Ultimately, in a state of utter emotional and psychological pain, he apostasizes.
There is certainly a case to be made that Rodrigues is, in actuality, a martyr. He begins to believe that, "since coming to this country he had caused nothing but hardship to these poor Christians The only thing he had to offer was his life and his death,"" (Endo 81). However, the "glorious martyrdom- (Endo 91) the church speaks of does not come for him. He is systematically brainwashed, made to watch his comrades and converts die for his sake. He is taunted by the cruel insinuation that, "you came to this country to lay down your life for them. But in fact they are laying down their lives for you,"" (Endo 136). He is told repeatedly that Christ would have apostasized. He is so overcome with emotion that he imagines Christ saying to him, " It was to be trampled on by men that I was born into this world. It was to share men's pain that I carried my cross,"" (Endo 171). When Rodrigues tramples on the image of Christ, it is out of no desire to save himself, only to stop the suffering of others. He seems tired, worn out from the constant barrage of criticism and questioning of his faith. .
Is Rodrigues a martyr? Or, when the cock crows in the morning, is he simply another Peter? Mentally, of course, there is no question. The priest has endured a rare form of psychological torture. The Japanese officials were cunning in using the peasants, almost as blackmail, in order to force the missionaries to recant their faith. It is one thing to endure suffering, it is quite another to watch a loved one go through it. Furthermore, Rodrigues is unprepared to comprehend apostasy as a mere formality, and thus he is forced to consider whether his beliefs are truly that superficial. And it must have been disheartening to see the priest Ferreria arguing so passionately against Christianity. Rodrigues has been psychologically abused, disheartened, martyred.