Light and darkness (Diagnosis)

Light has many different meanings in literature but it mostly has a positive connotation. Light is the essence of life and goodness. A good example can be found one of the oldest and most influential books on earth - the Bible: “And God said let there be light, and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).[i] In this moment, the world was able to flourish and life began. This was, somehow, the beginning of everything - and so, through this example of how creation came into being, light may be seen as the basis for everything positive. Another exemplary reference to light can be found in the saying ‘the light at the end of the tunnel’. This expresses that the circumstances of the situation are unfavorable but the end, the light so to speak, is already in sight. Just as the saying portrays light as something positive and good, this metaphor can also be found in more visual representations: for example a light-bulb appearing above the head as a symbol of someone having an idea.

Lightbulb illustrates an idea [ii]

In contrast, darkness is quite frequently mentioned in a negative context. To put it simply, darkness is a situation in which human beings are not able to see - that is, they are not able to use their sense of sight. Humans are meant to be active during the day, as seen by our biorhythms, eyes and other body functions that do not work properly when there is no daylight.[iii] Thus darkness as in the lack of light or daylight is a situation we naturally try to avoid. When deprived of one of our most important senses and unable to orientate ourselves, fight or flight mode may kick in, heightened by adrenaline and fear. Examples of this are having to stay in a dark room and not being able to see or orientate oneself or both the metaphorical and actual darkness in cities, where people often fear becoming a victim of a crime.

The darkness within is also worth mentioning: a perceived state of unbalance within the psyche, characterized by negative thoughts and feelings about oneself and others.

The first time darkness is mentioned in “Diagnosis” it appears as Paul Dorrance’s fear:

“The two eminent physicians he had just seen had told him he would be all right again in a few months; that his dark fears were delusions; that all he needed was to get away from work till he had recovered his balance of body and brain.”[iv] The fears are described to be dark, since there seems to be no light and hope to survive the cancer which he was scared of being diagnosed with.

The second time darkness appears is when Paul Dorrance wishes the light to be absent after he finds the paper with his doom on it: “He propped his chin on his locked hands, shut his eyes, and tried to grope his way through the illimitable darkness….[…]. Yes; it would be easier to bear in a pitch-black room”.[v] The darkness in this context means the absence of light in a coffin -where he sees himself in a short while due to his cancer.

“He stood up, blinking at the harsh impact of light and life.”[vi] This is when Eleanor Welwood comes to see Paul Dorrance. Hearing a human’s voice seems to him like the light of a flash - here, the light has a negative connotation.

“With the hard morning light on her pale face and thin lips, [Eleanor] looked twenty years older. Older than what? After all, she was well over forty, and had never been beautiful (…)”.[vii] The morning light is usually meant to express something good - a new day begins, there is a chance to restart. But with the adverb hard the actually positive morning light turns to the opposite. The new light (of the new day) makes Paul Dorrance able to see something in Eleanor’s face which he has obviously never perceived before: her thin lips and her pale face;[viii] in general, that Paul does not consider Eleanor to be beautiful.

“Now the consultation was over, and he had descended from the specialist’s door, and stood alone in the summer twilight, watching the trees darken against illumination of the street lamps.”[ix] In this statement the contrast between dark and bright is striking: the dark trees and the bright light of the street lamps. The term twilight underlines the contrary conditions. On the one hand, that the darkness of the trees (the trees that could symbolize nature with its decay and its purity) could metaphorically be Paul Dorrance’s belief in death - which he had seen in his near future just before the consultation - which is about to disappear from his life, and on the other hand, the light of the street lamps could denote the new chance he gets to alter his life completely

“[A]nd there, between the chalk-white pillows, in the green-shaded light, his saw his wife’s face. (…) [T]hat subtle play of light remained invisible to others, and his irritation was caused simply by knowing it was there.”[x] There are different basic approaches to interpret the color green in this context. Unquestionably, green indicates nature and hope in colloquial connotation, but it has also the connotation of resurrection of the body which would imply Edith Wharton’s, or at least Paul Dorrance’s, belief in God.

Green is not a natural light to be found in a room. If there really is green light (which obviously is not the case due to the fact that only Dorrance sees it) there might be a tree in front of the window which is rather impossible since he lives in a high-perched flat. In contrast, green can also illustrate positive vibes or messages; especially when it is meant as a signal color: green embodies something positive and affirmative. One could say that Eleanor wants to show Paul that everything will be all right even though she seems to be in a bad constitution.

[i] Die Bibel. Altes und Neues Testament ; Einheitsübersetzung (1998). Lizenzausg. Freiburg: Herder. p.5. Ins Englische übersetzt von Kathrin Schmid

[ii] Idea. lightbulb_idea_clipart. Online verfügbar unter https://www.google.com/search?q=idea+clipart&client=firefox-b&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjVj_2qs9bbAhXGiiwKHa16C14Q_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=611#imgrc=2RSKQxInNIV09M:, zuletzt geprüft am 15.06.2018.

[iii] Campbell, Neil A.; Reece, Jane B.; Kratochwil, Anselm; Lazar, Thomas (Hg.) (2012): Biologie. 8., aktualisierte Aufl., korr. Nachdruck von 2012. München: Pearson Studium (Pearson Studium - Biologie). Online verfügbar unter http://lib.myilibrary.com/detail.asp?id=404891. p.1477ff.

[iv] Wharton, Edith; Robinson, Roxana (2007): The New York stories of Edith Wharton. New York, NY: New York Review Books (New York Review Books classics). p. 381.

[v] Ibid. p.384.

[vi] Ibid. p.385.

[vii] Ibid. p.386.

[viii] Ibid. p.386.

[ix] Ibid. p.391.

[x] Ibid. p.398.