What Does Michael Ondaatje Represent In The English Patient
Mancuso 1
Daniel Mancuso
Mrs. Martin
ENG4U1-06
15 January 2013
The Role of the Villa San Girolamo Symbolism adds layers of meaning to novels. It can either have a significant, insignificant or negative impact on the progression of the novel. In Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient, the lives of four individuals are scarred due to the destructiveness of the war. Four individuals gather at one common area in Tuscany, Italy known as Villa San Girolamo (hereafter cited as the Villa). Ondaatje represents the Villa in many ways. As a representation of a Sanctuary, the Villa protects the lives of the characters, act as a holy place and as a place of refuge. As well, the Villa represents a place where the theme of death and rebirth …show more content…
is present and helps them move past their war wounds. Lastly, the Villa provides a sense of belonging among the characters since they have all been affected by the war in a similar fashion. In the English Patient, Ondaatje uses the Villa to symbolize a healing aid to the following characters: Kip, Hana, Caravaggio and the English Patient (hereafter cited as Almásy) as it proves to be of greater use than just a place of rest. The Villa is a representation of a Sanctuary that portrays itself as a safe haven, a holy place and a place for refuge. Kip, Hana, Almásy and Caravaggio meet in the Villa. Hana and Almásy room in what used to be a small nunnery before being invaded by German soldiers. As Hana and Almásy begin their lives together in the Villa, the war
Mancuso 2 has yet to conclude. Although not being its primary function, the Villa is providing protection for Hana and Almásy from the outside world of war and violence. Ondaatje provides the readers a sense of the conditions in which they were living, “From outside, the place seemed devastated. An outdoor staircase disappeared in midair, its railing hanging off. [Hana and Almásy’s] life was a foraging and tentative safety . . . [Hana and Almásy] were protected by the simple fact that the villa seemed a ruin. But [Hana] felt safe here” (Ondaatje,The English Patient,14). Deeper into the novel the description continues: The Villa San Girolamo . . . had the look of a besieged fortress, the limbs of most of the statues blown off during the first days of shelling. There seemed little demarcation between house and landscape, between damaged building and the burned and the shelled remnants of the earth . . . In spite of the burned earth, in spite of the lack of water. Someday there would be a bower of limes, rooms of green light. (Ondaatje 43)
With Ondaatje’s descriptions, the environment in which they are living appears harsh, unstable and uninhabitable. This provides protection as it would be unworthy for invasion. This allows Hana to fully concentrate on Almásy’s healing of the burns on his body rather than protecting themselves from war enemies. This also helps Kip to focus on disarming the bombs around the Villa. Secondly, the Villa is viewed as a holy place because it has a strong resemblance to the garden of Eden. In the biblical garden, Adam and Eve were given
Mancuso 3 much more than they needed. They had plentiful food and all the necessities for survival. In the villa, the inhabitants “. . . had enough vegetation planted in the bombed out orchard above the house for them to survive . . . Some beans, some meats” (Ondaatje 7). Hana spends most of her day in the garden gathering anything she can from the plants and tries to maintain whatever life the plants have. When the Germans retreated, the Villa was used as a war hospital treating patients of their injuries and later became vacant. The Villa has plenty of first aid material making it easy for Hana to tend to Almásy’s injuries. Throughout the course of the novel, the characters in the Villa are not faced with destruction despite the many hidden, un-detonated bombs. This can be God’s watchful eye over the recovering characters. With the given necessities, the characters in Villa have all the essentials needed to aid in their healing. Lastly, the Villa is also seen as a place of refuge where the characters are safe and in a place of shelter from danger. The obvious danger in the novel is the passing war but a second danger in this novel is the former life of these characters. Hana is desperately trying to remove the memory of the loss of her husband and unborn child. Kip is trying to remove himself from his Indian heritage and become Westernized. Caravaggio is trying to remove the memory of captivity by the Germans as he was attempting to steal information. As well, Almásy is trying to carry on his life with severe burns to his body. “None of these fragile characters is whole in either body or soul; each is a casualty of this desperate age” (Williams, Canadian Literature.n.pag), Williams describes how the lives of these characters are at a breaking point. The fragility of these characters explains why they need a new beginning; a way to start anew. The
Mancuso 4 past life of these characters has been devastating and very tragic making them difficult to heal.
