic cases like Annelise Michel or reported exorcism related deaths of children in African countries.)

As to the question of "suffering more" because of Damien's lack of faith - or subsequently, his guilt and despair - I do think that his involvement in the exorcism gave the demon some advantage (until the end, of course.) My reading is that Merrin would have sent Pazuzu packing had he been in perfect health, whereas in the scenes where Damien was involved, it was pretty much having a field day with its powers.

[–] kurt-2000 8 years ago

if Karras was simply too sceptical and cautious.

No, he reacted perfectly. I talked with priest who hated to supply a woman with holy water each week, and he called her "superstitious". lol

Would other priests, those not enduring a crisis of faith, or even perhaps those with no scientific or medical training, have really worked as hard as Karras did to discredit the need for an exorcism? Would they have acted while Karras delayed? Does Regan suffer more because, deep down, Karras doesn't want there to be a demon,

Other priests would have been fearful of internal politics. The Catholic church really doesn't like to deal with this subject, and some priests would fear transfer, or forced retirement. The criteria for proving possession is difficult to obtain as well. The demon's gradual possession would have continued regardless of the speed Karras worked to obtain permission. Keep in mind that the demon's main goal was to confront the exorcist with hopes of killing him. The demon succeeded in killing two priests, which I personally believe increased the demon's power.

" Just wish we could have the old board back, with fun people who like discussing the show" - Centrd

[–] ramsplp 8 years ago

The Catholic church really doesn't like to deal with this subject, and some priests fear transfer, or forced retirement.

It makes you wonder about the families who visit the Vatican with an allegedly possessed victim do so to bypass all that. We've seen the videos of the Pope himself performing the "quickies" right in St. Peter's Square. If your local priest is wasting time trying to secure evidence of possession, why not fly to Italy and see the head honcho?

[–] kurt-2000 8 years ago

I'm not sure how the Swiss Guard would react to a possessed person on Papal grounds.

I guess that I can't say that I've seen the Pope do a quickie exorcism in St. Peter's square, but I might be wrong.

I heard from a questionable news source that a possessed boy was brought to Pope John Paul II, and he was unable to perform a successful exorcism. As to whether there's any truth to the story is questionable.