Lights of Cabiria: Light as a Plot Device

Federico Fellini filled Nights of Cabiria with a number of images and themes that are closely connected to the plot. The use of light throughout the film orients the viewer to the progression of the plot.

In the beginning of the film, it’s difficult to perceive where the plot is going; we follow Cabiria as she meanders through life. We search for significance and meaning in the story just as she searches for it herself. We want to anticipate something, but we have nothing on which to base our predictions. When the movie star character is introduced, we think he will be a significant character, but he disappears into her history just like the rest of her life. In the next scene, Cabiria’s friends discuss the pilgrims of Madonna. When the pilgrims come into view, light is streaming through the trees onto their procession.

The light in this case is strongly associated with the sacred, which S. Brent Plate explains “has the power to make meaning and provide orientation in life” (Blasphemy, Art That Offends, p. 37). The strong connection of light to the sacred continues, when the man who feeds the poor enters the story. When his character is first introduced, we see a bright light on Cabiria’s face before we really see him. When the camera actually shows him, he is in silhouette, with a hugely bright light behind him, almost suggesting he just came from this light.

The light maintains its connection to goodness and purity with its association with this selfless man. Additionally, these instances of light serve as little staccato points to indicate significant moments in the plot. They give the viewer a basis on which to anticipate future events (when the procession passes by, Cabiria and her friends talk about going to the church to ask for mercy – that alone tells the viewer about something they can expect to happen) and help break up the plot into more understandable sections.

Later, Cabiria has a profound experience at the magic show. It marks a significant plot point, as it looks back on an experience of her past – going to mass with her mother – and looks forward to this developing character of Oscar. Fellini indicates that the scene is significant with another instance of light: Cabiria looks out at the audience, but all she can really see is a bright light riddled with smoke. 

Here, the light does not carry the same connection with goodness and purity – it is tainted, literally by the smoke, and figuratively by the profanity of the magic show and the reality of her situation. The light in the magic show exhibits a blasphemy of the symbol of light – it is an “impure mixing” (Plate, p. 44) of the sacred association and the profane reality. Despite the twisting of its meaning, it still orients the viewer to the significant plot point and suggests that important events will follow.

During one of the last scenes, when Cabiria and Oscar overlook the river, Cabiria actually says “what a strange light.”

This moment should be a special culmination of Cabiria’s long struggle to find a man who respects her, the realization of her miracle. However, as she explains, it’s “strange” – verbally cuing the viewer to recognize something is amiss. At this point, the light doesn’t retain the same sacred association as the first two times, but the viewer can almost anticipate this because of the marring of the symbol in the magic show. Also, the setting is similar to the beginning of the film, when Cabiria was alone with a man standing vulnerably by the water toting her purse, which causes viewers to recall the significant opening to her story and sense the impending danger. Oscar’s greed, along with the brokenness of Cabiria’s dream and their relationship deteriorate light’s association with goodness and purity. As Plate would explain, this instance could be a blasphemy of the symbol of light, as it “[crosses] the lines between the sacred and the profane in seemingly improper ways” (p. 43). Despite the blasphemy of the symbol, the presence of light allows the reader to understand the significance of the event in the scheme of the entire story, and helps orient them to the plot as a whole. The progression of light throughout the film helps break up the plot for the viewer, as it provides orientation, denotes significant events, and helps the viewer anticipate future events.