They come together at the Villa, depicted as a vacation place from their past lives. The Villa helps begin a new chapter in their lives. As a safe haven, the Villa provides protection and shelter from the passing war. As a representation of the garden of Eden, the Villa is viewed as a holy place. Lastly as a place of refuge, the characters are able to come together and help rid themselves of terrible memories. The Villa, presents these three qualities of a sanctuary that allows the characters to progressively heal over the course of the novel. The theme of death and rebirth is apparent in The English Patient. Rebirth is a term commonly used to describe a new beginning and is present in various ways in the novel. The characters in the novel experience a death and rebirth scenario that forces them to take on a new life. Proir to his accident, Almásy was a highly trained general in the army. As he is in flight with an old war plane, the plane is leaking oil and later ignites. The flames engulf Almásy and he jumpes out of the plane to try and save …show more content…
himself: [Almásy] dug down towards the tarpaulin, and Madox’s old plane gradually emerged . . . The plane came out of the sand . . . He looks down and sees oil pouring onto his knees . . . he pivots up and the oil slides all over the seat . . . There was a spark from a short, and the twigs at her knee catches fire. . . pivots upside down breaking free of glass, wind flinging his body back. . . and he is in air, bright not knowing why he is bright until he realizes he’s on fire. (Ondaatje 174-175)
Mancuso 5
Although not physically experiencing death, this crash and burn is a figurative death of an old life, the life of a soldier of war. Having sever burns, he is saved by a tribe named the Bedouins and is taken under the care of Hana who believes he is too fragile to move. Instead of leaving the Villa with the army, she decides not to move Almásy, “She would remain with the one burned man the call ‘The English patient,’ who, it is now clear to her, should never be moved because of the fragility of his limbs” (Ondaatje 51). Almásy begins his new life in the Villa under Hana’s care. Almásy plane crash figuratively signifies his death and his rebirth brings him to the Villa. With the injuries sustained, he is no longer able to fight in the war. The rest allows his body to heal from his severe physical injuries. Learning of her father’s passing from the war, Hana experiences pain not many can relate to, “The way Hana broke in Santa Chiara Hospital when an official walked down the space between a hundred beds and gave her a letter that told her of the death of her father” (Ondaatje 41).
When the opportunity arises to care for this fragile patient, she jumps at the chance. She views Almásy as a way to fill a void in her life by personally assigning the role to herself. With the role of a full time nurse, she recognizes that she must to do everything in her power to care for the dying patient. “She has nursed him for months and she knows the body well” (Ondaatje 1). At this point, Hana experiences a death and rebirth. Hana’s father passes away and she is given no choice but to abort her baby. As she takes on the role of being the nurse of Almásy, this is the start of her new life that begins at the Villa. Helping Almásy with
his
Mancuso 6 injuries allows her to forget the loss of her father and child by taking her mind off of them, allowing her to heal mentally. Caravaggio, a friend of Hana’s father, is on a mission to steal some information from the German army that later captures him. Before escaping, they sever his thumbs as a way of punishment. After being in the hospital in bandages for four months, he goes in search of Hana when he learns from the doctors that she is living in the Villa. Hana is delighted to see Caravaggio once again but fears there will not be enough food available for the three of them: ‘We need some chickens.’ [Hana] is looking at Caravaggio, knowing his skills from the past, not quite saying it. ‘I lost my nerve,’ [Caravaggio] says. ‘I’ll come with you, then,’ Hana offers. ‘We’ll do it together. You can teach me how to steal, show me what to do.’ ‘You don’t understand. I lost my nerve.’ ‘Why?’ ‘I was caught. They nearly chopped off my fucking hands.’ (Ondaatje 33-34)
Without the use of his thumbs, Caravaggio believes he is useless and inadequate. After finding Hana, he decides to remain in the Villa. In this case, the life of a war soldier dies after the severing of his thumbs, since he would be of no use to the army. The life without the use of his thumbs begins at the Villa. Beginning his new life here helps him forget his injury and progressively heal mentally by not feeling useless anymore. Finally, Kip, a British ‘sapper’ who does not fear death at all, makes his way to
