Explication of "The Enigma" in Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam

Of Polti’s Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations, “The Enigma” is most prevalent in Dr. Vincent Lam’s Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures, specifically in the characterization of two of his protagonists: Fitz and Sri. Throughout the book, the characters continually discover unique and distinct versions of their ‘self,’ with each disposition being exposed from different situations; romance, ethics, life and death. By piecing together the fragments and clues left within the twelve short stories, the reader can begin to uncover the puzzle that is the life of a doctor. Fitz and Sri are the quintessential example of Polti’s “Enigma” as they each become “The Interrogator” of their actions, thoughts, motives and decisions, all the while “Seeking” to find answers to the “Problems” within their lives, and profession.

“The Enigma” is poignantly portrayed in the short story “Winston.” Sri is offered temptations along his path to discovering his name. Throughout the story, he seeks to discover his purpose as a physician, and ultimately, the purpose of his life. The character of Sri is presented as profoundly logical, rational and stable, but in the midst of the character of Winston, he begins to interrogate himself by questioning the foundation of reason on which he has based his existence. Lam is able to seamlessly weave together the abstractions of cognition, truth, and perception to artfully present Sri and Winston as both real and unreal, and expose one of the book’s most inexplicable enigmas. This is epitomized in one of the novel’s many profound quotations, “You’ve heard that the sound of hoofbeats implies the presence of horses. It is true that we must look carefully for zebras, but for the most part we expect to find horses . . . Always, people are drawn to zebras” (Lam 125-126). Herein Lam has placed the paradox all doctors must face: can symptoms, “facts,” lie? The purple bird in “Winston” further symbolizes the enigmatic question that things are not always what they seem, and becomes one of the problems Sri must traumatically face as he ponders what to believe.

Lam has mastered and exploited the greatest enigma of mankind: the unknown. Mirroring the confusion presented within Sri, Lam further develops the concept within Fitzgerald. In “Eli,” Lam notes the contrast between blood and salvia, stating that, “Saliva, clear and innocent, but sometimes it carries infections and curses like the words it lubricates” (Lam 181). Similar to this, “Blood bears the curse of human malice. This life fluid may conceal destruction, the way words and thoughts can kill unseen. Within blood the idea of death can flow” (Lam 179). Much like in “Winston,” Lam is again presenting humans’ desperate seeking of the answer to the enigma that is the uncertain. In this torment, one must question the realms of reality, and ultimately, convinces them self that what they perceive is true. This idea reflects the life of Fitzgerald. The entire existence of Fitz in itself is perplexing, and portrays a constant struggle between what he wants, and what is real. As he slowly descends from hopeless romantic, to desperate lover, to abusive doctor, to alcoholic, and finally, to deathbed, Fitz is constantly, albeit contradictorily, searching for a solution to each of his respective problems. Inspired by is love of Ming, he interrogates himself to inspire a change in his self-destructive ways. However, it is only in the pain of death that he acknowledges the faults of his subconscious, and ultimately, accepts an eerily statisfying lack of closure as he succumbs to SARS, a disease in which he, a healer, paradoxically brought to Canada.

Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures is one large puzzle with each story representing bits and pieces. It is the task of the reader to link these fragments in hopes of ascertaining the true meaning of Lam’s words, and finding an answer to the overwhelming enigma presented. Lam amplifies the challenge of his riddle with an evident equivocation throughout the book, exemplified in the opening quotation, “Medicine is a science of uncertainty, and an art of probability - Sir William Osler” (Lam Prologue). This idea of ambiguity is paralleled at the end of the collection in “Before Light” when Chen states, “I feel a beautiful alertness, as if the sorrow and calm and joy and exploding furious vengeance of the world have all settled into me and shown themselves to be the same. Yes, all of an identical essence, different reflections of one basic feeling, one notion, in the way that water is at once an iceberg, the surf, a cloud” (Lam 336-337). Ending the novel with one big, insurmountable, beautiful enigma sums up the stories, and the concept that an emotion has many undefinable facets that blend as one masterful metacognition.