In the Skin of a Lion

Patrick mourns the loss of Alice, repeating, “he had always wanted to know her when she was old” (163). There is a first reference to the manner of her death, but it is vague, a mere mention of “the terrible wound suddenly appearing as she turned” (165). Patrick’s grief and rage “creates venom” (166) in him, and in the aftermath of his tragic loss he becomes an arsonist. He takes his skills as a dynamiter (learned from his father) and uses them to wreak destruction. He targets the wealthy, boarding The Algonquin steamship and planning to set a fire in the Muskoka Hotel, where he knows “most of the regatta crowd” will be lodging (166).

He watches his crime unfold from the Garden of the Blind, a sanctuary for the visually impaired, where blind individuals can navigate the area guided by artificial smells placed in different locations. (This is a strange but notable example of sensory deprivation and heightened nonvisual senses, which are important motifs in the novel.) He speaks with a blind woman and confesses to her that he is a criminal. When night falls, he escapes by swimming out to a boat, “a night cruise with dancing” (171). He hides in the kitchen on the cruise ship.