Mancuso 7 the Villa. A sapper is a name given to those skilled in diffusing bombs. One night, during a party in Almásy’s room, there is an explosion outside. Kip does not think much of it until he examines the damage. He finds his friend Hardy, another sapper dead, “He had found the location of the death and what was left there and they had buried his second in-command, Hardy” (Ondaatje.113). At this point, Kip comes to the realization of how dangerous his job really is. This realization brings forward a new side of Kip, from being fearless of death to being fearful. This realization heals him mentally by making him see the danger in his job placement which helps inhibit him from taking risks. The characters in the novel all experience diverse deaths and rebirth as they congregate at the Villa to help represent the healing that occurs at the Villa. Furthermore, the Villa itself experiences a death and rebirth scenario. At a point in time during the war, the Villa was the home of German soldiers. As the Germans were forced to retreat, the Villa became a war hospital and later became vacant. After the destruction of the war subsides, nature fills this area with new life. The characters presently living in the Villa are forced to learn how to live again after the destruction of the war. In Lerzan Gültekin’s paper she writes “the inhabitants of the villa are all displaced because they are exiles who have found new identities in a place other than their homeland” (Gültekin Identity Crisis in Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient. n.pag). In other words, the characters in the Villa begin a new life and find new identities for themselves allowing them to live a new life. A town that is scarred by war debris is now a new home. It’s a formation of a new community. With the four characters involved, they too must learn how to adapt to the changes to their body. The
Mancuso 8
Villa, therefore, proves to be the starting point of new life by allowing the theme of death and rebirth to appear in The English Patient and for the characters to heal individually. Whether it is physical or mental damage, the characters are living through some kind of pain. The fact that the characters are living together under one roof provides a sense of belonging amongst them as a community. With the traumatic injuries they experience, an individual may feel despair, but they are able to feel a part of a group. They each find their new life despite the wounds they carry. All four characters are able to relate to one another since they have all suffered from the war: “For the four inhabitants of the Villa San Girolamo the only way out of their own suffering is through each other” (Hjartarson In Near Ruins n.pag). Isolated from the war ravished world, the characters in the Villa can connect and support each other to be able to live their transforming lives. The Villa allows the inhabitants to recognize that they are not alone in their suffering and many others share their wounds. It is through these wounds that new friendships and relationships are created, “The residents of the Villa as displaced individuals far away from their homeland have endured physical and psychological wounds . . . They try to heal themselves through their friendship while their old identities have dissolved” (Gultekin n.pag). Hana loves Almásy and Almásy grows fond of Kip and Caravaggio since all three played a part in the war. Also, a sexual partnership between Hana and Kip is formed. These relationships creates a more comfortable setting in the Villa aiding in recovery time for the characters.
Mancuso 9
Ondaatje is able to portray the Villa as a community of diverse individuals that encourages their sense of nationality. After the news of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Kip realizes who he truly is, an Indian. Kip, who does not believe in Western aggression, discovers that it is still present through the bombings, “Never trust the Europeans, [Kip’s brother] said . . . When you start bombing the brown races of the world, you’re an Englishman . . . They would never have dropped such a bomb on a white nation . . . A new war. The death of a civilization” (Ondaatje 284-286). Kip’s brother is very ‘anti-European’, he is a man who always stuck to his roots, unlike Kip. This shows that no matter how hard you try to remove yourself from your roots, they will always be apparent. Furthermore, Ondaatje reveals Almásy’s identity as Hungarian spy and desert explorer who helps the Germans navigate through the deserts. By trying to not remember who he is, his identity was not known until the latter stages of the novel. “The last person I expected to find here in the shelled nunnery was [Almásy]” (Ondaatje 252) said by Caravaggio. Ondaatje also uses the villa to reveal more information about the characters living in it. Hana is constantly trying to erase the memory of war and hide from her adulthood. To erase the memory of the war, Hana lives in the Villa and takes Almásy under her care, viewing him as a defenseless child. She re-lives her childhood by playing hopscotch on her free time in the dark hall: She drops the chalk into the pocket of her dress. She stands and pulls up the looseness of her skirt and ties it around her waist. She pulls from another pocket a piece of metal and flings it out in front of her so it falls just beyond the farthest square. (Ondaatje 15)
