Sin and selfishness
Sin is portrayed through the novel as a kind of selfishness through which a person learns of ways that they could take advantage of others for personal gain. Godric is sinful because he is clever, and he can invent ways of getting money by manipulating others and lying. The thematic motif is most clear when he takes the blood of a martyr and sells it for profit, and then runs out of holy blood and begins selling cat blood to unsuspecting villagers.
Sainthood and hermit living
When Godric finally has his religious breakthrough, he joins a caste of holy men and women who are constantly beckoning him throughout the novel. Instead of a good man being lured to the dark side, a dark and evil person is lured into a life of quiet contemplation. Through this thematic transformation, we see that Godric's soul is tarnished by his manipulative ways, and he goes to find restoration and healing by the banks of a quiet river, alone. He lives a reflective life, with his memories of sin and evil as the subject of his new meditations.
Religion and the Bible
Godric is a religious man, and he is a Christian mystic. His relationship with the church and the tradition around the Bible begins far before his conversion. He witnesses a riot at a church that helps set the tone for the novel's exploration of religion. Religion is shown to be the stuff of controversy and the sublime. This is not the mom-and-pop religion of normal life; instead, Godric sees the religion through the lens of mortal fear. He is terrified of his decisions, because the strangeness of his life makes him believe that there is impending judgment awaiting him after death. This is enough to make the second half of his life one of patient study.
