Similarly, journeys are used by Macleod to explore aspects of his protagonist’s character; however, in No Great Mischief it is the reasons why Alexander undertakes these weekly journeys to visit his brother, more so than the journey itself, that reveals the most about him. The novel opens with Alexander on one of these journeys as he drives down Ontario’s major highway, ‘the 401’, in the ‘golden month of September’. The ‘splendid autumn sunshine’ contrasts sharply against the image of the destitute apartment blocks of Toronto with their ‘chained-down garbage cans’ and ‘chained-down dogs’ in which Calum resides, forcing the reader to wonder why it is Alexander makes these journeys: in a way they are an extension of the values he was raise with of ‘always look after your blood’, a saying often repeated by various clan members throughout the novel. However Alexander’s feelings of being ‘trapped in the net of my own guilt and history’ related through the first person narration in the beginning of the novel during his visit to Calum reveals something deeper and more profound: these journey are undertaken out of more than a sense of obligation or loyalty to any family maxim, they are in a sense a pilgrimage made by Alexander in search of his own identity. Although each week, Alexander embarrassedly leaves ‘crumpled roll of bills’ which he ‘avoids looking at or counting’ for his brother, in return he looks for a spiritual support from the man who once embodied, and now still symbolises, the clan’s values and history. As Alexander describes in first person narration, they are like ‘two tired boxers… Each giving and seeking the support of the other’ and by visiting the decrepit backstreets of Toronto Alexander embarks, through the route of memories which Calum evoke, on a journey of self-discovery. In both novels, the physical journeys undertaken by the protagonists are in fact representative of spiritual journeys. While the arduous and ‘funereal’ trip to Donnafugata is representative of the Prince’s slow but steady movement towards death, the journey made by Alexander from the ‘quiet affluence of his home’ to visit his brother symbolises his yearning to reconnect with his family’s traditional past, and in doing so to gain a greater understanding of himself.
Journeys are not only employed to vividly reveal aspects of character but are also used to invoke a subtle discussion of the writer’s thematic concerns. Di Lampedusa uses the journey through the harsh Sicilian landscape in order to portray the ephemeral insignificance of mortal concerns when compared to the timeless power of the natural landscape. The use of the third person omniscient narrator to describe the journey has the effect of distancing the reader from the characters, ultimately diminishing the Salina family to ‘perspiring faces’ against the ‘blazing landscape’. Depicted as ghostly figures ‘white with dust to the eyebrows’ the Prince and his family are reduced to anonymity and it is the hellish landscape of ‘bare hillsides’ and ‘desiccated trees’ that dominates the journey. It is the ‘monarchic sun’ and overbearing landscape that rules Sicily and which renders the national political struggle of Italy as well as the Prince’s personal tension with death obsolete. Through the journey to Donnafugata, di Lampedusa explores the power of the Sicilian landscape as theme in itself, and how its omnipotent presence overshadows the lives mortal beings.
Likewise, in No Great Mischief Macleod uses Alexander’s journey’s to Toronto to delve into his novels thematic concerns. As Alexander passes through the countryside on ‘the 401’ highway he passes ‘family groups’ of migrant fruit pickers. In the very opening passage of the novel, they are ‘stooping and straightening or staggering with overflowing bushel baskets’, the triad of active verbs conveys a sense of movement as we see the fruit pickers hard at work. The diligence and determination with which the migrants work mirror the attitude to life that the clan has. Alexander’s grandmother remarks in the first chapter that ‘if we are given the chance, we will live a long, long time’, and it is through hard-work that the clan manages to dig a life out for themselves. Upon entering the ‘downtown area’ of Toronto, Alexander notices the anti-nuclear protestors on the streets chanting phrases such as ‘One, two, three, four, we don’t want a nuclear war’. Directly opposite them stand another ‘equally determined group’ carry signs proclaiming slogans such as ‘Pacifists, Communists love you’. Here, we see the same opposition and animosity between the Highlanders and French Canadian that leads to Calum’s fall from a great leader to a destitute alcoholic played out on an urban platform. Although groups are able support one another and the causes that bring them together, they are can also result in the exclusion of others or hostility between other groups. The journey undertaken offers Macleod an opportunity to present the fruit pickers and anti-nuclear protestors, images which run parallel to the main story enabling Macleod to explore his themes concerning migration and opposition from another angle.
The journeys undertaken by the Prince of Salina and Alexander are used for an additional purpose, as devices that assist in the movement of the plot. The journeys made to Toronto are vital in creating a clear structure in the novel as they form the central storyline of this episodic and retrospective novel. Moreover, it is these visits to his brother which force him to reflect upon the past; the conversation between Calum and Alexander in the opening chapter of the novel provoke deep thought in Alexander whose memories are guided towards the horse Christy who ‘always kept her part of the bargain’, ‘Calum Ruadh’ their ‘great-great-great-grandfather’, their parents and the clan’s ‘communal songs’ which rise up from ‘deep within [Alexander]’ like a ‘reflex action’. As the action in No Great Mischief revolves around Alexander’s attempts to understand how both his immediate and personal family history as well as the distant and traditional history of his ancestral forbears has shaped the lives of himself and his brothers, these journeys to visit Calum are vital in propelling action in the novel. In The Leopard the journey in the second chapter facilitates the transition in setting from Palermo to Donnafugata, directly leading to the introduction to Angelica, representative of the rising bourgeoisie class, and her subsequent engagement to Tancredi, the Prince’s nephew. As much of the novel’s plot is concerned with the union between the middle class and aristocracy, the journey to Donnafugata can be seen as a catalyst for this pivotal point in the text. Both writers use journeys to impel the movement of the plot; however, in No Great Mischief Alexander’s frequent drives to Toronto form the “backbone” of the novel from which his reflections on the past branch while in The Leopard, the Prince’s journey to Donnafugata acts as catalyst for the introduction to Angelica, an event which is crucial to the decline of the Salina family.
Though The Leopard is set during the political and social upheaval of the Italian Risorgimento and No Great Mischief spans several centuries of history in Scotland and Canada, di Lampedusa and Macleod both employ physical journeys in their novels in a powerful and memorable way. The overbearing and funereal landscape of Sicily as well as the ‘splendid autumn sunshine’ that glimmers over the destitute apartment block in which Calum lives are images that resonate powerfully within the mind of the reader, enabling the writers to convey in a striking manner nuances in their protagonists’ character as well as in their thematic concerns.
by
chowki (student)
