The Skin Of A Lion Symbolism
Everyone is blind until they experience something or meet someone that changes the way they see things. For some, meeting someone is enough to change their perspective on life. However for others, it may take an experience like falling in love or experiencing a death of a loved one in order for the individual to be enlightened to a new way of looking at things. In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje shows Patrick as he goes from being blind to the realities of life to being enlightened to many things after he finds unconditional love. In many ways Patrick was like the blind iguana given to him by Clara. An iguana is best known for their excellent vision but ironically the iguana mentioned in the novel is blind. This parallels the fact
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that Patrick is an observer yet he is still blind to the things going on around him. Even as a little child he watched people from his window, but he seems so blind. Coming from a small town he does not know how to fit in. He is blind to the tragic ways that the rich are exploiting the new immigrants around him. He is blind to the fact that Clara will never be with him and that Ambrose will always be the one in her heart. He is unwilling to see the truth. Then he meets Alice and finds a more mature and unconditional love with her. It is not only this love that changes him but it is the love and commitment that he has with Alice specifically that gives him insight and a view of the world in a whole different light that he can take on with him for the rest of his life. Clara is possibly the first girl that Patrick is attracted to. He first finds her when he is looking for Ambrose and she intrigues him. Their relationship is impulsive and immature. “Love was like childhood for him. It opened him up, he was silly and relaxed.” (66) Only after a few days of knowing Clara, he admits that he loves her. Patrick is comparing his love for Clara to a childhood. Childhood represents a stage of innocence and blindness to the rest of the world. This accurately describes his love for Clara. He is blind to the rest of the world and he does not care for anyone but Clara. It shows that he has found a young love, infatuation. Infatuation is like an addictive love. A selfish love. A love that completely blinds Patrick with passion. “But sometime after that I’ll leave you. For Ambrose.” (72) Clara constantly talks about Ambrose and how she will leave Patrick for Ambrose yet Patrick still stays with her. He is willing to let Clara walk all over him and use him for her sexual pleasures. Patrick is possibly staying with her in attempt to try to change her mind. He is choosing not to see the reality behind the future of their relationship. He is choosing blindness. This also confirms the state of their relationship being immature and childish. “He offers to perform his trick for her, draws her long silk shawl from the sleeve of her coat, doubles it, and ties it around his eyes.” (79). In his last attempt at keep Clara to himself, he blinds himself, something he does as a child alone in his room. The absurdity and the childishness of this blindfold scene shows how blind he is to the fact that Clara will never stay with him. He voluntarily blinds himself to this fact and refuses the insight that Clara tries to throw at him. But not all hope is gone. Clara does introduce Alice to Patrick. “She holds his arm at the door. He kisses her accidentally too close to the eye.” (77). As Patrick leaves in the morning he tells gives Alice to give Clara a kiss. Ondaatje chooses to have Patrick accidentally kiss Alice too close to the eye. As mentioned before, Patrick is stuck in a relationship where he is blind. The eye is a representation of sight and love. Kissing Alice too close to the eye could be a symbolic plea for help for insight. It foreshadows the relationship he will have with Alice and the insight that she will give Patrick.
Alice shows Patrick a new world that he was not able to find before and he is now embracing the strong values of Alice’s even after she is gone.
