Essay: Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion – home/house

What is a simplistic four-letter word that resonates with each individual both physically and mentally? It can be abstract but also concrete. It can be mobile or thousands of miles away. It is a bringer of comfort, nostalgia and is a sacred place that nurtures growth. This versatile word is best-known as “home”. A quick switch of the last few letters, from “home” to “house” can unintentionally change its entire meaning. When one thinks of home they are reminded of their past where they might find security in a familiar setting. Meanwhile a ‘house’ refers to the home in a more physical manner, detaching any emotional associations it shares with its definition. A house is a term that describes the noun more as a building rather than an abstract concept. The difference between the theme of a home and a house is explored through Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion and throughout a variety of poems written in Rupi Kaur’s Milk and Honey. The idea of ‘home’ is the only significant theme found between these two works as it explores the family as a home, intimate relationships and how identity is connected to ‘home’. This simplistic yet dynamic word aids one in examining the deeper meanings of something that seems to be shallow on the surface. Much like the behemoth iceberg that was mistaken for a small one, before the Titanic came into contact with it, one must not limit the numerous possible definitions ‘home’ can give birth to.
In regard to viewing the home as a place of origin, one must consider the individuals whom are responsible in the aid of nurturing growth. These individuals are commonly referred to as ‘family’. Family may not always be looked at in a positive light; they hold the power to shape another human being – whether it hinders or permits growth. The home is the foundation to familial relations. Without the home, the family would lack structure and an appropriate place to foster its relations. There is relevance with this theme for Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion, which highlights how families may not be completely involved or present in one’s life, however, they do carry importance on how they shape a person mentally. For example, the protagonist, Patrick Lewis, reveals this nostalgic memory “He sits down at the long table and looks into his school geography book with the maps of the world, the white sweep of currents, testing the names to himself. Mouthing out the exotic” (Ondaatje, 9). Though it gives little insight about his family, it gives light to his need to replace family relations with a connection to his nationality as a Canadian citizen. The readers learn that Lewis and his father did not have a close relationship with one another, therefore, their divergent relationship led to Lewis isolating himself. His character development shows his need to interact socially with others due to his lack of social interaction with his own family. His longing for a connection with the immigrants is a reflection of how he longed for a connection with his own family. Growing up, Lewis describes his father as reclusive, and was raised on the harsh countryside of Eastern Ontario, living most of his life in solitary. His interest in educating himself about other cultures and the Macedonian immigrants sprouted from the lack of engagement with his own father. Lewis’s family life is presented in a mysterious way throughout the novel. In other words, the readers learn small pieces of information about Lewis’s home and family life, making it slightly conflicting to completely understand what he had endured as a child. Perhaps the mystery of Lewis’s childhood is a direct comparison to the ambiguous feeling he carried about his parents as a child. This allows the readers to share a similar experience with the protagonist and ultimately have a larger connection to the story. Some of Rupi Kaur’s poems from her collection Milk and Honey also emphasizes the importance of family in regard to home as a foundation. Kaur’s vulnerability is revealed through her femininity. Her mother is held sacred in her writing, as she describes her mother’s womb as a home for her unborn sister, “the closest thing to god on this earth is a woman’s body”, where she continues “to see the entire universe rested at my mother’s feet” (Kaur, 37). The way the author admires the strength and power of her own mother reflects her relationship with her parents. Milk and Honey is separated into four segments that each talk about family in both negative and positive aspects. In the first segment, The Hurting, readers discover how the author’s family abused her trust as a young girl. On page 28, Kaur writes “our knees pried open by cousins and uncles and men our bodies touched by all the wrong people that even in a bed full of safety we are afraid” (Kaur 28). It is often thought of that the home is a place of safety, and in a similar way one’s bed or bedroom is thought to be a place of comfort or safety as well. Kaur brings to attention that the home is often invaded by those who disguise themselves as trustworthy family members, however, they have the opposite and most vile intentions. If a family is surrounded by negativity so is the home. This negativity festers and can infect all individuals who inhabit the home. Thus, the family is a dynamic and ever-changing unit that can positively or negatively affect the way a home is built in a conceptual sense.
