An Imaginary Life: Analysis of Major Characters
"An Imaginary Life" is a novel that portrays the life of the Roman poet Ovid during his exile, exploring themes of isolation, cultural dislocation, and the bond between humans and nature. The narrative unfolds from Ovid's first-person perspective as he grapples with his new, desolate surroundings near the Danube and the Black Sea, reflecting on his past and the impact of age. He experiences a transformation as he learns to appreciate the simplicity and mystery of the untamed environment, despite feeling out of place among the local inhabitants.
Key characters include Ryzak, the village headman, who shows respect towards Ovid but is burdened by fear of the unknown; Ryzak's elderly mother, a figure of mystical wisdom who harbors suspicions about a local Child; and the Child himself, who is discovered in a feral state and captivates Ovid with his primitive intellect. Ryzak's daughter-in-law also plays a crucial role, caring for the Child despite communal fears. Additionally, Lullo, Ryzak's grandson, initially benefits from Ovid's teachings but ultimately becomes envious of the Child. Together, these characters create a rich tapestry that reflects the challenges and connections forged in an unfamiliar landscape.
An Imaginary Life: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: David Malouf
First published: 1978
Genre: Novel
Locale: Tomis, an outpost of the Roman Empire
Plot: Historical
Time: c. 8–17 c.e.
Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso), the famous Latin poet. Ovid's character ranges from the self-indulgent frivolity that characterized the real Ovid while he was in exile from Rome in the last decade of his life to the more somber and pensive attitudes that are found in the fictional protagonist. The work is told from the poet's point of view, in the first person. In his place of banishment between the Danube and the Black Sea, the fictional Ovid finds his surroundings cold, bleak, and desolate; however, he reflects that exile is a state of mind. The effects of age and isolation beset him at first. He is fifty years old at the outset, and he wonders whether his writings have been preserved at all in the imperial capital. At times, he muses on earlier memories of Italy. In due course, he finds a sense of closeness to nature, indeed a sense of mystery, in the rude and untamed, but also unspoiled, setting into which he has been cast. Although as an accomplished writer he feels out of place in a locality where his own language is not known, eventually he comes to understand the natives' speech almost as well as Latin. He feels little impulse to indulge in any expressions of disdain for the rather modest level of culture found in those around him. He takes a pronounced and touching interest in the Child's needs, and when he discovers that the boy is in danger, Ovid takes the Child with him into the steppe to the north, where his story ends.
Ryzak, the village headman. He allows Ovid to stay with him and accords Ovid some respect out of deference toward his previous importance in Rome. Ryzak is a taciturn but kindly sort; apparently, his authority is diminished somewhat by his dread of the unknown. He defers to the beliefs in magic propounded by his mother and by the village shaman. When Ryzak receives a bite on his arm, falls into convulsions, and dies, the Child is suspected of exercising malevolent animal powers.
Ryzak's mother, a woman who is nearly eighty years old at the beginning of the novel. She is regarded as possessing a sort of mystical wisdom where spirits and portents are concerned; Ovid believes that she exercises a baleful influence over her son. She seems to suspect that evil, feral powers of some sort are lurking within the Child.
Ryzak's daughter-in-law, who lives with Ryzak and is rearing her son Lullo. When the child Ovid has found becomes ill, she cares for him secretly, in spite of the fear and distrust others in the household feel toward the boy.
The Child, a boy of about eleven whom hunters find in a wild state in a forest. He is tied up like an animal and taken to Ryzak's house. Ovid takes a personal interest in the Child's welfare and is fascinated by the development of his fledgling intellect. When it comes to plain and simple truths about the outside world, the Roman writer believes that he has something to learn from the Child. Eventually, for his own protection, the Child is taken to a remote area some distance from the household.
Lullo, Ryzak's grandson. Although he received lessons in Latin and mathematics from Ovid, he becomes jealous of the Child. Eventually, he wants to have nothing to do with the exiled Roman author.