“The Whole Earth Is Full of His Glory”: Lighting and Suffering in Ingmar Bergman’s Winter Light

Abstract

This chapter analyzes how the film uses light to examine God’s silence. When characters discuss anguish, they evoke Augustine, Kant, Leibniz, Kierkegaard, Sartre, Nietzsche, Barth, and Hauerwas. During these moments, some drown in darkness and others stumble in luminescence, while a few have the courage to light the way for others. This lighting motif criticizes explanations for torment that concentrate on subjective suffering and condones those that focus on intersubjective communities seeking to alleviate anguish. Overall, elements from chandeliers to candlelight extol the fragile light made by humanity, which can light the darkness even when the Lord’s sun has set.