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The novel is also full of light imagery: often, holy or enlightened beings (such as the Spirits in the Valley of the Shadow of Life) are described as being blindingly bright. In general, light symbolizes the enlightenment and beauty that Christianity provides. The enlightenment of Christianity isn’t always pleasurable—at times, in fact, it can be painful and hurtful—but in the end, it is true, beautiful, and emphatically real, and it leads human beings to salvation.
Light Quotes in The Great Divorce
The The Great Divorce quotes below all refer to the symbol of Light. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 9
Quotes
One grows out of [light]. Of course, you haven't seen my later works. One be- comes more and more interested in paint for its own sake.
Related Characters:
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Light Symbol Timeline in The Great Divorce
The timeline below shows where the symbol Light appears in The Great Divorce. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Suddenly, the bus arrives. It’s a beautiful, bright vehicle, driven by a mysterious Driver. The Driver seems “full of light,” and waves his...
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Chapter 2
Hours pass, and slowly, it becomes brighter outside. The Narrator opens the bus window to get a better view of the light,...
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Chapter 3
...what is either an enormous cloudbank or a mountain range. The object is big and bright, and the Narrator feels “the promise of sunrise” emanating from it. As he looks up,...
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Chapter 6
...the waterfall—and the Narrator realizes that what he’d thought was a waterfall is really a bright angel, who floats “like one crucified” in the air. The “Water-Giant” tells Ikey that there...
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Chapter 11
A tall, bright angel calls out to the ghost, “Off so soon?” The ghost turns and explains to...
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Chapter 12
As George MacDonald walks with the Narrator, the Narrator sees light flashing in the trees, as if reflected from a river (hence his question at the...
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Chapter 14
The Narrator notices that MacDonald is becoming brighter. He hears voices singing, “Sleepers awake!” The sun rises high in the east, and the...
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