Music Theme in Orpheus Lost
The role of Music in Janette Turner Hospital’s 2007 Novel
Musical performances and instruments are central to the story of Leela and Mishka in Janette Turner Hospital's Miles Franklin Literary Award longlisted novel Orpheus Lost
A modern tale exploring the complex nature of love, truth and trust, Orpheus Lost (Fourth Estate, 2007) is based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.
Orfeo ed Euridice by Gluck
Gluck’s opera Orfeo ed Euridice contributes significantly to the musical theme of Orpheus Lost. Orfeo ed Euridice was the first of Gluck’s Reform Operas, in which the storyline and performance were simplified with the aim to present a more dramatic and psychological truthfulness. This compliments the novel’s preoccupation with the nature of honesty, both between individuals and an individual’s own personal integrity and self-awareness.
When Leela first encounters Mishka he is playing his violin in the subway, totally absorbed in his music and the reverberation of the sounds. He is unaware of the enthralled crowd that gathers as he plays the lament of Orpheus after Eurydice returns to The Underworld, Che faro senza Euridice (I have lost my Eurydice).
The entrancing nature of his music associates Mishka with Orpheus. By the novel’s conclusion, however, it is Leela who cries out in despair at her absent love. She believes she has betrayed Mishka through her doubts, leading to his departure for the Middle East and subsequent imprisonment as the doubts of Orpheus resulted in Eurydice’s return to The Underworld. She considers herself responsible, as did Orpheus, adding an additional burden to her grief.
Music as Consolation
Raised to believe his Uncle Otto was living in solitude in an upstairs bedroom of Mishka’s childhood home, it is some time before Mishka discovers that his Grandpa Mordecai’s brother died in the concentration camps of Europe during the war. Mordecai gradually convinces himself that Otto is still alive and the family maintains this delusion by playing recordings of Otto’s music. The family sits each evening listening to Otto play after dinner, allowing Mordecai to retreat to a reality where his brother and his musical gift still exist.
The family regularly plays a recording of Che faro senza Euridice, releasing themselves through the lament from the grief caused by their own losses and regrets.
Music as Communication
There is more to Mishka’s music than the beguiling performances that associate him with Orpheus. Music is the means by which he communicates with those he cares about and expresses his fears, passions and concerns. It is how he expresses his love for Leela, his affection for his Australian rainforest home and his acceptance of his dual heritage.
Mishka uses music to reaches out to the world around him, but he also uses it to protect and distance himself from the world. When he is being tortured, he retreats to images of his violin and oud and memories of his own and Otto’s performances.
When questioned by Leela, Mishka confesses that his violin was his best friend as a child, isolated as he was in his Daintree home with only his mother, grandparents and the spectre of Uncle Otto. When Mishka discovers his Lebanese heritage, he learns the oud, a Middle Eastern stringed instrument. These two instruments represent who he is – his past, his heritage and his means of connection with both eastern and western cultures.
Music and Mathematics
For Leela, her mathematical inclination causes her to appreciate music not only for its sound and the emotional response it stirs, but also for the symmetry of the chords and the balance of the tonal qualities. She relates to the world through numbers, as Mishka does through music, but in the mathematical nature of sound they find a common ground.
A novel that appeals on a variety of levels, Orpheus Lost is well deserving of its place in the longlisted novels for the 2008 Miles Franklin Literary Award.
Further Reading: Book Review: Orpheus Lost
