The Dark Light

The Dark Light

Mette Newth

1995 * p. 244 * YA Historical Fiction

The Dark Light takes place in early nineteenth century Norway. Tora is 13 years old and is struck with leprosy. Her mother has committed suicide when she found that she herself had contracted it. When Tora's leprosy is discovered, the town sends her to a leper hospital in the nearest city.

She is taken to St. Jorgen's Hospital in Bergen: basically a hospital for the living dead. The conditions are horrible and disgusting. Death is apparant in everything, especially in the deformed and gruesome faces of the patients.

Tora is pretty much in a state of denial and shock. She is scared to death of dying and the possibility of the non-existence of a God or heaven for her to go to. Her doubt mainly stems from the fact that she cannot read. And therefore she cannot discover the teachings of the Bible for herself:

"The parish pastor had said that there was but one recourse to be found--salvation. She had to surrender herself to God. Surrender herself and endure until He received her, for she was one of His chosen. God chastened those He loved the most; He had given His only begotten son for mankind's deliverance. It was all in the Holy Book, the pastor had said. That Book which she herself could not read" (6).

So though the pastor tells her she was a chosen one, Tora can't understand why everyone who is healthy would treat them so cruelly, abandon them, and pretend they were dead. She wants to know:

"Would He (God) answer the question that tortured her most: Was she rejected or elected?" (7).

Since Tora is not as sick as the others--yet--she is able to work more and help the others. One patient is particularly bitter and angry--Sunniva. She is educated and her family was rich. So Tora helps and waits on her in exchange for reading lessons. Tora finds that knowing how to read has been her greatest joy, and that stories give her an escape from the pain and suffering she must endure.

This book is wonderful. It is emotionally exhausting, however. There are many gruesome accounts and descriptions of leprosy and the cruelty that is shown them by the outside world. But I highly reccommend it.

-Reading level: ages 16 & up

-References and/or small scenes of prostitution, attempted rape, suicide, a few swear words, amputations, and body parts falling off.

-Themes of faith, hope, survival, death, education, love, service, family, positivity, etc.

-Needs a more mature audience

-A few Norwegian words

The author is Norwegian and the book is translated from Norwegian. The story is a fictionalized account of an actual leper hospital in Bergen, Norway.