Blindness by José Saramago
"Blindness" by José Saramago is a compelling novel that explores the sudden onset of an inexplicable epidemic of blindness that affects a city's population, leaving victims seeing only a creamy whiteness. The story begins with a man who goes blind at a traffic signal, and soon the affliction spreads, leading to widespread panic. The government responds by quarantining the blind in an asylum, guarded by military troops, where conditions rapidly deteriorate into chaos and desperation. Among the quarantined is a group led by the wife of an ophthalmologist, who manages to maintain her vision while pretending to be blind.
As societal structures break down, the novel delves into themes of morality, human nature, and the struggle for survival amidst a crumbling civilization. The asylum becomes a microcosm of society's collapse, with power dynamics shifting into brutality and exploitation. Despite the grim circumstances, the group led by the doctor's wife begins to forge a new community, ultimately working toward rebuilding their lives and restoring order. The narrative culminates in the gradual lifting of the blindness as the characters find hope in their resilience and collective efforts. "Blindness" provokes thought about the fragility of social order and the innate human capacity for empathy and reconstruction in the face of catastrophe.
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Blindness by José Saramago
First published:Ensaio sobre a cegueira, 1995 (English translation, 1997)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Narrative realism
Time of plot: Twentieth century
Locale: A city in Portugal
Principal characters
The First Blind Man ,The Doctor ,The Doctor’s Wife ,The Guards ,
The Story:
A man sitting in his car at a traffic signal suddenly goes blind. He is helped by another man, who drives him home but then steals his car. Soon, more citizens of the city go blind. The blindness, characterized by victims seeing only a creamy whiteness, spreads through the city and quickly becomes endemic. As panic sweeps the general populace, the government takes action to isolate the blind in an asylum.
The quarantined persons are guarded by military troops who facilitate the delivery of food and other necessities. More and more people become infected, and the social order, both inside and outside the asylum, starts to break down. As the numbers of quarantined people grow to unmanageable proportions, conditions become horrific. The asylum develops into a filthy place of horrible acts. The newly formed society of the blind becomes a place where criminals control the supply of food, demanding jewels and other valuables at first, then exchanging the meager food supply for sex.
The degenerating conditions within the asylum mirror the overall breakdown of society in the city. The soldiers guarding the internees become increasingly hostile. As one soldier after another becomes infected by the blindness as well, discipline in the ranks dissolves. The soldiers fire upon a group of blind internees who are waiting for food.
Seven internees band together as a way to survive the chaos within the asylum. The group is led by the wife of an ophthalmologist who has inexplicably escaped the blindness. She enters the asylum with her husband, feigning blindness and revealing to no one that she can see.
The group functions like a family, each member protecting another. The situation within the asylum becomes unbearable, and the group is desperate for a way out. With the help of the doctor’s wife, who can find food and water, they succeed in escaping the asylum, only to find conditions in the city equally appalling. The breakdown within society is nearly complete. No government services are available. Police, schools, hospitals, and all other forms of collective governance are nonexistent. Violence is rampant. People live wherever they can find any form of shelter. Families are divided, and family members wander around the city, endlessly searching for each other. People distrust all others, and the fabric of the social order is completely destroyed.
The doctor and his wife slowly entice others to construct a new society, with a new form of existence. Little by little, the new family starts to build a new life. They find a home and start creating order within their group. Once a human-centered harmony is restored, the blindness starts to end; it ultimately disappears, as suddenly and inexplicably as it had begun.
Bibliography
Bloom, Harold. José Saramago. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2005. An extensive critical work on Saramago. Bloom finds Saramago to be one of the best living authors. Well written and informative. Includes a bibliography.
Frier, David Gibson. The Novels of José Saramago: Echoes from the Past, Pathways into the Future. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2007. A good critical analysis of Saramago’s novels. Uses a European-based perspective of place and time. Includes a bibliography.
Hart, Stephen M., and Wen-chin Ouyang, eds. A Companion to Magical Realism. Rochester, N.Y.: Tamesis, 2005. A helpful guide to understanding Saramago’s use of Magical Realism and to his unique style. Includes an extensive bibliography.
Rich, Mari, and Dimitri Cavalli. Nobel Prize Winners: 1997-2001. New York: H. W. Wilson, 2002. Saramago received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998. This collection of essays on late twentieth century prizewinners includes a look at Saramago’s writing style.