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Hana is constantly re-living her childhood by doing activities typically done by children because of the shell shock she experienced during the war. Lastly, Caravaggio is trying to forget the memories of the torture he endures as a captive. The community-like atmosphere around the Villa provides a sense of belonging amongst them. Along with this, the Villa allows the characters to become more comfortable with their fellow Villa- mates. It also provides a representation of a house of nations. The Villa is able to connect four individuals that share a common thread by their involvement in the war. These characters come together despite having different nationalities but the Villa is able to prove that no matter the race or nationality, people get along, as a family unit. “The villa is a place, once again,. . . a symbol of their friendship as they seem to disregard their national and racial origins . . . where nations, races anything artificial that divides human beings is meaningless” (Gultekin n.pag). An example is the celebration of Hana’s 21st birthday in Almásy’s room. Ondaatje’s is able to relate the lives of four characters through a small Villa that aided in their healing process. Victoria Gaydosik explains in her critical summary that, “In the Villa San Girolamo in Italy, four shattered survivors cope with the physical and emotional suffering the war has brought about. They come from different parts of Europe . . . but they share similar kinds of pain” (Gaydosik The English Patient n.pag). The Villa proves to be a major symbol in The English Patient. The story line of the novel is set in the Villa. In many ways, Ondaatje is able to use the Villa as a way of healing the injured. The Villa is able to heal the characters as a representation of a sanctuary by providing all the necessary items such as first aid materials as well as protecting them from any danger. The Villa
Mancuso 11 also allows the theme of death and rebirth to occur by being the starting point of their new life. Lastly, the Villa provides a sense of belonging making them feel comfortable with who they are despite their wounds from the war. The characters come together and help each other heal and become related by community. In the English Patient, Ondaatje uses the Villa to signify or symbolize a healing aid to the following characters:
Kip, Hana, Caravaggio and the Almásy which proves to be of greater use than just a place of rest.
Works Cited
Gültekin, Lerzan. "Identity Crisis in Michael Ondaatje 's The English Patient." N.p., n.d. Web.Atılım University in Ankara, Turkey
Williams, David R. “The Politics of Cyborg Communications: Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan, and The English Patient_.” canlit.ca. Canadian Literature, 8 Aug. 2012. Web. 3 Jan. 2013. Originally appeared in _Canadian Literature_ #156, Spring 1998 (pg. 30 - 55).
Hjartarson, Paul. "In Near Ruins." Canlit.ca. pg.234-235., 8 Aug. 2012. Web. 9 Jan. 2013.
Gaydosik, Victoria. "The English Patient." Facts On File Companion to the British Novel: 20th Century, vol. 2. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom 's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/ activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CBNII160&SingleRecord=True (accessed January 3, 2013).
Daniel Mancuso
Mrs. Martin
ENG4U1-06
15 January 2013
The Role of the Villa San Girolamo Symbolism adds layers of meaning to novels. It can either have a significant, insignificant or negative impact on the progression of the novel. In Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient, the lives of four individuals are scarred due to the destructiveness of the war. Four individuals gather at one common area in Tuscany, Italy known as Villa San Girolamo (hereafter cited as the Villa). Ondaatje represents the Villa in many ways. As a representation of a Sanctuary, the Villa protects the lives of the characters, act as a holy place and as a place of refuge. As well, the Villa represents a place where the theme of death and rebirth …show more content…
is present and helps them move past their war wounds. Lastly, the Villa provides a sense of belonging among the characters since they have all been affected by the war in a similar fashion. In the English Patient, Ondaatje uses the Villa to symbolize a healing aid to the following characters: Kip, Hana, Caravaggio and the English Patient (hereafter cited as Almásy) as it proves to be of greater use than just a place of rest. The Villa is a representation of a Sanctuary that portrays itself as a safe haven, a holy place and a place for refuge. Kip, Hana, Almásy and Caravaggio meet in the Villa. Hana and Almásy room in what used to be a small nunnery before being invaded by German soldiers. As Hana and Almásy begin their lives together in the Villa, the war
Mancuso 2 has yet to conclude. Although not being its primary function, the Villa is providing protection for Hana and Almásy from the outside world of war and violence. Ondaatje provides the readers a sense of the conditions in which they were living, “From outside, the place seemed devastated. An outdoor staircase disappeared in midair, its railing hanging off. [Hana and Almásy’s] life was a foraging and tentative safety . . . [Hana and Almásy] were protected by the simple fact that the villa seemed a ruin. But [Hana] felt safe here” (Ondaatje,The English Patient,14). Deeper into the novel the description continues: The Villa San Girolamo . . . had the look of a besieged fortress, the limbs of most of the statues blown off during the first days of shelling. There seemed little demarcation between house and landscape, between damaged building and the burned and the shelled remnants of the earth . . . In spite of the burned earth, in spite of the lack of water. Someday there would be a bower of limes, rooms of green light. (Ondaatje 43)
