This Present Darkness

The motif of light and dark is present in subtle ways, typically showing up as descriptive of the most spiritually charged moments in which various solutions hang in the balance. The demons are characterized by many dark terms; for instance, they are said to be black, grey, and red in color; they often gather in dark basements; they are most active at night and in the dark. The angels, by contrast, are not described as being light colors, some are even described explicitly as having dark hair or skin. They are described, however, as often being accompanied by light, a symbol of the presence of God.

The darkness described in the novel is a metaphysical or spiritual lack of goodness: “The room was dark, but the darkness seemed more of a presence than a physical condition; it was a force, an atmosphere that drifted and crept about the room” (48). The angels meet in the day, in houses and churches in broad daylight, and in the final victory light from heaven pours out of the clouds onto the whole host of angels gathered in the middle of town as they watch the final proceedings at the jailhouse and the college.