Katharine Clifton
Dublin Core
Title
Katharine Clifton
Subject
Katharine Clifton is first mentioned in the epigraph of The English Patient. The death of herself and her husband are mentioned in the fictional Geographical minutes that Ondaatje has creating, “Clifton at Gilf Kebir, followed later by the disappearance of his wife, Katharine Clifton, which took place during the 1939 desert expedition in search of Zerzura. I cannot begin this meeting tonight without referring very sympathetically to those tragic occurrences. The lecture this evening …” (Ondaatje, 35-37).
The significance of who the Clifton’s are remains unknown to the readers until later in the book, when the Clifton’s arrive on scene in the desert to explore with Almasy and the others. Alongside the expected arrival of Geoffrey Clifton, is his new wife, Katherine, who joins the expedition.
Some aspects of the real life Katharine remain the same, for example her exploration of the desert. Dr Bermann mentions her in his lecture “Mr. Patrick Clayton, Almasy's late companion, led another expedition into the Gilf region; he was joined by Lady Clayton, Sir Robert's widow, and by Lieut.-Commander Roundell.” (Bermann, Historic Problems of the Libyan Desert, 457-8).
Almasy first falls in love with Katharine because of her voice. She recites poetry or reads from Herodotus by the fireside during their time in the desert.
After knowing her for a year, they come to realize their mutual desire for one another. Their affair is passionate. They hide it only from her husband, but all others know. And then it ends, and they retreat from one another, two very different people.
“She had always wanted words, she loved them, grew up on them. Words gave her clarity, brought reason, shape. Whereas I thought words bent emotions like sticks in water. She returned to her husband. From this point on, she whispered, we will either find or lose our souls. Seas move away, why not lovers? The harbours of Ephesus, the rivers of Heraclitus disappear and are replaced by estuaries of silt. The wife of Candaules becomes the wife of Gyges. Libraries burn. What had our relationship been? A betrayal of those around us, or the desire of another life?” (Ondaatje 2853-2857).
Katharine is a character marked by her affair, and her tragic death. She is known to us only through Almasy.
The significance of who the Clifton’s are remains unknown to the readers until later in the book, when the Clifton’s arrive on scene in the desert to explore with Almasy and the others. Alongside the expected arrival of Geoffrey Clifton, is his new wife, Katherine, who joins the expedition.
Some aspects of the real life Katharine remain the same, for example her exploration of the desert. Dr Bermann mentions her in his lecture “Mr. Patrick Clayton, Almasy's late companion, led another expedition into the Gilf region; he was joined by Lady Clayton, Sir Robert's widow, and by Lieut.-Commander Roundell.” (Bermann, Historic Problems of the Libyan Desert, 457-8).
Almasy first falls in love with Katharine because of her voice. She recites poetry or reads from Herodotus by the fireside during their time in the desert.
After knowing her for a year, they come to realize their mutual desire for one another. Their affair is passionate. They hide it only from her husband, but all others know. And then it ends, and they retreat from one another, two very different people.
“She had always wanted words, she loved them, grew up on them. Words gave her clarity, brought reason, shape. Whereas I thought words bent emotions like sticks in water. She returned to her husband. From this point on, she whispered, we will either find or lose our souls. Seas move away, why not lovers? The harbours of Ephesus, the rivers of Heraclitus disappear and are replaced by estuaries of silt. The wife of Candaules becomes the wife of Gyges. Libraries burn. What had our relationship been? A betrayal of those around us, or the desire of another life?” (Ondaatje 2853-2857).
Katharine is a character marked by her affair, and her tragic death. She is known to us only through Almasy.
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Citation
“Katharine Clifton,” Digital History - Histoire Numérique, accessed September 19, 2024, http://omeka.uottawa.ca/jmccutcheon/items/show/245.