Explication - Process

“The Enigma”

Elements: Problem, Interrogator, Seeker

Enigma: A person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand (see riddle or paradox)

Problem: A matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome; a thing that is difficult to achieve or accomplish (a problem exists when an individual notices the difference between what is and what ought to be)

Interrogator: A person who asks questions of someone closely, aggressively, or formally; a person who poses a problem

Seeker: A person who attempts or desires to obtain or achieve something

- Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures is one large puzzle with each story representing a piece or pieces. These pieces or fragments must be pieced together by the reader to solve the puzzle, or enigma.
- Each of the four main characters (Fitz, Chen, Ming and Sri) are Seekers. However, at the same time, they are all their own Interrogator (with some overlap).
- The Problem varies for each character. However, each character faces the problem of regret and being unsure. They all questions their choices in life, and struggle to find answers to matters of life and death. Ultimately, the four doctors are each on an individual quest to unveil how to continue life after death.

Common Ideas in “The Engima”

1) Search for a person who must be found on pain of death
2) A riddle to be solved on pain of death
3) A riddle to be solved on pain of death in which the poser is the coveted woman
- Indeed, these ideas hold true in Bloodletting. In the beginning, Fitz desperately searches for Ming. At the time however, it is not clear that she will become the coveted woman for Chen as well. Both Chen and Fitz face a riddle to be solved on pain of death in which the poser is the coveted woman. Chen and Fitz fight for the love of Ming, and are forced to meet her desires. However, only Chen succeeds (and ultimately marries Ming). Fitz, having lost a on pain of death, succumbs to SARS. The irony is that neither man realizes that each of these factors has been on the pain of death.



4) Temptations offered with the object of discovering his name
- Sri best fits this idea, most notably in “Winston.” He desires to discoverer his purpose in life, and his purpose as a physician. However, he is tempted by ideas of insanity, confusion, and reality.

5) Temptations offered with the object of ascertaining the sex
- Ming would best represent this idea. Throughout the book, different layers of Ming are revealed, and she quests to find her position are a female doctor. This also reflects her promiscuity with her cousin, Karl, as well as Chen and Fitz.

6) Tests for the purposes of ascertaining the mental condition
- This is the big one. Each character faces many tests in the hopes of understanding them self.

The Reader: As the reader, I was immediately drawn into this enigma. I found myself like a detective, trying to pick up on clues and hints that would help complete the picture. As the novel progressed, more and more pieces were added, and it became much more difficult to solve the puzzle. However, it was this effect that engrossed me further and further into the novel. “The Enigma” is designed to draw the reader into the situation as they seek to understand the puzzle in hopes of the reward of closure. Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures does just that, however, it artfully tweaks “The Enigma’s” form by providing an eerily satisfying lack of closure.