In the story, who do you believe is wounded, and what light are those people finding or failing to find? Which of the main characters seems the least wounded?

The title of the book comes from a quote attributed to Rumi: "The wound is the place where the light enters." In the story, who do you believe is wounded, and what light are those people finding or failing to find? Which of the main characters seems the least wounded, in your opinion?

I think each character is wounded and perhaps that carries forward into all of humanity. It's a rare person who finishes a life without wounds. As the Rumi quote illustrates, wounds can serve as a growth opportunity.

Of course Sophie and Rosa come to mind immediately as being wounded, but Nora Smithson is clearly another damaged soul. Nora is perhaps the most damaged of these three, and she also is the one who most clearly has not learned from her struggles. She has not used her pain too continue on and grow but instead has become angry, bitter, and revengeful. As a result she has caused more grief and created wounds for others. She added significantly to Sophie’s pain, for example, by telling lies about her and besmirching her good name. PSophie and Rosa seem to be moving on with their lives, turning their pain to positives. In the case of Rosa, she listens to the guidance of her elders in spite of her losses and while she may not always like the choices she is offered, she follows them and is moving ahead in her life. Sophie, for certain, is moving forward in a positive way. She opens her home and heart to others as a refuge and her future plans include a school and possibly a hospital for the instruction and healing of others. She is perhaps the greatest source of light throughout the entire novel- in my opinion

Both answers above were well stated and I agree. However, I mulled over the meaning of the title and I still am thinking about it. As I read it - the wound is where the light enters- the light gets in, the light illustrates the wound. You follow the light to find the center or endpoint of the wound. That really illustrates Nora Smithson’s case to me, her fury toward pregnant women seeking abortions, and her mental instability. If you follow where the “ light gets in” , her anger toward those women you follow that toward the wound , the origin of her anguish - the abuse she suffered. It’s a defining sensitivity - the light is- that shows us and others where the injury is. When the dentist blows air on a tooth to find the cavity , when a doctor palpates to find the point tender spot, they are in essence trying to find “ where the light enters” the pathway or more visible injury or sensitivity that leads them to the root cause of the pain. That to me was the key to the mystery. It was finding Where the Light Enters regarding who had such an injury as to making abusing and torturing women in that condition consistent with their own injury. I’m not sure if I explained that very well but it all centers around following the track of damage physically and or mentally to the core which allows one to find the true cause of all the damage. Figuratively, it also points to Nora as they caused the damage to the reputation of the midwife, Amelie and Sophie . I could detail more examples of damage done but the posts above have done an admirable job.

Every single person in this book has been wounded in some way. Nora Smithson rises to the top of the list, abused by her grandfather in the most awful ways, but Anna and Sophie have also suffered by being doctors and female, by their early life, and by loss of loved ones. And some of the wounds are just hinted at in this book. What is Oscar's story, Jack's, Sophie's employees', and the children's? The balance for most of them is love and family support, but life wounds. "Into each life, a little rain must fall." (At least a little.)