Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder

The first two chapters of Knife establish the structural pattern that the text follows throughout. Although the book as a whole tells a story with a beginning, middle, and end—before the attack, during the attack, and after the attack—it does not follow a strict chronology from chapter to chapter or even within chapters. Instead, each chapter in Knife functions almost as a separate essay focusing on a thematic idea related to the attack.

The central idea of Chapter 1, “Knife,” is the knife itself and the way that it severed Rushdie’s life into two parts—a before and an after. In the “before,” he was happy and at peace. The decades-old death edict no longer worried him; he had just finished writing Victory City, was a relative newlywed, and was with old friends in Chautauqua, a place he had long ties to and found serenely beautiful. The moment of the attack itself was shocking and paralyzing. Rushdie’s interpretation of people’s reaction to violence is that “they don’t know the rules—what to say, how to behave, what choices to make. They no longer know the shape of things” (12). His attacker’s knife seemed to have “a life of its own” (13) that caused a devastating “after” for Rushdie, both physically and psychologically. He fixates on the idea of knives, ruminating on the role that knives have played in both fictional stories and in his own life. Despite his professed disbelief in supernatural phenomena, he recounts his nightmare, two days before the attack, about being stabbed. In retrospect, he wonders whether the knife attack that was his inspiration for Shalimar the Clown was somehow similarly “prophetic.” The severing created by the A.’s knife was both literal and figurative, cutting apart Rushdie’s understanding of himself and his world as it cut into his body, thematically demonstrating The Devastating Impact of Violence.

“Eliza” focuses on Rushdie’s relationship with his wife, describing the role this relationship played in both the “before” and “after” parts of his story. Eliza created much of the happiness and peace that Rushdie felt before the attack. His description of his feelings during each part of their developing relationship draws readers in, creating empathy for Rushdie and investment in his happiness with Eliza. This portrait of their relationship heightens the emotional impact of his detailed description of the attack’s immediate impact on Eliza. What seems on the surface a lengthy digression about the unfinished story of Henry White is really a way of conveying Rushdie’s concerns about the impact of tragedy on happiness and creating tension regarding whether his and Eliza’s relationship survived the aftermath of the attack. Thematically, this chapter introduces Rushdie’s contention that the story of the Chautauqua attack is really a story about how The Power of Love is stronger than that of hatred.

Both the “Knife” and “Eliza” chapters share stylistic traits that create a distinct narrative voice for Rushdie. He frequently uses allusions to both popular culture and the literary canon. These allusions are a kind of shorthand that imports larger sets of ideas into Rushdie’s discussions. For example, in his description of meeting Eliza, he references the popular romance cliché of “meeting cute” (28). This casts Rushdie and Eliza as the leads in a romance, increasing readers’ desire to root for their success by activating preexisting expectations about the genre. In addition, references to the literary canon establish ethos and create gravitas, as when Rushdie uses the Biblical allusion “could see as through a glass darkly” (16) to describe his fading vision after the attack. Similarly, Rushdie establishes ethos and creates gravitas by mentioning his relationships with well-known writers, intellectuals, and political figures. He also makes a point of explaining his role in organizations like PEN America and the International Cities of Refuge Network. Since both of these organizations are dedicated to promoting free speech, their mention lends credibility to Rushdie’s thematic case for The Importance of Free Speech throughout the text. Some critics feel, however, that Rushdie’s frequent allusions, his references to well-known figures, and his recounting of his own accomplishments, especially in conjunction with descriptions of expensive vacations and exclusive retreats, add an elitist and even pompous character to his voice.

Although certain elements of Rushdie’s style are off-putting to some readers, other elements of it are engaging and help generate reader empathy. Both the “Knife” and “Eliza” chapters use notable lyrical language and dry humor. In “Knife,” he offers this thought: “In death we are all yesterday’s people, trapped forever in the past tense. That was the cage into which the knife wanted to put me” (11). The metaphor of the past as a cage trapping the dead and the diction “yesterday’s people” are poetic touches that enhance the pathos of Rushdie’s experiences. He can also portray these same experiences with endearingly self-deprecating humor, as when he comments, “I just stood there like a piñata and let [the attacker] smash me” (11). The simile likening Rushdie to the brightly colored, candy-filled, hollow focal point at children’s birthday parties makes light of his importance, assuring readers that he does not take himself too seriously.