Ekphrasis is defined as a narrative device in which a fictional artistic medium outlines the theme or form of the actual piece of fiction in which it is found. In The Moor's Last Sigh Aurora Zogoiby's paintings often take up the same narrative function. They are used to foreshadow important plot points, such as the narrator's fall from grace, especially in the book's third section.
Aurora's last painting is referred to by the narrator as the "Moor in exile". As the name suggests, this painting is a departure from the other paintings in Aurora's Moor series. The Moor loses his significance as the hybrid "unifier of opposites". The ideas that she had once celebrated through this figure are now lamented in their distorted form. The is shown in a degrading light, mired by the scene of debauchery and decay that he finds himself in.
This description foreshadows the narrator's prospects as Fielding's henchman. It also signals Rushdie's intent to plunge the novel into the murky depths of modern-day Bombay.
In Chapter 16 the narrator is employed by Fielding as a henchman. He commits many different acts of violence in this role. His cruelty is, however, not a result of these new circumstances. Rather, it is fuelled by the resentment he has carried forward from his old life. "Can you imagine how much anger had been banked in me by the circumscriptions and emotional complexities of my previous existence" (306). It is clear that the narrator is, here, a perversion of his former self. In this distorted form, he becomes mired in the violence of Bombay's underworld. And this turn in his character is clearly suggested by the description of Aurora's earlier painting.
Aurora's last painting is referred to by the narrator as the "Moor in exile". As the name suggests, this painting is a departure from the other paintings in Aurora's Moor series. The Moor loses his significance as the hybrid "unifier of opposites". The ideas that she had once celebrated through this figure are now lamented in their distorted form. The is shown in a degrading light, mired by the scene of debauchery and decay that he finds himself in.
This description foreshadows the narrator's prospects as Fielding's henchman. It also signals Rushdie's intent to plunge the novel into the murky depths of modern-day Bombay.
In Chapter 16 the narrator is employed by Fielding as a henchman. He commits many different acts of violence in this role. His cruelty is, however, not a result of these new circumstances. Rather, it is fuelled by the resentment he has carried forward from his old life. "Can you imagine how much anger had been banked in me by the circumscriptions and emotional complexities of my previous existence" (306). It is clear that the narrator is, here, a perversion of his former self. In this distorted form, he becomes mired in the violence of Bombay's underworld. And this turn in his character is clearly suggested by the description of Aurora's earlier painting.
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