The Life That Was Imagined!

What a task! We are given the task of explaining why David Malouf’s book, “An Imaginary Life,” is important to our study of classical literature. After reading the book, I am completely convinced that it has everything to do with classical literature but I just cannot pin-point what exactly makes it so. The fact that it is based on the life of Ovid is kind of a dead give-away but that is almost too obvious to mention. I enjoyed reading Malouf’s book because of its originality but yet it displayed many of the subjects we discussed in class, such as, the relationship between the old and the young. Ovid as the old man is thrown into exile, forced to re-discover who he is or learn where it is he truly belongs, and the wild child is equally discovering a new world, which he also has been forced into. In the beginning, the old man takes “the Child” under his care and tries to teach him language, an important aspect of Ovid’s life before exile. Words were sustenance to him. He desired to be able to connect to someone through language. The desire to connect was so strong that even spiders speech became intriguing to him.

The aspect of metamorphosis also was woven through out the book which cannot be missed in most or all of Ovid’s tales. Men were constantly morphing into beasts of the wild or birds of the air, as well as, women turning into stone or transforming into trees. In “An Imaginary Life” the child appears to be the main character who transforms but Ovid is constantly rediscovering his purpose which, in itself, is a metamorphosis. He is continually drawn nearer and nearer to nature. Ovid is also experiencing an unspoken connection with “the Child” who is drawing him closer to “the place.” Nature is drawing Ovid closer. He can imagine himself as a lake; feeling the ripple run through his body as the wildlife partakes of his life. The end of his life draws him to the brink of a lake and his transformation into the nature around him.

The past possess the present. In this tale of Ovid, he is constantly remembering his past. The day his brother died, he blames himself for because he took over his brother’s position. He was afraid that he stole the life from his brother as soon as he performed the harvest rituals of the family. He did something wrong and the gods punished him. The gods were everywhere and could be in anyone; even he could some day be a god, once he completely transformed. Everything Ovid did helped to further connect his past with his present. The wild child was a constant reminder to him of the years long ago when he was younger. Is the wild child himself? He was wild. He is wild and needs to learn to tame himself and possibly become someday a god?

“An Imaginary Life” is very important for our class in that it opens our eyes to the present mythological aspects of today’s literature. We do not have to narrow down to books that have a certain date and author, in order, to read about the five conflicts or to see a transformation of a character; those traditions can be read in literature from all ages, we just have to look for it and enjoy!