Infliction or affliction?

[Scarfy]

I've got some flashback chapters in my current novel that I want to subtitle to make it a little clearer they are such. As I want these to be centred around a particular moment in time (a point at which a character was cursed), I want to say "xxx years before ..."

Four year before the affliction

or

Four years before the infliction

I avoided saying "before the curse" as there is a flashback set a few years after the curse was inflicted and saying, "xxx years after the curse" makes it sound as though the curse was lifted.

Thoughts?

 

[Parson]

affliction would first point me toward a disease likely not done by a human.

infliction points me to something done to someone, very possibly done by a human.

 

[Wiglaf]

The infliction is the enactment of the curse. The affliction is what was inflicted (the curse). Xxx years before his affliction or the infliction of the curse or the curse was inflicted would all work.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

affliction would first point me toward a disease likely not done by a human.

infliction points me to something done to someone, very possibly done by a human.

That would sum it up nicely. Afflictions are generally things that happen to people through no particular fault, as in a disease or a condition one is born with or that just shows up. Inflictions are things that are done to people by an outside force, like another person. One inflicts damage, one is afflicted with disease or illness.

 

[Scarfy]

affliction would first point me toward a disease likely not done by a human.

infliction points me to something done to someone, very possibly done by a human.

Okay. It sounds like because this is a curse (caused by an evil spirit), either one may be correct. The exact subtitles are:

"Five summers before the infliction" - the character has not been cursed yet.

"Thirty-five summers after the infliction" - the character was cursed thirty-five summers ago and is still working to rid himself of it.

"The summer of the infliction" - the summer that the character was cursed.