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“Ransom Is a Novel That Is Ultimately About the Indissoluble Ties of Family

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“Ransom Is a Novel That Is Ultimately About the Indissoluble Ties of Family “Ransom is a novel that is ultimately about the indissoluble ties of family. Discuss.” In his revisit to the mythical city of Troy in Ransom, David Malouf explores the power of familial relationships as one of the most rudimentary connections shared by humanity. Easily forgotten in the chaotic context of the Trojan War, the writer suggests that the role one’s family plays is at its most pivotal during times of conflict and depression, affirming that it is the support and perennial love expressed by one’s family that allows an individual to overcome a state of ‘pathos’. Accompanied by the employment of natural imagery and through the accentuation of the duality of characters, Malouf’s novel mediates on the rudimentary emotion of love, the all-encompassing nature of grief and the strength of paternal relationships in particular. Through the exploration of father-son relationships, Malouf suggests that regardless of one’s distance or degree of separation from their family, the potency of this paternal bond will inevitably cause any conflict to be reconciled. Whilst the significance of paternal relationships dates back to ancient civilisations, in Ransom, such a fragmented connection is best embodied in the character of Priam and his relationship with his sons, “the actual number of which he could not swear to”. Priam’s division between political and personal spheres is clearly evident through the continuous references he makes to the obligations” and “expectations” of his role, as well as by the way he describes himself as the “centre” of Troy from which “all the roads lead out to distant parts of his kingdom” – Malouf suggesting that Priam has repressed his familial relationships in order to fulfil his role as tyrannos. Nonetheless, it is the simple carter, Somax, who reaffirms the importance of family to the Trojan king throughout their journey in the natural world on the way to the Greek encampment. The admirable language Somax adopts to describe his treasured daughter-in-law “flipping griddlecakes ... very deftly so as to not burn her fingers” coupled with the revelation of his son’s gruesome death enables Priam to question the “kingly distance” he has kept from his sons and wonder if “losing a son meant the same for him as it did for the carter”. Priam’s realisation of his repression of humanity reaches its climax during the ransom, where he mentions Achilles’ son, Neoptolemus, as he appeals to the warrior “not as a king, but as an ordinary man, a father”. Through this demonstration of raw human empathy and compassion by these two men, Malouf reiterates the importance of their respective sons to these fathers, exemplified in how the mention of Neoptolemus reopened a “sore spot which Achilles had long repressed”. Hence, Malouf’s humanisation of an archetypal warrior and a great king, which climaxes at the novel’s catharsis, highlights the indissolubility of paternal relationships, regardless of the father’s status. The backdrop of the Trojan War inevitably raises the nature of grief and loss for those who have lost loved ones in battle; Malouf acknowledges the necessity of familial support in overcoming the grief one experiences following a “soul mate’s” death. Beyond providing compassion and reassurance, it is through grief’s ability to unleash one’s inner evils that the writer asserts the role of family in instilling calm in a family member all-encompassed by grief. In Ransom, this is best exemplified by Achilles’ wrath and unrelenting ‘menin’ over the death of his “companion since childhood”, Patroclus, at the hands of his “implacable enemy”, Hector. “Weeping without restraint”, Achilles is also depicted “pouring fistfuls of dust” over his head following Patroclus’ death – Malouf combining this startling use of imagery with the motif of the ‘centre’ by asserting the warrior’s “hollowness” without the ‘centre’ who “his life had reassembled itself around”. Hence, here Malouf exploits Achilles’ “play of a dual self” to show his progression to his mother’s element which allows him to “slip out of his hard boyish nature and become eel-like, fluid, weightless ... in his mother’s arms”. The transformation of Achilles’ temperament from that of irrepressible rage to composure exemplifies the substantial effect the divine Thetis has on her son – her presence also evident at the novel’s completion when Achilles demonstrates compassion, uncharacteristic of his role as the “boldest, most ferocious, more unpredictable of the Greeks” in the return of Hector’s desecrated body. Hence, through the exploration of the nature of grief, Malouf asserts the imperative role of family in providing not only security, but also re-instilling tranquillity and rationality to the grief- stricken individual. The indissoluble connection of family is also demonstrated through the rudimentary human emotion of love and the lengths to which one often goes to protect the people they have been ‘mated’ with. Once again, Malouf employs the Greeks’ siege of Troy and the circumstances of war to accentuate the actions of an individual out of a love for a family member. In the novel, this is best exemplified in the way Patroclus dons Achilles armour and selflessly places his life at risk in the place of his “soul mate” Achilles. Through this dichotomy Malouf establishes regarding war’s ability to unleash one’s inner evils yet also express outstanding feats of courage and camaraderie, the writer emphasises the notion of sacrifice and the ability of an individual to put a loved one’s’ interests before their own as being the centre of any family. In Ransom, David Malouf employs the extenuating and life-endangering circumstances of war to reaffirm the power of familial love and relationships. Through the exploration of paternal connections, the nature of grief and the notion of sacrifice, Malouf suggests that regardless of the adversity of life or the internal or external conflicts we may experience, the ties of family are too substantial to ever be truly dismissed. .
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