Previous

“I’m no improver of the world and let him lie there. I am employed by the district and do my duty…”

Upon arriving at the sick man’s house, the doctor reveals that he’s lost faith in his ability to make a difference in the world and how he’s lost faith in his profession and in his own skill as a doctor. The doctor’s identity is tied to his profession, and he vacillates between feeling resigned and being angry. In this passage, he acknowledges that he can’t change the world or perform miracles, so he’s not going to even attempt to help his patient. This shows a lack of faith in his abilities. In the next breath, however, the doctor combatively states that he’s going through the motions and fulfilling his obligations to his employers. This assertion implies that any failure on his part with regards to his patient is actually a failure of the district since he is merely an employee without any real power to accomplish changes. This reveals a loss of faith in the system in which he is expected to function. The doctor’s shift back and forth between personal and organizational losses of faith indicates his disillusionment and feelings of impotence.

“That’s how people are…Always demanding the impossible from the doctor.”

At the home of his patient, the doctor expresses a loss of faith in his community and, by extension, himself. When he first assumes he’s been called from his home to see to a man who’s perfectly fine, the doctor shows how he has lost faith in how he is valued. He reflects again and again on all he’s given up for the sake of his profession, including, selfishly, the fact that his own servant girl has been sacrificed for his duty. Even when he realizes his patient has a horrifying wound, he shows he has no faith in himself because he doesn’t even try to treat him. Instead, he resolves that the man will die and then lies to him and says he’ll be fine. The doctor’s actions show that he blames others for not having faith in him. However, he also reveals through his thoughts and actions that he has lost his faith in himself and is reduced to blaming others for his inability to do more.

Previous section The Inevitability of Aging

Take a Study Break