The “dark night of the soul” is that moment in a story where all seems lost. It is the biggest challenge your protagonist faces as they teeter on the brink of failure.
Stories thrive on conflict. Whether it’s between two individuals, different groups, or a battle within weighing the merits of good and evil, tension drives the story through your characters.
Delivering a cathartic moment of surrender for your protagonist can be difficult, but if it is done well, your readers will love you for it. In this article, I’ll examine what the dark night of the soul accomplishes, and I’ll give you a Story Weapon to help you bring your characters through it to a point of transformation.
The dark night of the soul is the moment near the end of Act Two when a protagonist hits rock bottom, losing hope, meaning, and confidence in their old way of being. This emotional surrender forces an inner shift, paving the way for transformation and a more powerful, cathartic climax.
What Does “Dark Night of the Soul” Mean?
The phrase has its origins in a Spanish poem entitled “Noche Oscura del Alma” by St. John of the Cross, a 16th century Catholic priest. In his poem, he describes the pain and anguish of the separation of one’s soul from God while he was imprisoned.
While originally rooted in Christian mysticism, the phrase “dark night of the soul” is now used more broadly to describe intense periods of spiritual, emotional, or existential crisis that are characterized by feelings of emptiness, loss of meaning, profound doubt, and disorientation.
End of Act Two
The dark night of the soul typically occurs about three-quarters of the way through your story. It takes place at the end of the second act where your protagonist reaches their absolute lowest point. Imagine a time when you’ve tried something again and again, only to fail, and now you are all alone, far from home, and the odds seem impossible to overcome.
When your protagonist hits rock bottom in this way, it not only heightens the conflict but also serves as a turning point. They recognize the impossibility of getting what they want based on their current approach (or current identity), and as a result, a gift often appears, either as a literal physical gift or the gift of insight.
This is the essential moment that ushers your protagonist into Act Three, where they begin to pursue what they need as opposed to what they want.
“Life begins on the other side of despair.”
– Jean-Paul Sartre
Purpose of the dark night of the soul
This key moment of surrender serves to develop your main characters further and move them way past their comfort zones. It also raises the stakes and makes the end more unpredictable.
We have all faced challenges in our lives, and as such, we tend to empathize with characters who are at their worst. We tend to relate more to their experiences of vulnerability, and through the dark night of the soul, you can engage your readers even further by connecting them to the struggles and hardships of your characters. It is a brilliant way of developing empathy.
While in most stories, the protagonist does indeed triumph eventually, this stage of hardship and darkness makes the win all the more powerful and cathartic. It paves the way to a satisfying climax and makes us root for the hero all the more.
Key characteristics include:
- A profound loss of meaning: This moment challenges the beliefs and values of the protagonist. As they come to this point of surrender, they often feel like life has lost its meaning and find themselves in dire straits.
- Inner turmoil: We see internal conflict in the protagonist the most here. They grapple with internal fears and existential doubts alongside external challenges.
- Intense self-doubt: While the protagonist might feel confident in themselves and their allies, this moment invites deep questioning of their core values, beliefs, and identities. In a psychological sense, it is the moment where we potentially see a dissolution of the ego, leading to a transformation of the protagonist.
- Despair, solitude, and isolation: Here they are overcome by feelings of hopelessness, loneliness, and profound sadness. They must either give up or change.
- Purposeful transformation: This state of helplessness encourages the protagonist to undergo a transformation to overcome their situation. This is often seen as a process of spiritual purification as the protagonist dies to their old self and grows into a stronger and more resilient version of themselves.
Examples of the dark night of the soul
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Hazel reaches this moment after Augustus’s health collapses. The future she dared to imagine disappears, leaving her confronting grief, helplessness, and the inevitability of loss.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Macbeth’s dark night comes after he becomes king. Trapped by paranoia, guilt, and the knowledge that he can never undo what he’s done, he realizes that power has not brought him peace.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Jane experiences her darkest moment when she leaves Rochester and wanders the moors penniless and alone. She sacrificed her love to preserve her moral integrity, and must now survive emotional and physical despair.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) directed by Frank Darabont
Andy’s dark night occurs when he is sent to solitary confinement and believes all hope is gone. This becomes the quiet turning point that strengthens his resolve to escape.
Your story weapon: Give deeper meaning to your character’s inner struggle
The purpose of story is to reveal a transformation, and the dark night of the soul is an essential stop on the journey to your climax. Without the protagonist surrendering the meaning they have made out of their goal, the transformation will be nothing more than an intellectual experience.
The journey from a flawed individual to a fulfilled one is the heart of many stories, and the difficult path between those points creates drama. The dark night of the soul allows you to add levels of depth to your characters and set them on either the path to fulfilment or the consequences if they fail.
Here the protagonist is forced to address their flawed beliefs, surrender, and shift their perception in order to transform. In essence, the dark night of the soul is where everything comes full circle, tying the beginning and the end together.
If you’d like to dive more deeply into this topic, you can watch my 1-hr workshop on The Dark Night of the Soul here, or join one of my next workshops: The 90-Day Novel, The 90-Day Memoir, Story Day