Everything that Alice teaches him he will take with him for the rest of his life. The mature and unconditional love that he has for Alice is a much different love than the impulsive, childish love that he shared with Clara. Patrick is able to look further into the future and he wants to be there for long term. He is seeing the bigger picture and he seeing that there is more that meets the eye with Alice and with Alice comes Hana. However, he is willing to accept the complete Alice including all the baggage that she comes with. Though he constantly asks about Cato, her ex lover, he does not try to change her mind like he once did with Clara. Not only that but he is also willing to care for Hana, Alice’s daughter, as a father. “‘Don’t talk like that, Hana, you’re ten years old, and he’s your father.’” (139). Patrick is making an effort to raise Hana and be the father figure that he never had as a child growing up. The reader is also able to see that Patrick is not trying to take the place of Cato. In fact he is defending Cato. This takes a lot of maturity and respect for the people he cares about. With his willingness to be responsible for Hana, he starts to care about her and he also spends more time with her as he spends more time with Alice as well. As he falls in an unconditional love for Alice, he is also falling in love with Hana as well in a fatherly manner. “She was totally unlike Patrick, always practical. When he returned from the steambaths on the first Saturday she had inquired about the price and he saw her trying to work out of it was worth it. ‘I would have paid anything,’ he muttered …” (139). Not only is he learning things from Alice he is also learning things from Hana as well. His perspective is opening wider as Hana is giving a different kind of insight of the world, a different way to
look at things. “- I want to look after Hana. – You already do. – More formally. If that will help.” (158). Patrick learns to be more insightful and he is able to see the complete picture. He is learning to be selfless and he is giving his complete commitment to Alice and that means becoming a permanent person in Alice and Hana’s life. He is able to stay true to his word and he does come back and take care of Hana though Alice is gone. Alice seems to be a person with so much knowledge. Even her name, Alice Gull has a symbolic reference to a seagull. A seagull flies above all and sees the bigger picture. Her character has many references to an angel who is protecting Patrick. “You should look for her. – She told me not to. – You must remove her shadow from you …” (82). Two years after Clara left Patrick, he is still sulking and Alice is the one who gives him a different perspective. She knows that he needs help and he needs insight. But to give him insight when he is at the state of mind that he is in would not be of any help. She knows that he needs closure and she sends him on a mission to find her for closure. She is again looking at the bigger picture of Clara and Patrick’s relationship. It is as if she knows that he will be back and she will be able to work her magic. After he finds closure, he meets Alice again at the puppet show at the Filtration plant. “The blue left iris wavering at closeness … so that it was not Alice Gull but something more intimate – an eye muscle having to trust a fingertip to remove that quarter-inch of bright yellow around her sight” (121). This time he sees her in a new light. He is helping her clean off the paint on her face from the puppet show and he is looking deep into her eyes, into her insight. He is now able to see her as opposed to previously when he would look right through her. Eyes represent the place where love begins and this scene is foreshadowing the deep, mature love that Alice and Patrick will share. Patrick is now able to look into Alice’s soul and see through a new perspective. Through this, he develops a new side to him. He is no longer selfish and he is thinking about more than just himself. “He had always wanted to know her when she was old.” (163). This shows that he is looking into the future and he is learning to look at the bigger picture rather than being impulsive and irrational. He has built a relationship with Alice and she takes him to new places and shows him new things. “And he caught someone’s eye, the body bending forward to look at him, who had the same realization – that this mutual laughter was conversation.” (138). He is growing and learning how to fit into society, something he wasn’t able to do as a child. As Patrick is spending more time with Alice, he is falling harder in love with her and not only is he bettering himself he is also picking up her values as well. “I’ll tell you about the rich …” (132). Alice has strong opinions about the rich and this affects everything that she does. She never gives up the opportunity to explain to Patrick about the rich and how they exploit the new immigrants. When Patrick meets her, he starts to learn about the richer class’s other side. He realizes that they are not as they seem. Though some of them like Rowland Harris do have vision for Toronto, they have chosen to be blind to the workers’ rights and this frustrates Alice. “And all of his life Patrick had been oblivious to it, a searcher gazing into the darkness of his own country, a blind man dressing the heroine.” (157). Patrick is even surprised at himself that he has been so blind to all that is going on around him even though it was right in front of him. As Patrick is being exposed more to the immigrant community that Alice takes him to, he is slowly building a bond with all these people and he is slowly fitting into this society. Ironically, in Patrick’s younger years he was the searcher. He was the one who would constantly observe people from a distance, not knowing how to act or behave to fit into society. He was blind to many things around him and he refuses to see the reality of many situations. But it is not until he finds a mature and unconditional love with Alice and Hana that he learns to look at the world in a new light. “But his relationship with Alice had a horizon.” (137). This is the first time in Patrick’s life when he could see his future with someone else that did not involve himself. The reader is able to see it in actions of Patrick that he is a changed and more insightful man. He carries out Alice’s values and he decides to put action to it. He still stays true to his word and he comes back after prison to take care of Hana. He is selfless and he is able to fit into society now. Everyone has one perspective on life. Interacting with people and experiencing different things will change your perspective constantly. There is always one big thing that will change a perspective completely, whether it be meeting a new person or experiencing something. When experiencing an unconditional and mature love, an individual will be able to see the whole picture which involves so much more than their selves. To be selfless enough to put everything for the person one cares about and loves, one has gained enough insight for the rest of their lives.
