The Theme of Suffering in Fever 1793 by Laurie Anderson

Bryant Hill once said, “Suffering is one of life’s greatest teachers,” and he couldn't have been more correct. Suffering teaches a person how to persevere and be patient in the hardest of times. People also learn to have empathy towards others and to help them. In the novel Fever 1793 by Laurie Anderson, the characters face many challenges, trials, and calamities due to the fever. At times, the characters were on the verge of giving up, but they still looked forward and kept going. They struggled to find their way through the dark tunnel to find the light—the light of hope from their suffering. In the end, these experiences transformed the characters into more mature individuals. I think suffering is an important theme in this book. So, read on to find out.

Suffering Through Loss and Illness

Firstly, the suffering takes place in the form of losing loved ones or a person getting really sick. Matilda experiences the loss of someone she loves—her grandfather—and it fills her with pain, grief, anger, and fear. The trauma of loss is something that doesn’t fade away at once; rather, it slowly fades as time progresses. All the characters in the story face this kind of pain at some point in the book. For example, Joseph lost his wife; Nell loses her mom, and so on. The other kind of physical pain that many characters went through were the aftereffects of the fever. Mother became frail and weak, to the extent that she couldn’t take care of the coffee house anymore. Meanwhile, Joseph and his kids underwent a severe condition of yellow fever, and it took days before they recovered. During that period, it was a test for them, which they succeeded in completing. The pain of yellow fever completely transformed Matilda’s body, making her pale and thin due to the intensity of the struggles she faced and the yellow fever.

Mistreatment and Abuse

Secondly, some of the characters in the story are abused, mistreated, and even taken advantage of by others. This kind of suffering happened to anyone and everyone who had the fever. Regardless of who they were, they were either dumped, not taken care of, or just shooed away. Mentioned on page 119, it says that a family tossed out their own son in fear of catching the fever themselves. In addition, when Matilda and her grandfather were traveling with the farmer to the Ludington's, the farmer literally dumped them onto the street and left, just because of the fear of the grandfather being sick. All their belongings were taken, and no mercy was shown to them. If this isn’t mistreatment, then what is? These actions highlight the social breakdown that can occur when fear overrides compassion.

The Suffering of Poverty

Thirdly, another kind of suffering that takes place in this story is the suffering of poverty. As the fever raged, the prices of food and medicine increased, while the flow of money decreased. A huge difference between the rich and poor led to the spread of the fever and starvation. If only people had learned to sympathize and help one another, the story would have been completely different. Instead of being selfish, the people should have united against the fever. This would have led to a healthier community, which in turn would mean fewer vulnerable people. However, the people suffered from malnutrition and less food. Matilda became so thin that her cheekbones could be seen, showing that even characters like her faced this challenge. The economic disparity exacerbated the crisis, making survival even more challenging.

Conclusion: Lessons Learned from Suffering

In conclusion, it can be said that while pain and suffering are terrible, we also learn that there are strategies for coping with it. Matilda, for example, refuses to remain a victim of the fever. She survives and also helps others survive. Her painful experiences give her the ability to empathize with the pain of others. She starts helping Eliza nurse fever victims back to health, and she also becomes a guardian to the orphan Nell. Though suffering is an awful thing, the way in which Matilda deals with pain suggests that these experiences teach us valuable lessons about life. Sometimes, they can even help us make the world a better place. So, let’s step up from our darkness and pain, learn some lessons, and change the world.

References

Anderson, L. H. (2000). Fever 1793. Simon & Schuster.

Hill, B. (n.d.). [Quote].

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