The Prison Healer

This theme is evident throughout The Prison Healer, becoming a pervasive concept that shapes both the narrative and the characters by demonstrating the brutal realities of life in Zalindov prison, where power dynamics are unbalanced and the abuse of power runs rampant. As Kiva explains, the prisoners “knew that while Zalindov was ruled with an iron fist” and that “the Warden did not condone abuse of power from his guards,” the fact remains that the guards still find ways of “violating the prisoners” (14) without getting caught. This corrupt dynamic reveals that even with an allegedly “fair” leader, the lack of external oversight allows for human rights abuses to take place. Warden Rooke is only accountable to the leaders of other kingdoms, but none of those leaders monitor him directly, and no prisoners ever leave Zalindov alive. For this reason, there is little risk that the guards’ abuses will result in punishment from external sources.

Despite Warden Rooke’s supposed stance against guards abusing prisoners, the guards exploit their authority more or less as they please. For example, of the guards sexually assault female prisoners and torture both male and female prisoners for the purposes of entertainment. One of Kiva’s concerns during the winter is that with no new prisoners arriving, the guards get so bored that they intensify their habits of torturing and assaulting the inmates. Some prisoners submit to the guards in order to gain meager favors that allow them to lead a slightly easier life than most prisoners do.

Kiva is also a target of this corruption and abuse, even if she considers herself to be “luckier” than many others. Her experiences in Zalindov therefore reveal the dehumanizing effects of power that is wielded without accountability. When Kiva “disobeys” Warden Rooke and receives help during her third trial, she is tortured with solitary confinement in a completely dark cell for two weeks: a situation that gravely threatens her mental health. The narrative provides a vivid glimpse of this dire situation, stating, “Kiva didn’t know how long she’d been locked inside the pitch-black cell, the true Abyss of Zalindov. The Butcher had been right— the psychological torture was worse than any physical pain. She had no sense of time, no sense of space… no sense of self” (334). Notably, Warden Rooke can inflict this torture on Kiva or any prisoner on a whim. In Kiva’s case, he uses the excuse of her disobedience, but his real reason for sending her to the Abyss is to silence her and demoralize her in an attempt to keep her from revealing his role in poisoning and killing countless prisoners as a form of population control. In this light, the Abyss itself symbolizes the dark, ominous nature of the unchecked power that Rooke and the guards wield, because a prisoner can be condemned to the Abyss for any reason or for no reason at all.

Throughout the novel, the corruptive influence of power extends beyond individuals to the broader system that allows such abuses to continue. Warden Rooke exemplifies this dynamic, because while he ostensibly seeks to uphold order, he is willing to commit atrocities in order to maintain the appearance that he is in control. Even more importantly, the narrative hints that this abuse does not stop at Zalindov’s walls; it is part of a broad, equally corrupt system of government. The kingdoms that supply the prisoners to Zalindov do so knowing that they are sending people to their deaths, often without a trial. They use Zalindov as a convenient dumping ground for their “criminals” and choose to ignore the human rights abuses taking place there.