In relation to the intimate relationships that either the characters throughout In the Skin of a Lion have or the relationships portrayed through Kaur’s poems, one reoccurring theme that is present is love. To be more specific, there are numerous love triangles in Ondaatje’s work, where Patrick Lewis is constantly conflicted by his intimate relations with Clara Dickens and her friend Alice Gull. This is related to home as a central theme because in an abstract manner, one can associate the feeling of comfort with both love and the home. The infamous quote “home is where the heart is” associates love with the expression of feeling at home, or “at ease”. It is possible to “feel at home” in the presence of a lover. Here one can explore the many positive associations that exist in regard to love and feeling at home. To delve deeper into these intimate relationships, the passion between the characters Alice and Patrick is undeniable and reoccurring. On page 120 of the novel, the text reads “A hand came from somewhere and held his wrist. ‘Hello, Patrick.’ He turned on the flashlight. She was waiting for the light, like a good actress, ready to be revealed” (Ondaatje). This re-introduction of Alice and Patrick meeting each other again as lovers, sparked their comfort in matching a familiar face to a familiar heart. Home is often viewed as something familiar and safe, and in the same way, readers can see that the relationship that these two characters have based on their history points out that their love is also a scared, emotional space for familiarity and safety. The freedom one has when they are home can relate to the type of liberation one may feel when they love another individual. In conjunction with this idea, Patrick tests his love and trust in Alice by asking her if she would ever ask him to murder another person at the cause of a political circumstance, and she replies “I don’t think I’m big enough to put someone in a position where they have to hurt another” (Ondaatje, 125). It is at this moment where readers discover Patrick and Alice’s shared ideologies and values represent their mental connection both in an intellectual way and an intimate way. When one feels as home, they feel a sense of unity. The relationship between Alice and Patrick proves that love and the home are interconnected at the root cause of unity. Turning to Rupi Kaur’s poetry in Milk and Honey, love is often associated with the feeling of home. In a critical analysis of love and its connection to home or feeling at home, Kaur expresses the obdurate positive and negative perspectives that love brings. In parts two and three of Milk and Honey, or better known as The Loving and The Breaking, the readers are explicitly engaged with the topic of love in times of happiness versus times of sadness. In one’s own home, one may also experience times of sadness and happiness. Kaur twists the positive image of love by stating, “love made the danger in you look like safety” (96). She underlines the idea that love can be blinding at times just like how a home can block out the dangers of the outside world, even though these dangers do exist. Kaur also compares her body to a home, as a vessel for love, one in which love can reside in, despite her lover’s intentions on being a temporary part of her life. She writes, “…I am not a hotel room I am home. I am not the whiskey you want I am the water you need. Don’t come here with expectations and try to make a vacation out of me” (Kaur, 89). One can discover how the concept of love and the home are intertwined because they are both places that liberate emotions and experiences in the purest fashions. Liberation follows comfort and ultimately genuine expression. Thus, one may view love as something so versatile which resides in the physical home, or in the socially constructed home which people may see in others. The home is core in analyzing the key topic of love that continuously arises throughout In the Skin of a Lion and Milk and Honey.
Lastly, it is mandatory to place attention on the importance of identity when discussing the various definitions of home. The home aids in the formation of one’s own identity. In relation to the topic of family, identities are socially constructed and shaped by family or from events that take place in the home. The home is a place that is the most responsible for giving birth to someone’s identity. In the Skin of a Lion explores the protagonist’s journey in discovering his own identity based on the Macedonian community that surrounds him. Patrick Lewis’s definition of home evolves quickly as he becomes more detached from his own familial roots and increasingly desperate to belong to the Macedonian community. Patrick’s longing for a sense of unity within the immigrant community intrigued him since he was a young boy, as the text states, “To the boy growing into his twelfth year, having lived all his life on that farm where day was work and night was rest, nothing would be the same.
2019-3-15-1552690029