Introduction

Transnational Identities 323
needs to rely on others to make him feel connected. He admits that within him
there was “[s]omething hollow, so when alone, when not aligned with another –
whether it was Ambrose or Clara or Alice – he could hear the rattle within that
suggested a space between him and community” (SL 157). While Alice thinks that
he can be solitary because he is “self-sufficient” (SL 123), this self-sufficiency
clearly is not of much use to him since there are things he is unable to do such as
overcoming his sense of displacement that resulted from his (im)migration.
Temelcoff, on the contrary, is well prepared for establishing new connections
in Canada, which is not surprising since he is part of a transnational network that
helps him deal with the problems of immigration. Thus Temelcoff met others
who have migrated even before he left Macedonia and knows that there will be
people from his village in Toronto who he can go to for help (SL 46). These, of
course, can provide advice since they have been through the same experience.
Accordingly, Temelcoff is fully aware of what is needed to be successful and, for
example, knows that “[i]f he did not learn the language he would be lost” (SL 46)
and quickly finds work in several Macedonian bakeries because of his connections.
Patrick, on the other hand, is utterly alone.
This extreme difference between the two characters is illustrated in the novel’s
use of light and darkness. Raphaël Ingelbien shows that light and darkness in In the
Skin of a Lion function as metaphors of which light is connected with consciousness
and empowerment whereas darkness stands for powerlessness and alienation
(31-33). Temelcoff’s transnational connectedness is therefore further highlighted
by the description of him as someone who “came to this country like a torch on
fire and he swallowed air as he walked forward and he gave out light. Energy
poured through him” (SL 149). In addition, light in the novel is also often associated
with naming, which in turn “is a necessary step in the process leading to social
and cultural recognition” (Ingelbien 34-35). To be able to name something is
to be able to identify oneself and others, thereby asserting one’s selfunderstanding
and also one’s place in one’s social location. Accordingly, if Temelcoff
arrives “like a torch on fire” it indicates that he has already started his process
of integration into the host country before his arrival. His social space thus is
made up of a transnational network which provides assistance in his migration
which then leads to his greater agency, mobility and flexibility and in turn to a
higher chance of successful integration.
Patrick on the other hand is not part of such a network and instead lacks connectedness
of any kind as shown above. This is strongly reflected in his migration
experience which is not only not the same as Temelcoff’s but in a way even more
difficult. This is again reflected in the use of light and darkness. Contrary to Temelcoff,
Patrick is frequently situated in utter darkness (SL 9, 105, 120, 166, 230)
and as Ingelbien points out “mainly passive, looking for light without producing
any” (34) which stresses his inability to make connections. The metaphor even
goes to extremes in Patrick’s case because he is not only in the dark, but also asso-