The Ancient Mariner

The theme of destiny is crucial to each work because in the “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” the theme reinforces crime and consequence. In The Blind Assassin it enhances the bluntness of reality. Atwood makes this them visible throughout the main novel and sub-novel. From Laura’s birth and the death of their mother it was obvious that Iris was destined to be caretaker of the family. Iris was never allowed into her own individual self from that moment. Atwood addresses the idea of the ability to act on one’s environment separates individual self as an entity linking the internal and external (Domagalska 410). The fact that Iris does not have complete control over her interactions with the world around her she is not entirely linked to the world
internally and externally. Therefore, the sub-novel, “The Blind Assassin” becomes her internal representation to her connection to the world. Another example of this theme is Laura’s destined early death. A constant state of unhappiness in Laura’s life supports the theme.
When she was a child she attempted to drown herself in an effort to bring her mother back to life. The inner-outer connection establishes a range of experiences available versus what is outside of one’s influence (Domagalska 410). Laura had a freedom that Iris could never have, however, Laura was still held to a set of standards she was forced to meet and her resentment towards Iris became the strongest influence to her unhappiness. Consequently, the “Rime of the Ancient Mariner carries the same theme due to the moral it represents. The poem carries the idea that if the Mariner had not been out at sea who would then spread the tale. “The erosion of proven methods of inferring the future from the past at first increased freedom in relation to both past and future by allowing for a transfiguration of the past [but]…that left the future indeterminate and turned it into summons” (Halmi 369). Learning from the past is the basis of life. It’s the primary concept of survival of the fittest. The passage of knowledge became the Mariner goal but it also a vice. The theme readdresses the thought of ontology; the relation of being and the interaction with the Mariner and the
spirits. It brings to mind whether the spirits were truly there or if it was all just a dream that the Mariner believed. The tale is to haunt the Mariner for the rest of his days.
A second theme shared by the two works is misery.
In the “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” misery begins in the beginning of the poem but becomes truly apparent towards the middle of the poem a carries on with him through to the end. The Mariner is faced with, first, the distress of his crew, then, the agony as his entire crew is killed and he is left in solitude out at sea. The Mariner’s misery then travels to his present self where he forced to travel and roam to tell his tale to those that need to hear or live in unbearable pain. The theme of misery is meant to put emphasis on the moral, all of nature's creations are worthy of love and respect. The theme of misery is also presented in The Blind Assassin through the life of Iris and her mother, Liliana. Both women lived in miserable marriages which had no emotion, faith or hope and were only thought of as means for gain. The idea of literary ghosts is presented in Thomas Foster’s How to Read Literature like a Professor. It is the idea that a character has a meaning or purpose outside of themselves (17). Iris had the unhappy life full of sadness and desolation. Her ghosts are Laura, her father, and Alex. All three died but held different meaning in Iris’ life. Alex had been Iris’ escape and wish for something more while Laura and her father became oppressive figures that tied Iris to her misery. Along with ghosts Foster introduces Vampires, the representational figure for corruption and the stripping of youth, energy, virtue,
and leading to death and destruction (19). Many of Iris’ ghosts act as vampires to her too. With the death of her father and sister Iris is left in an unwanted and unchangeable situation that she had no choice but the live with. Alex was the only light of hope Iris had and she lost all ties to him when he died in the war and when the daughter she had with him dies so that she is once again left alone. Despite Iris as the main source of misery there were other characters that suffered as well. Winifred, Iris’ sister in law, had a miserable dependency on Richard, her brother and Iris’ husband. Winifred had a need for power and reputation however all that she had was connected to Richard and she would not have been able to maintain her status without him. Through all her efforts to impress and be noticed she never was. Misery holds a different meaning for each work along with creating a different effect in the work.