In the Skin of a Lion

by

Michael Ondaatje

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on In the Skin of a Lion makes teaching easy.

Nicholas Temelcoff Character Analysis

Initially known as a fearless worker on the bridge, Macedonian immigrant Nicholas Temelcoff later leads a more peaceful life as a baker. He is deeply talented at manual work but remains reserved, preferring to keep to himself than to engage with his colleagues. He proves generous and capable of self-sacrifice when he saves the nun from falling off the bridge. This episode also allows him to reveal his romantic sensibilities, as he soon becomes enamored of the mysterious nun. He makes many efforts to integrate Canadian society, working hard to learn English, a process he enjoys but finds more difficult than his acrobatics on the bridge.

Nicholas Temelcoff Quotes in In the Skin of a Lion

The In the Skin of a Lion quotes below are all either spoken by Nicholas Temelcoff or refer to Nicholas Temelcoff. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Working Class vs. the Rich Theme Icon
).
Part 1: Chapter 2: The Bridge Quotes

So when customers step in at any time, what they are entering is an old courtyard of the Balkans. A violin. Olive trees. Permanent evening. Now the arbor-like wallpaper makes sense to her. Now the parrot has a language.

Related Characters: Alice Gull, Nicholas Temelcoff, Kosta
Page Number: 37
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Chapter 1: Palace of Purification Quotes

In books he had read, even those romances he swallowed during childhood, Patrick never believed that characters lived only on the page. They altered when the author’s eye was somewhere else. (…) Each character had his own time zone, his own lamp, otherwise they were just men from nowhere.

Related Characters: Patrick Lewis, Alice Gull, Nicholas Temelcoff
Page Number: 143
Explanation and Analysis:

His own life was no longer a single story but part of a mural, which was a falling together of accomplices.

Related Characters: Patrick Lewis, Alice Gull, Nicholas Temelcoff, Cato, Hana
Page Number: 145
Explanation and Analysis:
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Nicholas Temelcoff Quotes in In the Skin of a Lion

The In the Skin of a Lion quotes below are all either spoken by Nicholas Temelcoff or refer to Nicholas Temelcoff. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Working Class vs. the Rich Theme Icon
).
Part 1: Chapter 2: The Bridge Quotes

So when customers step in at any time, what they are entering is an old courtyard of the Balkans. A violin. Olive trees. Permanent evening. Now the arbor-like wallpaper makes sense to her. Now the parrot has a language.

Related Characters: Alice Gull, Nicholas Temelcoff, Kosta
Page Number: 37
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Chapter 1: Palace of Purification Quotes

In books he had read, even those romances he swallowed during childhood, Patrick never believed that characters lived only on the page. They altered when the author’s eye was somewhere else. (…) Each character had his own time zone, his own lamp, otherwise they were just men from nowhere.

Related Characters: Patrick Lewis, Alice Gull, Nicholas Temelcoff
Page Number: 143
Explanation and Analysis:

His own life was no longer a single story but part of a mural, which was a falling together of accomplices.

Related Characters: Patrick Lewis, Alice Gull, Nicholas Temelcoff, Cato, Hana
Page Number: 145
Explanation and Analysis: