Someone in class (not sure who) described "Papa" Monzano's beautiful adopted daughter Mona as a "sex symbol." But, I realized, she is so much more. True, she does stand for the carnal urges of man, and the instinctive desires we dearly want to act on (sometimes with embarrassing consequences, as illustrated by Jonah's frustrating sexual encounter with Mona in chapter 118). However, her beauty, poise, and seeming untouchability place her on a level above the other characters in the book, who are busy worrying about such mundane things as the ending of the world. Is it a stretch to say she is semi-divine? The only other person who seems on the same plane as Mona is Bokonon himself. I would go as far as to say that Mona is a symbol or icon for the followers of Bokononism (clearly Bokonon cannot be the symbol for his own religion, because he is so rarely present to the San Lorenzans). She is like that crucifix or the rosary one would hold for comfort. She is more than herself.
At the risk of offending more people than usual, I can imagine Mona as a Christ-like figure: a model of perfection to followers; an icon to be admired and worshiped; an indiscriminate giver of love and acceptance ("I make people happy," she says to Jonah in chapter 93 after their first boko-maru. "Love is good, not bad"). And that's not to mention her willing self-sacrifice at the close of the novel. If the world hadn't been in the process of ending, maybe Mona would be venerated as a saint.
Anyway, the point is, Mona embodies the qualities of Bokononism and acts as a sort of mouthpiece for the elusive old eccentric (she was, after all, tutored by Bokonon himself). Is this really that different from how Christ embodies and symbolizes his corresponding higher power, the Man Upstairs?
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