With Ondaatje’s descriptions, the environment in which they are living appears harsh, unstable and uninhabitable. This provides protection as it would be unworthy for invasion. This allows Hana to fully concentrate on Almásy’s healing of the burns on his body rather than protecting themselves from war enemies. This also helps Kip to focus on disarming the bombs around the Villa. Secondly, the Villa is viewed as a holy place because it has a strong resemblance to the garden of Eden. In the biblical garden, Adam and Eve were given
Mancuso 3 much more than they needed. They had plentiful food and all the necessities for survival. In the villa, the inhabitants “. . . had enough vegetation planted in the bombed out orchard above the house for them to survive . . . Some beans, some meats” (Ondaatje 7). Hana spends most of her day in the garden gathering anything she can from the plants and tries to maintain whatever life the plants have. When the Germans retreated, the Villa was used as a war hospital treating patients of their injuries and later became vacant. The Villa has plenty of first aid material making it easy for Hana to tend to Almásy’s injuries. Throughout the course of the novel, the characters in the Villa are not faced with destruction despite the many hidden, un-detonated bombs. This can be God’s watchful eye over the recovering characters. With the given necessities, the characters in Villa have all the essentials needed to aid in their healing. Lastly, the Villa is also seen as a place of refuge where the characters are safe and in a place of shelter from danger. The obvious danger in the novel is the passing war but a second danger in this novel is the former life of these characters. Hana is desperately trying to remove the memory of the loss of her husband and unborn child. Kip is trying to remove himself from his Indian heritage and become Westernized. Caravaggio is trying to remove the memory of captivity by the Germans as he was attempting to steal information. As well, Almásy is trying to carry on his life with severe burns to his body. “None of these fragile characters is whole in either body or soul; each is a casualty of this desperate age” (Williams, Canadian Literature.n.pag), Williams describes how the lives of these characters are at a breaking point. The fragility of these characters explains why they need a new beginning; a way to start anew. The
Mancuso 4 past life of these characters has been devastating and very tragic making them difficult to heal.
They come together at the Villa, depicted as a vacation place from their past lives. The Villa helps begin a new chapter in their lives. As a safe haven, the Villa provides protection and shelter from the passing war. As a representation of the garden of Eden, the Villa is viewed as a holy place. Lastly as a place of refuge, the characters are able to come together and help rid themselves of terrible memories. The Villa, presents these three qualities of a sanctuary that allows the characters to progressively heal over the course of the novel. The theme of death and rebirth is apparent in The English Patient. Rebirth is a term commonly used to describe a new beginning and is present in various ways in the novel. The characters in the novel experience a death and rebirth scenario that forces them to take on a new life. Proir to his accident, Almásy was a highly trained general in the army. As he is in flight with an old war plane, the plane is leaking oil and later ignites. The flames engulf Almásy and he jumpes out of the plane to try and save …show more content…
himself: [Almásy] dug down towards the tarpaulin, and Madox’s old plane gradually emerged . . . The plane came out of the sand . . . He looks down and sees oil pouring onto his knees . . . he pivots up and the oil slides all over the seat . . . There was a spark from a short, and the twigs at her knee catches fire. . . pivots upside down breaking free of glass, wind flinging his body back. . . and he is in air, bright not knowing why he is bright until he realizes he’s on fire. (Ondaatje 174-175)
Mancuso 5
Although not physically experiencing death, this crash and burn is a figurative death of an old life, the life of a soldier of war. Having sever burns, he is saved by a tribe named the Bedouins and is taken under the care of Hana who believes he is too fragile to move. Instead of leaving the Villa with the army, she decides not to move Almásy, “She would remain with the one burned man the call ‘The English patient,’ who, it is now clear to her, should never be moved because of the fragility of his limbs” (Ondaatje 51). Almásy begins his new life in the Villa under Hana’s care. Almásy plane crash figuratively signifies his death and his rebirth brings him to the Villa. With the injuries sustained, he is no longer able to fight in the war. The rest allows his body to heal from his severe physical injuries. Learning of her father’s passing from the war, Hana experiences pain not many can relate to, “The way Hana broke in Santa Chiara Hospital when an official walked down the space between a hundred beds and gave her a letter that told her of the death of her father” (Ondaatje 41).
