An Interpretation Of Hero’s Journey Of Almásy In The English Patient From The Perspective Of Monomyth Theory

Michael Ondaatje(1943-)is one of the most important representatives of post-colonial novelists of contemporary English literature.His masterpiece The English Patient won the Man Booker Prize in 1992.It is an excellent novel with highly allegorical features and abundant mysterious elements.In the novel,the protagonist Almásy recalls his heroic adventure in the Libyan desert when he lives a normal patient life in the Villa San Girolamo.His quest is the trek to the unknown parts of his mind,which conforms to the core point of Joseph Campbell’s psychologizing of myth.Campbell’s hero myth is closely related to human being’s spiritual aspects and his monomyth refers to the circle of the archetypal hero’s adventure.Monomyth includes seventeen stages which are divided into three sections:departure,initiation,and return.Almásy’s journey,in the form of literature,is the embodiment of the norm of the hero’s adventure of Campbell.Therefore,based on the monomyth theory,this thesis interprets the hero’s journey of the protagonist Almásy in The English Patient from three perspectives:the archetype of hero’s departure,hero’s initiation,and hero’s return.To begin with,based on the concept of the archetype of hero’s departure in monomyth,the thesis discusses the moment of Almásy’s spiritual transfiguration and analyzes the consistency of traits of helpers between Campbell’s hero and Almásy from two perspectives:the call to adventure and the supernatural aid.The Histories of Herodotus,a helper in a special form,guides and empowers Almásy.However,it also lures him during his journey.Then,based on the concept of the archetype of hero’s initiation in monomyth,the thesis elucidates the tortuous process of Almásy’s quest for values and enlightenment from three perspectives:the road of trials,the meeting with the goddess,and the atonement with the Father.Although Almásy fails to conquer the ultimate test of adventure and win the boon of love,he eventually completes three rites of his spiritual transfiguration:burned out of recognition,forced to abandon the attachment to ego itself,and living a holy life.Finally,based on the concept of the archetype of hero’ s return in monomyth,the thesis interprets Almásy’s return,the divinity,and his benefits for community members from two perspectives:rescuing from without and crossing the return threshold.By summarizing these three parts,the thesis concludes that the heroic journey of the protagonist Almásy in The English Patient embodies the norm of the hero’s adventure of Campbell.In Campbell’s perspective,the whole sense of the myth of the hero’s adventure is that it shall serve as a general formula for men and women.The individual has only to discover his own position with reference to this general formula and let it then assist him past his restricting walls,defeat his own ego,and become a healthy,well-balanced,and productive member for their society.In The English Patient,the protagonist Almásy stands along Campbell’s scale:he masters wisdom through ordeals;he fights against his innermost monster to exceed himself and explore the essence of life;he demonstrates different personalities such as greatness,extreme individualism,and selfishness,which imply that extreme individualism will inevitably lead to the loss of the value of his own existence.To find the proper model of survival,Almásy has to be convinced of that the essence of individual is the sum of all social relations and values of individual is to serve others and serve the society.