that Patrick is an observer yet he is still blind to the things going on around him. Even as a little child he watched people from his window, but he seems so blind. Coming from a small town he does not know how to fit in. He is blind to the tragic ways that the rich are exploiting the new immigrants around him. He is blind to the fact that Clara will never be with him and that Ambrose will always be the one in her heart. He is unwilling to see the truth. Then he meets Alice and finds a more mature and unconditional love with her. It is not only this love that changes him but it is the love and commitment that he has with Alice specifically that gives him insight and a view of the world in a whole different light that he can take on with him for the rest of his life. Clara is possibly the first girl that Patrick is attracted to. He first finds her when he is looking for Ambrose and she intrigues him. Their relationship is impulsive and immature. “Love was like childhood for him. It opened him up, he was silly and relaxed.” (66) Only after a few days of knowing Clara, he admits that he loves her. Patrick is comparing his love for Clara to a childhood. Childhood represents a stage of innocence and blindness to the rest of the world. This accurately describes his love for Clara. He is blind to the rest of the world and he does not care for anyone but Clara. It shows that he has found a young love, infatuation. Infatuation is like an addictive love. A selfish love. A love that completely blinds Patrick with passion. “But sometime after that I’ll leave you. For Ambrose.” (72) Clara constantly talks about Ambrose and how she will leave Patrick for Ambrose yet Patrick still stays with her. He is willing to let Clara walk all over him and use him for her sexual pleasures. Patrick is possibly staying with her in attempt to try to change her mind. He is choosing not to see the reality behind the future of their relationship. He is choosing blindness. This also confirms the state of their relationship being immature and childish. “He offers to perform his trick for her, draws her long silk shawl from the sleeve of her coat, doubles it, and ties it around his eyes.” (79). In his last attempt at keep Clara to himself, he blinds himself, something he does as a child alone in his room. The absurdity and the childishness of this blindfold scene shows how blind he is to the fact that Clara will never stay with him. He voluntarily blinds himself to this fact and refuses the insight that Clara tries to throw at him. But not all hope is gone. Clara does introduce Alice to Patrick. “She holds his arm at the door. He kisses her accidentally too close to the eye.” (77). As Patrick leaves in the morning he tells gives Alice to give Clara a kiss. Ondaatje chooses to have Patrick accidentally kiss Alice too close to the eye. As mentioned before, Patrick is stuck in a relationship where he is blind. The eye is a representation of sight and love. Kissing Alice too close to the eye could be a symbolic plea for help for insight. It foreshadows the relationship he will have with Alice and the insight that she will give Patrick.
Alice shows Patrick a new world that he was not able to find before and he is now embracing the strong values of Alice’s even after she is gone.
