War within the Walls in "Beneath the Lion's Gaze" by: Abby Booher

Mengiste’s “Beneath the Lion’s Gaze” explores conflict through her particular choice of setting. On page 122, the author notes, “There was the sound of leaves rustling in the wind, the blaring horns of traffic, and the shouts of farmers and vendors. Life outside these walls went on as always. Inside, it seemed the world had shifted off its axis and was breaking in two.” Mengiste focuses a lot on the setting of the hospital within the novel. Most of the first portion of the book takes place within the walls of the hospital which tells a lot about the world beyond the walls. The hospital stands as a metaphor for the reader.  Within its walls, it mirrors the world outside of it. At the beginning of the novel, the hospital seems to be neutral, there is no war or concerns of the revolution – only the common concerns within a hospital. Only at the end of the first chapter does it hint to the problems that will come, “The soldier glanced up as Hailu walked by, then turned his attention back to his nails” (p. 8). The revolution has little power within the hospital, though its presence begins to seep through. As time passes, the hospital walls cannot contain the war that is outside, “The curtains could not soak up all the noises coming from citizens who would soon flee into the shelter of their homes” (p. 36). By the beginning of book two, the hospital is renamed from “Prince Mekonnen Hospital” to “Black Lion Hospital”. It is only a matter of time until even the hospital – a place that is supposed to be an almost opposite of war where healing and help dwells – cannot withstand the power of war. The end of Chapter 26 reveals that a girls has been admitted to the hospital who has been tortured by the military. She is to be healed in order to be tortured yet again. This shatters the safety that once was found within the hospital walls. Shadows now shake on the lawn; the darkness and consequences of war are now bleeding into the hospital rooms. Though life outside continues in the struggle of depression from a higher power, the hospital now begins to feel the weight as well and will “[break] into two” just like the world outside did. Mengiste creatively paints the hospital as a mini-world which reveals snippets of the consequences of the world outside.