The Ring by Danielle Steel: A Blend of Fiction and History
By
Tony Zovko
Literature 350-121
Dr. Oguine
July 25, 2002
Can a plot, setting, and characters in a fictitious story be derived from actual historical events and can the two blend together? The unique writing style of Danielle
Steel merges true historical events with fiction in a manner that leaves the reader emotionally touched. In her story, The Ring, Steel does not show a partition between fictitious characters and factual historical events. In fact, the two are intertwined so well that the reader can imagine the fictitious characters as real characters during a horrific period of our history, World War II.
In fact, historical setting has a very significant impact on this work of fiction. Without the historical setting this story could not take place. The Ring by Danielle Steel follows a chronological order of the emergence of World War II in Germany, bringing along with it economic turmoil, political disorders, and the general insecurity and fear. This particular story is a direct result of history, which Danielle Steel blends very well with fiction. Though the characters are fictitious, they fit perfectly into the historical setting. For instance, Ariana, the protagonist in The Ring, has witnessed firsthand the human-made death and destruction of World War II, just as many victims had seen during the actual war. Even when she goes with her husband, Manfred, to the Opera house, she is reminded that the war is still occurring in Germany. “Even on Christmas night the war was with them… and in the distance they could hear the bombs”(Steel 164). Ariana has also seen the atrocities as a result of the emergence of the war. For instance, when she is looking for her husband, she comes upon “a stack of broken bodies, faces clenched in the rictus of death” (182), and her husband lying there among them gives her the greatest shock of her life.
History becomes a stepping-stone for the development of the characters, as well. For instance, during World War II, the Jews experienced a great deal of maltreatment by the Germans. The SS was directly responsible for the death camps for the extermination of six million Jews. In The Ring, Steel depicts a fictitious character named Dolff, who is persecuted because he is a Jew. Dolff is a famous writer in Germany. With the surfacing of the Nazis, he is no longer able to publish his newly written book. Had he been a German, he would have had no troubles publishing his book. “Do you know why my publisher is sitting on the fence? Not because my last book didn’t sell, not because he doesn’t like the new manuscript. Because I’m Jewish, Kassandra…because I’m a Jew” (30), Dolff complains. It is no longer an issue whether or not artists and writers like Dolff have the capability of producing great works of art. What matters at this time is whether or not one is a Jew. Eventually, the Nazis kill Dolff, and his death is a direct consequence of the war. Historically, there were many Dolffs during that era who suffered as a result of being Jewish, but Steel has made it more remarkable with Dolffs’ characterization.
In addition, during wars, such as World War II, there are soldiers who take their profession to the extreme level, soldiers who seem to enjoy the pain that they inflict on their captives. Hilderbrand is such a character in The Ring. At one point, he tries to rape Ariana in her cell only to be stopped by Manfred. “Hilderbrand stood there also, his face gleaming, his eyes wild with lust, the whip in one hand, the other tearing at Ariana’s tangled hair” (117). Rapes and tortures seem to be part of every historical war. Soldiers have not only raped women of the enemy for the sole purpose of satisfying their sexual lust, but also to show their triumph by conquering the women who are the representatives of the innocence and virtue of their own countries. In this case, however, Hilderbrand is simply trying to satisfy his lust, because both he and Ariana are Germans.
In history and also in this fiction, there are humanitarians who acted contrary to ones such as Hilderbrand, though. Jean-Pierre de Saint Marne is one of them depicted in The Ring. Those in need of help during wars would have sought help from people such as Jean-Pierre. He has arranged for Ariana to leave Germany and travel overseas to New York in order to start a fresh new life, since she has nothing left in Germany, after the effects of the war. Her house is no longer in her possession and she feels that she has lost her family. Seeing that New York seems to be the only refuge for Ariana now, Jean-Pierre makes all the necessary preparations for Ariana from the goodness of his heart. Here, Steel portrays the realities of World War II refugee problems in an amazing blend with fiction that leaves the reader emotionally touched.
