Poem Analysis - Faith Healing

Introduction: A Landscape of Disappointment

Philip Larkin's "Faith Healing" paints a bleak and cynical picture of religious revival meetings and the vulnerable individuals who seek solace within them. The poem's tone is initially observational, almost clinical, but gradually descends into disillusionment as it explores the underlying emptiness and unfulfilled desires of the attendees. The poem shifts from a descriptive account of the healing process to a broader commentary on the universal human longing for love and the inevitable disappointment that follows when that longing remains unmet.

Longing for Love: The Poem's Central Theme

One of the central themes of "Faith Healing" is the profound human longing for love. Larkin suggests that this desire is inherent in everyone, "In everyone there sleeps / A sense of life lived according to love." However, he distinguishes between two types of longing: the desire to give love ("the difference they could make / By loving others") and the more prevalent yearning to receive it ("all they might have done had they been loved"). The poem ultimately focuses on the latter, highlighting the pervasive sense of lack and the pain of unrealized potential. This theme is developed through the descriptions of the women's desperate hope and the subsequent "slackening ache" of disappointment.

The Illusion of Healing: A Temporary Reprieve

The poem presents the "faith healing" itself as a transient and ultimately futile attempt to address deeper emotional wounds. The imagery of the healer – "Upright in rimless glasses, silver hair, / Dark suit, white collar" – suggests a figure of authority and respectability, yet his interactions with the women are brief and impersonal ("Each dwells some twenty seconds"). The "warm spring rain of loving care" is quickly followed by abrupt dismissal ("Their heads are clasped abruptly; then, exiled"). The vivid description of the women's reactions, particularly those who "stay stiff, twitching and loud / With deep hoarse tears," reveals the intensity of their need and the temporary release they experience. However, this joy is short-lived, ultimately replaced by the realization that their fundamental lack remains unaddressed. The healing is portrayed as an illusion, a temporary reprieve from a deeper, more persistent pain.

Imagery of Suppression and Release

Larkin employs powerful imagery to depict both the suppression and the brief release of emotions. The initial image of the women "Slowly" filing forward suggests a resigned and controlled demeanor. The description of the "dumb / And idiot child within them" represents the suppressed emotions and unmet needs that lie dormant until awakened by the healer's touch. The "deep hoarse tears" and the "thick tongues" that "blort" represent the release of these long-held emotions, a moment of raw, unfiltered expression. However, this release is ultimately unsustainable, as the women are returned to their unfulfilled lives. The "thawing" landscape, weeping as it thaws, is a particularly potent image, symbolizing the gradual realization of their underlying sadness and disappointment.

Disappointment and the Unchanging Reality

The poem concludes with a sense of profound disappointment and the recognition of an unchanging reality. The line "That nothing cures" emphasizes the depth and intractability of the women's pain. The "immense slackening ache" is not a cathartic release but a confirmation of their ongoing suffering. The repetition of "Dear child" at the end, juxtaposed with the statement that "all time has disproved," underscores the futility of their hope and the ultimate failure of the faith healing to provide any lasting comfort. The healer's words, once a source of temporary solace, become a reminder of the enduring emptiness in their lives. The poem suggests that the desire for love is a fundamental human need, but that its absence can leave a void that cannot be easily filled, even by faith.