Blindness by José Saramago is a gripping and thought-provoking allegorical novel that examines the human condition and its capacity for hope, despair, and cooperation. Set in an unnamed city, the novel begins when a mysterious plague of “white blindness” falls upon an unidentified city. The victims of the epidemic lose their vision and are isolated from the outside world in an abandoned mental asylum—known as the “Quarantine”—which is policed and managed by the military.
The novel’s main protagonist is Doctor Raimundo Silva, a retired ophthalmologist who miraculously avoids contracting the disease. Despite his wife’s protests, Silva decides to remain in the Quarantine to help the ill. There, Silva and the other blind patients become part of a bizarre, desperate community; one that’s quickly stripped of its common conventions and forced to invent new rules and procedures for survival. Among the inhabitants of the Quarantine are a handful of individuals who remain immune to the disease for various reasons—including the novel’s narrator, a nameless first-person voice who claims to be the only one with perfect sight in the Quarantine.
The novel examines the evolving relationships formed between the blind and the sighted, exploring the theme of human adaptability in the face of extreme circumstances. As the Quarantine descends further into chaos and confusion, both groups must struggle to come to terms with their situation and find a new way of living and surviving. This search for meaning, hope, and purpose in the midst of a widespread epidemic represent several of the novel’s main themes—notably that of human resilience.
The book’s central plot concerns Doctor Silva’s attempt to find a cure to the disease. This endeavor is supported by the other inhabitants of the Quarantine who, having seen firsthand the psychological and physical havoc wreaked by the epidemic, become desperate for a way to return themselves to “normal” life. While Doctor Silva works tirelessly to identify a possible cure, he also starts to understand the strange and surprising bonds that form between the blind and the sighted as they gradually come to terms with their situation.
In Blindness, Saramago draws on many of the Orwellian themes and techniques that are prominent in his earlier work. The novel’s suspenseful tone and fast-paced plot remind readers of the bleakest moments of human existence and create a gripping atmosphere that lingers with the reader long after the book is finished. Blindness is an insightful examination of humanity's resilience in the face of extreme difficulty and a thought-provoking meditation on the instinctive human desire for survival.