Everything that Alice teaches him he will take with him for the rest of his life. The mature and unconditional love that he has for Alice is a much different love than the impulsive, childish love that he shared with Clara. Patrick is able to look further into the future and he wants to be there for long term. He is seeing the bigger picture and he seeing that there is more that meets the eye with Alice and with Alice comes Hana. However, he is willing to accept the complete Alice including all the baggage that she comes with. Though he constantly asks about Cato, her ex lover, he does not try to change her mind like he once did with Clara. Not only that but he is also willing to care for Hana, Alice’s daughter, as a father. “‘Don’t talk like that, Hana, you’re ten years old, and he’s your father.’” (139). Patrick is making an effort to raise Hana and be the father figure that he never had as a child growing up. The reader is also able to see that Patrick is not trying to take the place of Cato. In fact he is defending Cato. This takes a lot of maturity and respect for the people he cares about. With his willingness to be responsible for Hana, he starts to care about her and he also spends more time with her as he spends more time with Alice as well. As he falls in an unconditional love for Alice, he is also falling in love with Hana as well in a fatherly manner. “She was totally unlike Patrick, always practical. When he returned from the steambaths on the first Saturday she had inquired about the price and he saw her trying to work out of it was worth it. ‘I would have paid anything,’ he muttered …” (139). Not only is he learning things from Alice he is also learning things from Hana as well. His perspective is opening wider as Hana is giving a different kind of insight of the world, a different way to
look at things. “- I want to look after Hana. – You already do. – More formally. If that will help.” (158). Patrick learns to be more insightful and he is able to see the complete picture. He is learning to be selfless and he is giving his complete commitment to Alice and that means becoming a permanent person in Alice and Hana’s life. He is able to stay true to his word and he does come back and take care of Hana though Alice is gone. Alice seems to be a person with so much knowledge. Even her name, Alice Gull has a symbolic reference to a seagull. A seagull flies above all and sees the bigger picture. Her character has many references to an angel who is protecting Patrick. “You should look for her. – She told me not to. – You must remove her shadow from you …” (82). Two years after Clara left Patrick, he is still sulking and Alice is the one who gives him a different perspective. She knows that he needs help and he needs insight. But to give him insight when he is at the state of mind that he is in would not be of any help. She knows that he needs closure and she sends him on a mission to find her for closure. She is again looking at the bigger picture of Clara and Patrick’s relationship. It is as if she knows that he will be back and she will be able to work her magic. After he finds closure, he meets Alice again at the puppet show at the Filtration plant. “The blue left iris wavering at closeness … so that it was not Alice Gull but something more intimate – an eye muscle having to trust a fingertip to remove that quarter-inch of bright yellow around her sight” (121). This time he sees her in a new light. He is helping her clean off the paint on her face from the puppet show and he is looking deep into her eyes, into her insight. He is now able to see her as opposed to previously when he would look right through her. Eyes represent the place where love begins and this scene is foreshadowing the deep, mature love that Alice and Patrick will share. Patrick is now able to look into Alice’s soul and see through a new perspective. Through this, he develops a new side to him. He is no longer selfish and he is thinking about more than just himself. “He had always wanted to know her when she was old.” (163). This shows that he is looking into the future and he is learning to look at the bigger picture rather than being impulsive and irrational. He has built a relationship with Alice and she takes him to new places and shows him new things. “And he caught someone’s eye, the body bending forward to look at him, who had the same realization – that this mutual laughter was conversation.” (138). He is growing and learning how to fit into society, something he wasn’t able to do as a child. As Patrick is spending more time with Alice, he is falling harder in love with her and not only is he bettering himself he is also picking up her values as well. “I’ll tell you about the rich …” (132). Alice has strong opinions about the rich and this affects everything that she does. She never gives up the opportunity to explain to Patrick about the rich and how they exploit the new immigrants. When Patrick meets her, he starts to learn about the richer class’s other side. He realizes that they are not as they seem. Though some of them like Rowland Harris do have vision for Toronto, they have chosen to be blind to the workers’ rights and this frustrates Alice. “And all of his life Patrick had been oblivious to it, a searcher gazing into the darkness of his own country, a blind man dressing the heroine.” (157). Patrick is even surprised at himself that he has been so blind to all that is going on around him even though it was right in front of him. As Patrick is being exposed more to the immigrant community that Alice takes him to, he is slowly building a bond with all these people and he is slowly fitting into this society. Ironically, in Patrick’s younger years he was the searcher. He was the one who would constantly observe people from a distance, not knowing how to act or behave to fit into society. He was blind to many things around him and he refuses to see the reality of many situations. But it is not until he finds a mature and unconditional love with Alice and Hana that he learns to look at the world in a new light. “But his relationship with Alice had a horizon.” (137). This is the first time in Patrick’s life when he could see his future with someone else that did not involve himself. The reader is able to see it in actions of Patrick that he is a changed and more insightful man. He carries out Alice’s values and he decides to put action to it. He still stays true to his word and he comes back after prison to take care of Hana. He is selfless and he is able to fit into society now. Everyone has one perspective on life. Interacting with people and experiencing different things will change your perspective constantly. There is always one big thing that will change a perspective completely, whether it be meeting a new person or experiencing something. When experiencing an unconditional and mature love, an individual will be able to see the whole picture which involves so much more than their selves. To be selfless enough to put everything for the person one cares about and loves, one has gained enough insight for the rest of their lives.