Influence Of Water In Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient

Michael Ondaatje's novel The English Patient takes place during the aftermath of World War II; one of the major transformative events of the 20th century (Kesternich 2013). The narrative brings light to the relationships among the main characters who have all been damaged by this violent era and have ended up in an abandoned villa in the deserts of Italy. Hana, a young nurse from Canada; Kip, a Sikh sapper working for the British; Almásy, also known as the English Patient who was terribly burned in a helicopter accident; Caravaggio, a thief; and Katharine Clifton, a married woman who falls in love with Almásy. While dwelling in Italy, the characters are influenced by the primary symbol of water. Water symbolism appears all through the novel

Hana is intrigued by the English Patient and therefore she sees him as a fresh start. This is one reason why Hana decides to care for him because she is in agony and latching onto the English Patient is something that she can control. Another point worth noting is that water in The Villa San Girolamo is lifeless however, this does not stop Hana from gardening and "someday there [will] be a bower of limes, …" (Ondaatje 43). From this, we can understand that Hana truly believes in the fact that water gives us life. Writing in the Journal of Symbols & Sandplay Therapy, Mi-yeon Eom states that "water is rich with psychological meaning for it represents the source of life, maternity, potential energy, healing, wisdom, as well as destruction. It embodies all possibilities and potentiality, both harmful and helpful (2014)." In making this comment, Eom reminds us that water has been and will continue to be a necessity for humanity, therefore, it is inevitable that water signifies various meanings. The storyline begins with an example of water symbolizing purification and healing: "Every four days [Hana] washes his black body, beginning at the destroyed feet. She wets a washcloth and holding it above his ankles squeezes the water onto him, looking up as he murmurs, seeing his smile" (Ondaatje 3). From this, water is playing a constructive role as Hana is nursing the English Patient by gently bathing his blackened body. So too, Hana cares for him by reading aloud any book she is able to obtain from the library in the Villa San Girolamo and "he listens to her, swallowing her words like water" (Ondaatje 5). It is evident that Hana's actions are what is keeping the English Patient alive which is represented by water and this further supports the concept that water is essential for life (Popkin 2011).
A key point to remember is that the English Patient's main goal of his desert expedition