All the events in The Ring can be associated with World War II. Even Maximilian Thomas’ plight is a direct consequence of the war. The Nazis have murdered his wife, a Jew, and his kids. Eventually, the Nazis will come after Maximilian, a German, who has married a Jew. Because Germans are not supposed to be acquainted with Jews let alone get married to them, he has lost everything that is important to him, his family. Therefore he is forced to leave Germany for he has been hurt so deeply. His choice for a new life is the United States, a country that has been accommodating most refugees since World War II is another strategy by Steel to blend fiction with history.
Similarly, Ariana’s sufferings are a direct consequence of the war. If there had been no war, she would have had no reason to move to New York. The German soldiers would not have occupied her house. She would not have been imprisoned. Her father would not have been shot. She would not have suffered as much as she had. Therefore, the war has caused all these to take place. So, the war is a direct cause of all the sufferings that, in the end, have made Ariana mature more rapidly and attract more sympathy from viewers as shown in the movie version of The Ring.
Consequently, Paul divorces Ariana, because he sees her as a German, one of the Nazis, who must have been responsible for killing his brother during the war. Even though, Paul has helped Ariana in her voyage to America and has put a lot of pressure on her to marry him, he immediately loses his love and sympathy for her, as soon as he discovers that she is a German and not a German Jew. American Jews sympathize with the persecuted German Jews. However, ironically, they detest Germans who are not of the Jewish origin. That is why the fact that Ariana is a German has outraged Paul so much that he can not see past her nationality. He can not see that she is a decent human being. All he sees when he realizes that she is a German is Hitler and the Nazis. He does not care that she is married to a decent German soldier whom she loves and who has saved her life. “And you were lovers, you and this stinking Nazi?” (277), replies Paul when he sees their wedding picture. When Paul looks at the picture of Manfred, her dead husband, all he can see is the Nazi uniform and what it stands for, death.
Paul is, also, outraged when he finds out that his daughter is to marry Noel, the German son of Ariana. “Do you dare to tell me that you wish to marry my daughter?” (320) Again, Paul can not see past Noel’s nationality or the fact that Noel is the son of the German woman whom he has divorced. To the reader, the outrage of Paul is nearly tangible as the author describes “the rage in his face, based on an old, old pain he had never quite been able to forget” (321). When Paul looks at Noel, he sees the resemblance of the man in the Nazi uniform. To Paul, Noel is the son of a Nazi and he can not bear to see his daughter married to that type of a man. It is not an issue if Noel is a good human being worthy of the respect of others. To Paul, Nazis and all Germans hold the responsibility of murdering his fellow Jews. There is no way that someone of German descent is going to marry his precious daughter, as seen in the movie.
In the end, the righteousness of human beings prevails. Noel and Tamara, Paul’s daughter, get married. World War II has affected them both in many ways. If the war had not happened, they would not have met. Noel and Tamara have a deeper relationship that is free of prejudices and contempt. To them, it does not matter that one is a Jew and the other a German. They are in love, and as Steel puts it in this authorial comment:
It’s not our fight, Tammy. It wasn’t our war. We’re people, black, white,
brown, yellow, Jewish, Irish, Arab. We’re Americans – that’s the whole beauty of this country. That other stuff doesn’t matter anymore. (313)
In fact, their love is far more important than the war that has hindered their parents’ relationship. They have acted out the major theme of this novel, that hate causes war, but love heals the wounds of war, because they can see past their origins and cherish their country of birth, America.
Finally, Danielle Steel has successfully captured the interlaced merger of historical events with fiction. The two flow so naturally in The Ring that it is as if the fictitious characters were real characters in real historical situations. So, the blending of history and fiction comes very much alive in this story, revealing Steel’s creativity that has placed her above most internationally renowned novelists.
Works Cited
The Ring. By Danielle Steel. Dir. Armand Mastrianni, Perf. Michael York, Jon Tenney,
Tim Dekay, James B. Sikking, and Julie Cox. Lifetime Special Presentation, May 27, 2002. Class Film. NJIT. LIT 350-121. Summer Semester, 2002.
Steel, Danielle. The Ring. New York: Delacorte Press, 1980.