When the opportunity arises to care for this fragile patient, she jumps at the chance. She views Almásy as a way to fill a void in her life by personally assigning the role to herself. With the role of a full time nurse, she recognizes that she must to do everything in her power to care for the dying patient. “She has nursed him for months and she knows the body well” (Ondaatje 1). At this point, Hana experiences a death and rebirth. Hana’s father passes away and she is given no choice but to abort her baby. As she takes on the role of being the nurse of Almásy, this is the start of her new life that begins at the Villa. Helping Almásy with
his
Mancuso 6 injuries allows her to forget the loss of her father and child by taking her mind off of them, allowing her to heal mentally. Caravaggio, a friend of Hana’s father, is on a mission to steal some information from the German army that later captures him. Before escaping, they sever his thumbs as a way of punishment. After being in the hospital in bandages for four months, he goes in search of Hana when he learns from the doctors that she is living in the Villa. Hana is delighted to see Caravaggio once again but fears there will not be enough food available for the three of them: ‘We need some chickens.’ [Hana] is looking at Caravaggio, knowing his skills from the past, not quite saying it. ‘I lost my nerve,’ [Caravaggio] says. ‘I’ll come with you, then,’ Hana offers. ‘We’ll do it together. You can teach me how to steal, show me what to do.’ ‘You don’t understand. I lost my nerve.’ ‘Why?’ ‘I was caught. They nearly chopped off my fucking hands.’ (Ondaatje 33-34)
Without the use of his thumbs, Caravaggio believes he is useless and inadequate. After finding Hana, he decides to remain in the Villa. In this case, the life of a war soldier dies after the severing of his thumbs, since he would be of no use to the army. The life without the use of his thumbs begins at the Villa. Beginning his new life here helps him forget his injury and progressively heal mentally by not feeling useless anymore. Finally, Kip, a British ‘sapper’ who does not fear death at all, makes his way to
Mancuso 7 the Villa. A sapper is a name given to those skilled in diffusing bombs. One night, during a party in Almásy’s room, there is an explosion outside. Kip does not think much of it until he examines the damage. He finds his friend Hardy, another sapper dead, “He had found the location of the death and what was left there and they had buried his second in-command, Hardy” (Ondaatje.113). At this point, Kip comes to the realization of how dangerous his job really is. This realization brings forward a new side of Kip, from being fearless of death to being fearful. This realization heals him mentally by making him see the danger in his job placement which helps inhibit him from taking risks. The characters in the novel all experience diverse deaths and rebirth as they congregate at the Villa to help represent the healing that occurs at the Villa. Furthermore, the Villa itself experiences a death and rebirth scenario. At a point in time during the war, the Villa was the home of German soldiers. As the Germans were forced to retreat, the Villa became a war hospital and later became vacant. After the destruction of the war subsides, nature fills this area with new life. The characters presently living in the Villa are forced to learn how to live again after the destruction of the war. In Lerzan Gültekin’s paper she writes “the inhabitants of the villa are all displaced because they are exiles who have found new identities in a place other than their homeland” (Gültekin Identity Crisis in Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient. n.pag). In other words, the characters in the Villa begin a new life and find new identities for themselves allowing them to live a new life. A town that is scarred by war debris is now a new home. It’s a formation of a new community. With the four characters involved, they too must learn how to adapt to the changes to their body. The
Mancuso 8
Villa, therefore, proves to be the starting point of new life by allowing the theme of death and rebirth to appear in The English Patient and for the characters to heal individually. Whether it is physical or mental damage, the characters are living through some kind of pain. The fact that the characters are living together under one roof provides a sense of belonging amongst them as a community. With the traumatic injuries they experience, an individual may feel despair, but they are able to feel a part of a group. They each find their new life despite the wounds they carry. All four characters are able to relate to one another since they have all suffered from the war: “For the four inhabitants of the Villa San Girolamo the only way out of their own suffering is through each other” (Hjartarson In Near Ruins n.pag). Isolated from the war ravished world, the characters in the Villa can connect and support each other to be able to live their transforming lives. The Villa allows the inhabitants to recognize that they are not alone in their suffering and many others share their wounds. It is through these wounds that new friendships and relationships are created, “The residents of the Villa as displaced individuals far away from their homeland have endured physical and psychological wounds . . . They try to heal themselves through their friendship while their old identities have dissolved” (Gultekin n.pag). Hana loves Almásy and Almásy grows fond of Kip and Caravaggio since all three played a part in the war. Also, a sexual partnership between Hana and Kip is formed. These relationships creates a more comfortable setting in the Villa aiding in recovery time for the characters.
