Context & Significance
Social and Historical Context
"Blindness" was written in Portugal, Saramago's birthplace, and first published by Caminho the year 1995, in Portuguese. Naturally, the book's audience was Portuguese readers. However, Saramago was politically affiliated with Portugal's Community Party and thus when Portugal as a country underwent an anti-communist movement, his literature was quickly labeled controversial.
That being said, Blindness still draws specific comparisons from its contemporary era with which Portuguese men and women would easily recognize within the novel regardless of political affiliation. As a prime example, the brutality and complete lack of empathy demonstrated by military soldiers stationed at the asylum are historical references to the regime under dictator António Salazar (Britannica, 2021).
Significance Through a Literary Approach
While the novel presents many philosophical themes and outlooks through its allegorical lens, this exhibit will utilize a literary approach to discuss and analyze the following two themes: