Inspired by real-life events of the Lima Crisis, the novel Bel Canto creates an eloquent – and probably rather unexpected – image of the terrorist-hostage situation: Ann Pratchett drives the plot away from political and economic intricacies and moves it into the realm of real human relationships and life experiences. Pratchett places people of different occupations, languages, dispositions and tempers into one presidential mansion where – captured by the terrorists for four months – they find new ways of looking at the world and can finally take a fresher look at their lives, passions and desires. It is pure humanity in the multiplicity of its guises that reveals itself in the novel (Hastings 2013). As the author herself explains, people taken out of their normal cycle of life have a unique opportunity to see the world around them in a completely new way – and this is absolutely true for all characters and especially for Mr. Hosokawa and Roxane Coss.
Throughout the novel – as relationships between the inhabitants of the mansion evolve and days go by – the reader sees how virtually all characters reveal their inner selves and look at life differently. As Mendelsohn (2001), this hostage situation brings about “miraculous transformations”. One of the brightest examples is Mr. Hosokawa, an affluent business mogul whose life was marked by precision and pragmatism. The man would be considered stone cold if the reader was not let into his greatest passion – music and opera. In his normal life, “when everything was business, when he worked harder than anyone in a country whose values are structured on hard work, he believed that life, true life, was something that was stored in music” (Pratchett 5). At the beginning, Hosokawa’s worldview rests on conventions and nearly robotic hard work; he does not let his emotions and passion come to the fore as he believes in life as a matter of cold mind and hard work: “He would not talk in terms of passion, as passion was a private matter” (Pratchett 6). However, captivity allow Mr. Hosokawa to experience life in a new manner: he has a chance to see the world full of passion and rewarding human relationships. While music used to be his only way to feel passion prior to captivity, he learns to find passion and genuine emotions in life in its entirety. When the man is released from his usual business duties – even though it happens in such a bizarre way – he gets an opportunity to see colors of life. He revels in Roxane’s singing, decides to learn Spanish finally and even opens his heart to true romantic feelings (feelings he was never truly capable of).
Roxane, in turn, is an independent and brilliant star singer who is used to admiration and love; however, she never channels the same feelings in return in her overwhelming sense of self-worth and stardom. Even after the mansion is sieged by the terrorist group, she believes that she will survive anyway due to her special status. And it is not surprising as even such an affluent persona as Mr. Hosokawa adores her. As it turns out that the president will not attend a party, Hosokawa is indifferent: “What could a president possibly mean on the evening one would meet Roxane Coss?” (Pratchett 10). Coss has been singing marvelously about love and romance, but he singing lacks true appreciation and experience of these feelings. Yet, captivity changes her view of the world by showing her pleasures of generosity and sharing love with others rather than merely receiving it. While Coss inspires Hosokawa and fuels his affection for her talent, he becomes comfort for her in these new conditions. Her world used to consist of people loving her for what she does, for her soprano. Captivity, in turn, shows her that she can be loved just for what she is and this breaks the ice and makes her heart give love in return: “If someone loves you for what you can do, then it’s flattering. [] but if they love you for who you are, they have to know you, which means you have to know them” (Pratchett). Basically, it is ability to love and feel other people that captivity brings to Roxane’s life, and she learns to project that onto others and particularly Cesar, a young terrorist. Like in other plot lines of the novel, such growing mutual affection might seem a simple expression of the well-studies Stockholm syndrome, which implies development of emotional bonds between hostages and captors (Jameson 337). However, Roxane’s new vision of the world is more deep and sincere: she becomes so humane and real and discovers a human in herself along with the brilliant singer she always knew of.
Tense conditions the novel’s characters are placed in turn out to be far from a conventional hostage nightmare; they give the characters a chance to see life bursting with color, emotions and passion. It becomes visible that many characters simply never lived a true life before and, being overwhelmed by pursuits of wealth, power and recognition. However, captivity gives them a brilliant chance to try “all the brilliant things [they] might have done with [their] lives if only [they] suspected [they] knew how” (Pratchett). For those who survive, captivity becomes a precious ‘reboot’ showing an alternative ‘dream world’ filled with intense emotions and experiences even despite the critical context of the siege.
Works Cited
Hastings, Tom H. Nonviolent Response to Terrorism. McFarland, 2004.
Jameson, Celia. "The Short Step from Love to Hypnosis: A Reconsideration of the Stockholm Syndrome." Journal for Cultural Research, 14.4 (2010), pp. 337–355.
Mendelsohn, Daniel. “Ransom Notes.” The New York Magazine (June 18, 2001). Web. 21 Jan. 2017. < http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/books/reviews/4804/>
Pratchett, Ann. Bel Canto. Harper Collins, 2009.