Mancuso 9
Ondaatje is able to portray the Villa as a community of diverse individuals that encourages their sense of nationality. After the news of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Kip realizes who he truly is, an Indian. Kip, who does not believe in Western aggression, discovers that it is still present through the bombings, “Never trust the Europeans, [Kip’s brother] said . . . When you start bombing the brown races of the world, you’re an Englishman . . . They would never have dropped such a bomb on a white nation . . . A new war. The death of a civilization” (Ondaatje 284-286). Kip’s brother is very ‘anti-European’, he is a man who always stuck to his roots, unlike Kip. This shows that no matter how hard you try to remove yourself from your roots, they will always be apparent. Furthermore, Ondaatje reveals Almásy’s identity as Hungarian spy and desert explorer who helps the Germans navigate through the deserts. By trying to not remember who he is, his identity was not known until the latter stages of the novel. “The last person I expected to find here in the shelled nunnery was [Almásy]” (Ondaatje 252) said by Caravaggio. Ondaatje also uses the villa to reveal more information about the characters living in it. Hana is constantly trying to erase the memory of war and hide from her adulthood. To erase the memory of the war, Hana lives in the Villa and takes Almásy under her care, viewing him as a defenseless child. She re-lives her childhood by playing hopscotch on her free time in the dark hall: She drops the chalk into the pocket of her dress. She stands and pulls up the looseness of her skirt and ties it around her waist. She pulls from another pocket a piece of metal and flings it out in front of her so it falls just beyond the farthest square. (Ondaatje 15)
Mancuso 10
Hana is constantly re-living her childhood by doing activities typically done by children because of the shell shock she experienced during the war. Lastly, Caravaggio is trying to forget the memories of the torture he endures as a captive. The community-like atmosphere around the Villa provides a sense of belonging amongst them. Along with this, the Villa allows the characters to become more comfortable with their fellow Villa- mates. It also provides a representation of a house of nations. The Villa is able to connect four individuals that share a common thread by their involvement in the war. These characters come together despite having different nationalities but the Villa is able to prove that no matter the race or nationality, people get along, as a family unit. “The villa is a place, once again,. . . a symbol of their friendship as they seem to disregard their national and racial origins . . . where nations, races anything artificial that divides human beings is meaningless” (Gultekin n.pag). An example is the celebration of Hana’s 21st birthday in Almásy’s room. Ondaatje’s is able to relate the lives of four characters through a small Villa that aided in their healing process. Victoria Gaydosik explains in her critical summary that, “In the Villa San Girolamo in Italy, four shattered survivors cope with the physical and emotional suffering the war has brought about. They come from different parts of Europe . . . but they share similar kinds of pain” (Gaydosik The English Patient n.pag). The Villa proves to be a major symbol in The English Patient. The story line of the novel is set in the Villa. In many ways, Ondaatje is able to use the Villa as a way of healing the injured. The Villa is able to heal the characters as a representation of a sanctuary by providing all the necessary items such as first aid materials as well as protecting them from any danger. The Villa
Mancuso 11 also allows the theme of death and rebirth to occur by being the starting point of their new life. Lastly, the Villa provides a sense of belonging making them feel comfortable with who they are despite their wounds from the war. The characters come together and help each other heal and become related by community. In the English Patient, Ondaatje uses the Villa to signify or symbolize a healing aid to the following characters:
Kip, Hana, Caravaggio and the Almásy which proves to be of greater use than just a place of rest.
Works Cited
Gültekin, Lerzan. "Identity Crisis in Michael Ondaatje 's The English Patient." N.p., n.d. Web.Atılım University in Ankara, Turkey
Williams, David R. “The Politics of Cyborg Communications: Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan, and The English Patient_.” canlit.ca. Canadian Literature, 8 Aug. 2012. Web. 3 Jan. 2013. Originally appeared in _Canadian Literature_ #156, Spring 1998 (pg. 30 - 55).
Hjartarson, Paul. "In Near Ruins." Canlit.ca. pg.234-235., 8 Aug. 2012. Web. 9 Jan. 2013.
Gaydosik, Victoria. "The English Patient." Facts On File Companion to the British Novel: 20th Century, vol. 2. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom 's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/ activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CBNII160&SingleRecord=True (accessed January 3, 2013).