Blindness

The novels of Nobel laureate José Saramago are rich in metaphors. Through them, one can come to know oneself, just as through tarot cards. The zero patient suddenly goes blind, stopping at a traffic light. A compassionate citizen drives him home and steals the car. The next day, the doctor examines the eyes of the blind man and does not understand the cause. A few hours later, white blindness befalls the thief, then the doctor, and then everyone who came into contact with them. The pandemic cannot be stopped. Only the doctor's wife does not lose her sight. But this is a curse, not a blessing. She will witness how people lose their human appearance, how dirt engulfs the city, and how a ray of hope will flash… Moral blindness becomes physical blindness. The author's style, marked by the absence of direct speech, exclamation marks, and question marks, forces the reader to lose familiar landmarks and, in an allegorical sense, plunge into blindness.