Laforgue is the protagonist of the novel. During his journey from Québec to Ihonatiria, Laforgue begins to question his faith. His interactions with local people, as well as Daniel, lead him to question whether he is worthy of becoming the martyr he had always hoped to become.

The audience is introduced to Laforgue in Québec. He appears to be a staunch Jesuit, if slightly withdrawn and introverted. Laforgue is given the task of traveling along a river, far away from the European settlements, to replace a priest who may have died in the distant town of Ihonatiria. As the consummate Jesuit, a man who has studied the Bible, the local languages, and what it means to be a missionary, this is Laforgue’s dream. From a young age, he has been funneled into the life of a martyr. His own mother conflates his existence with that of Joan of Arc, and she hopes that one day he will be a saint. Laforgue’s best chances of sainthood are to be found in preaching the gospel in dangerous lands. Laforgue has been searching for “the glorious end I once desired with all my heart and all my soul” (151).