"Love" is an incredibly powerful word. There are many interpretations of the word and how it is used. According to BBC Radio 4, “love is when you are willing to do something for someone which you normally wouldn’t” (Monogamy and the Rules of Love). It has the ability to alter one’s perspective or feelings towards someone. In the novel ‘In the Skin of a Lion’, Michael Ondaatje portrays the hardships of love and relationships through characters. Patrick Lewis, a young city boy from Toronto finds himself in the dilemmas that love brings while dealing with his admirations for Clara and Alice in different manners. Throughout the novel, Patrick struggles with the nature of love between Alice and Clara however, his passionate emotions for Alice are stronger as Clara is a means of lust for him. Clara does not go soul searching when she is in the company of Patrick, she simply wants what is available. Henry Fairlie points out in his article, “Lustful people do not choose, they accept what is available” (Love and Lust). Clara isn’t with Ambrose as he is hiding so she takes what is available and enjoys the attention and pleasure that Patrick provides her with. In contrast, Patrick does not feel the same way. Even though Patrick wants to marry her, the feelings from Clara’s side are entirely based on physical and sexual needs (In the Skin of a Lion, p67). The relationship between the two is one sided when it comes to feelings but even then it is purely lust for Patrick. Alan Watts uses a metaphor effectively, “Follow your love. You have to go with it. You can’t drive a car without steering it” (The Nature of Selfishness and Love). Patrick does not go after Clara when she leaves portraying that he doesn’t ‘follow his love’. On the other hand, Patrick and Alice encounter a relationship where both have intimate feelings for one another. When Patrick is lonely after losing Clara, Alice comes to “save him, to veer him