The extract I have chosen is on page 163, starting with ‘Patrick has clung like moss to strangers’ and ending on page 164. I chose this passage because it seems central to the novel – it relates to Patrick’s sense of place, the novel’s title and the issue of identity.
This passage is one of intense introspection and self-examination, with Ondaatje describing what Patrick is, but in doing so he makes it clear that Patrick is actually unclear about who or what he is. This links interestingly to the paradoxes of post-modernism; Patrick is unable to define himself unless other people are present, much like the idea that post-modern novels only exist when they are read (hence their self-aware nature). Ondaatje says that Patrick ‘…could no more have skated along the darkness of a river than been the hero of one of these stories.’ Yet the irony here is that Patrick is indeed the protagonist (or one of the protagonists) of In the Skin of a Lion – so perhaps in his self-definition he is undermining himself, as Ondaatje reveals the duality of his statement we are reminded that Patrick is a hero, if not a necessarily a conventional one.
Ondaatje uses a powerful metaphor to link the idea of Patrick assuming the role of a hero (whilst not being aware of it) with the novel’s title: ‘...the powerful matriarch removed her large coat from which the animal pelts dangled and she passed it, along with her strength, to one of the minor characters.’ This raises a number of issues. Firstly, there is the fact that the original person to pass the animal pelt along is a ‘powerful matriarch’ – could it be that Ondaatje is commenting upon the gender of imperialism or even more specifically, Britain? Also, how can Patrick assume this skin if he is not female? Secondly, the passing of the pelt represents Ondaatje’s own methods of narration: throughout the novel the focus moves from various characters, arguably minor: Patrick, Temelcoff, Caravaggio. Finally, the idea of the title, In the Skin of a Lion, becomes clear: ‘Each person has their moment when they assumed the skins of wild animals, when they took responsibility for the story.’ But which of the protagonists in the novel is the ‘lion’? I suggest that it is Patrick, as he is constantly involved with violence and is battle-scarred, like a lion. Also, it is significant that none of the characters seem to realise that they have taken ‘responsibility for the story’. This is Ondaatje’s way of reminding the readers that they are reading a work of fiction (in spite, and perhaps because of, its elements of history).
Another issue that arises from this passage is the difficulty of sense of place and its history, particularly as Patrick acknowledges his ignorant of issues that are important to other characters: ‘He had lived in this country all his life. But it was only now that he learned of the union battles up north’. It seems possible that Patrick’s interest in politics sparks from a desire to learn more about ‘this country’ whilst at the same time subverting and contesting certain issues – again, this can be linked to Ondaatje’s intentions as he both involves history whilst at the same time raising (and even subverting) unexpected issues.
Another contentious issue with this passage is Patrick’s belief that he is: ‘a searcher gazing into the darkness of his own country, a blind man dressing the heroine’. Yet at the end of the novel it becomes clear that this is not the case: whilst Patrick is in the tunnel he has no light but he is still able to navigate through it, therefore his preoccupation with his own blindness is unnecessary as he demonstrates throughout and at the end of the novel an ability to perceive without seeing. Also, Ondaatje’s use of the word ‘heroine’ is significant – again Patrick’s idea of his own identity is fallible – there is no heroine in the novel, therefore Patrick’s concept of his own inferiority to the women in his life is flawed.
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4 comments:
This idea of heroes/heroines is an interesting one. Whereas the Bildungsroman (http://lion.chadwyck.co.uk/searchFulltext.do?id=R00792424&divLevel=0&queryId=../session/1195036425_20640&trailId=115A339F4EF&area=ref&forward=critref_ft - sorry, the comments feature on Blogger evidently doesn't like html) was a genre in which nineteenth-century writers felt very comfortable, many twentieth-century writers have had problems representing heroes unproblematically, so in one sense Ondaatje’s novel fits fairly neatly into that tradition. But on the other hand, he’s made it relatively hard to identify a single protagonist as the most important. Talking about heroes and heroines sets up hierarchies – some characters are presented as more important/significant than others. I read Ondaatje as trying to present the different characters in ways that don’t hierarchise them but present them as equally valid perspectives on a particular period in Canadian history.
Also, ‘the idea that post-modern novels only exist when they are read (hence their self-aware nature)’ – not sure what you mean by this …?
Sorry, that's not very clear...I suppose I meant the metafictional nature of post-modern novels, and the role of the reader in their interpretation.
I think it is an important issue to raise concerning Patrick, his identty and the role of his character in the whole text. I agree that Ondaatje does not present Patrick with a strong identity and it is significant to observe that Patrick is most 'alive' when engaging with other characters such as Clara and Alice. It is here that he is impassioned and his character becomes enriched and more complex. Even when he concerns himself with Ambrose - a figure he has never actually met - the reader gains a lot more knowledge about Patrick. It appears to me that Ondaatje has Patrick judge himself by relating his thoughts and feelings to other characters.
This leads me to also agree with Louise's comment on the role of the protagonist. It is clear that a majority of the text is centred and relates to Patrick but the author fails to present him as a traditional hero. I argue that Patrick's charaacter is more interesting due to the breaking of these conventions as the reader becomes more intrigued by his complexities.
Catherine: Just had another thought, perhaps Patrick's role as a 'Searcher' can be construed as Patrick searching for his identity - he gains a sense of self through other people.
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