Erykah Foss

Mr. Pace
DC English IV, 1​st
Outside Reading Novel Essay
16 November 2019
A Legacy of Light

Producing and distributing electricity was a tremendous step in human evolution. Without

it, people would still be riding in horse-drawn carriages and reading books by gaslight. It would

be impossible to make the scientific discoveries we have today, like calculating the distance

between Earth and other galaxies or exploring the deep sea. Laura Belfer’s historical fiction, ​City

of Light,​ foregrounds one of the first hydroelectric power plants that was built on Niagara Falls

near Buffalo, New York. This city is home to Louisa Barrett, the headmistress of the most

prestigious all-girls school in the city, Macaulay. Belfer teaches her audience that the way we

remember things affects history and individual thought to speak about racial injustice,

reconciliation with transgression, and honor people who have personal meaning.

Africain Americans were unrightfully misrepresented in the Pan-American Exposition.

Mary Talbert, a Negro women’s activist, protested against the exposition because it did not

include important people of Africain American history, like inventors Granville T. Woods and

Jan Ernst Matzeliger. After Louisa explains the protest, Grace agrees that the imbalance is not

fair. Louisa refuses to join, even though “the necessity of staying away from [Mary’s] battles

gnawed at [her]” (376). Her guilt carries through the story until she can repay Mary by helping

with finding her kidnapped niece. Humans remember guilt because it remains with us until we

take action. In the past fifty years, the historical monuments and museums dedicated to the

history of black people only begin to repay them for America’s ignorance in the past.
 Foss 2

Traumatic experiences can invade the mind until one’s fear is confronted. When Louisa

was young, President Cleveland took advantage of her, impregnating her with Grace. Since then,

she indirectly takes care of her daughter but cannot get rid of the image of Mr. Cleveland. She

decides to travel to his house to meet with Mr. Cleveland for some closure. When she sees the

narrow-minded, frail man, she realizes how much she has accomplished with Macaulay and

Grace. Even though she “hadn’t forgotten, or forgiven, the anguish he made [her] suffer, [she]

could see that anguish objectively now as if it had been suffered by a different person” (576).

Louisa’s choice to remember positive aspects of her life overall created a better mindset. She was

comfortable with herself and felt welcome in her new family with Tom and Grace until her

daughter falls into Niagra.

It is the responsibility of the living to honor the dead with shared memories. Louisa, after

months of grieving, accepts the death of Grace: “And yet, I reassure myself that I’ve been

blessed in these past years by those who have lived, one after another, fulfilling dreams I’d

nurtured for them” (680). Louisa keeps a constructive mind as she reminisces on Grace’s life.

Although deeply misses Grace, she understands that her resurrection is impossible. By

remembering Grace and Margaret, Louisa is keeping them alive in her mind and heart.

Remembering those who fought for freedom, personal or public, shapes the history of

humanity. This freedom allows people to choose which memories to keep in focus. In her novel,

Belfer encourages her audience to pay more attention to the positive memories over the negative

ones. She believes that this is how a life with peace and happiness is achieved, which is the

common goal within mankind.