This summer I read Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin, and I must say, it was truly terrifying. This novel brought to light a type of human being that the world likes to pretend does not exist. This caused my biggest take away to be the fact that some humans are inhumane. There is no saving them. Their crimes against humanity and life itself are too great to ever be forgiven. There are characters in this book who rape, torture, and murder human children and different animals, who show no regard for life itself. I have to say that at times this book made me feel hopeless. I thought to myself that if there are human beings like this in existence, walking free, how can anyone ever truly be safe in the most general sense of the word, …show more content…
I was having a very hard time grappling with the questions this book arises, and I still do, but then I read a line in the story that made me feel better. This line occurs when Adelia and Ulf were talking after the killing of Rakshasa. Ulf was asking Adelia how any human beings, especially a nun and a crusader, could commit such horrendous acts. She replied that they were insane, no matter what their exteriors were, and that they just happened to join together in their madness. It was what she said that followed this that put me at ease, “...Ulf, there are more of us then there are of those. Infinitely more. Hold fast to that.”” Those, referring to inhumane human beings. This statement gave me a sense of calm because it reminded me that the amount of good people in the world outnumber the amount of bad, and that as long as this is true, humanity will be fine. This book made me look at the evil side of life that the masses tend to ignore, which is not necessarily a good thing. It is important to be educated about matters relating to sexual assault, murder, and other similar crimes to be safe, and to let the victims know that the world is not ignoring what they have gone through, and that they have nothing to be ashamed …show more content…
Doctors like Adelia must heal patients even if the patients have horrible character. For instance, today a doctor might be called into duty to conduct a life-saving surgery on a known murderer, and even though they most likely despise this human being, it is their job to save them. There is a quote from the book that describes this phenomenon perfectly, “...she was a doctor, and true doctors make no judgements, only diagnoses. She had treated the wounds and diseases of men and women who disgusted her humanity but not her profession. Character repelled; the suffering, needy body did not.” This quote fascinated me because it showed how a doctor must compartmentalize in his or her brain, and momentarily disregard the inhumane character of the person in front of them, and just focus on the ailing human body. It truly takes a brainpower that most humans do not possess, including