The Night Tiger

There are three sets of twins in the novel: Ji Lin and Shin, Ren and Yi, and William and Lydia. Ji Lin and Ren are twinned due to the birthday that they share, the family in which they were raised, and their good looks. Ren and Yi are actual twins, bound by both blood and a powerful intuitive and spiritual connection that persists even after Yi dies. William and Lydia share the Chinese character “Li” in their Chinese names and are often visually posited as twins, with their similar Anglo features. They are also both interlopers, murderers, and predators.

Throughout the text, each of these twin relationships are troubled. Ji Lin and Shin are harried by their forbidden love. Ren and Yi are painfully separated by the brutal reality of Ren’s death, and Lydia is hunting William. However, by the end of the narrative, each of these conflicts have come into peaceful resolution. Ji Lin and Shin are on a path to marriage, Ren and Yi’s “cat sense” connection is severed, and Yi moves on from the limbo of Batu Gajah train station. Ren has, simultaneously, embraced his own life on earth, ripe for the living. Lydia’s stratagem fails when she accidentally poisons William. This represents justice, as neither villain gets what they want. The motif of twins therefore represents the restoration of order and balance, as well as the turbulent human passions and love that bind us to one another.