Ondaatje references other books throughout the novel to create a parallel between The English Patient and the major themes of Herodotus’ Histories, Kim, and Anna Karenina. In Histories, Herodotus’ set out to record the events of the past without the use of biasness and antagonist or protagonists. Herodotus explains his reasons for writing Histories at the beginning of the book with the following: “Herodotus of Halicarnassus here displays his enquiry, so that human achievements may not become forgotten in time, and great and marvellous deeds – some displayed by Greeks, some by barbarians – may not be without their glory; and especially to show why the two peoples fought with each other.”[1] Just like in The English Patient, there is no definite antagonist or protagonist. All the characters are complex and bring into the story their own perspective. Generally, the protagonist of a story is the character who has gone through a journey and has somehow changed as a result. However, in the case of The English Patient, characters such as Almasy, Hana, and Kip go through an experience that causes them to see the world differently and consequently see themselves differently. In Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina is “often interpreted overall as a parable on the difficulty of being honest to oneself when the rest of society accepts falseness.”[2] In a way, The English Patient holds similar meaning with is theme of nationality and identity. The characters of the novel are all from different parts of the world, yet all of them have somehow become disconnected from the country they call “home” because of the war and the actions of the political figures that act in the countries’ behalf. In a setting of death, betrayal, and fear, it is not surprising that eventually the lives of the characters in the novel adapt those same tendencies. “So history enters us.” [19] In Kipling’s novel Kim, the protagonist, Kim, is trained in espionage during the Great Game that involved the British Empire and the Russian Empire. In the end, the reader must decide for himself whether Kim will follow the path of materialism or spirituality. In The English Patient, Kip considers Kim as representing the colonialist occupiers of his city and his country.[3] Although the characters in The English Patient do not have many material possessions to begin with, the dilemma faced by Kim is reflective of the decision faced by Almasy, Hanna, and the rest of the character to accept the idea of “nations” and barriers or reject that notion and see the world as boundless and its inhabitants as equals. At the same time, Hanna finds that her Christian beliefs have been compromised by the war and refrains from participating in religious traditions such as praying. By referencing these texts, Ondaatje helps portray a multitude of aspects of the story by paralleling them to major themes in other well-known literary texts.
[1] Penguin Classics translation, revised from Aubrey de Selincourt's 1954 version
[2] “Anna Karenina.” Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. 2007. 4 Nov. 2007.
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