At the end of the novel, Hana writes in a letter to her stepmother Clara, "Do you understand the sadness of geography?" This statement reflects Hana's deep sorrow over not being able to be with her father, Patrick, as he passed away in France while she was tending to soldiers in Italy. Her grief is rooted in a profound sense of helplessness against the geographical distances that separate them. In The English Patient, the physical geography of the world symbolizes nationhood and the divisions it creates between people.

Throughout their relationship, Hana often imagines Kip as a representation of his homeland, embodying all of India. Their connection is consistently portrayed through the lens of geography. For example, during an intimate moment, Hana and Kip are described as: "Hana now received this tender art, [Kip's] nails against the million cells of her skin, in his tent, in 1945, where their continents met in a hill town." The novel reaches its peak when Kip, unable to separate Hana from the Western world he has come to resent, decides to leave her and return to India. Hana goes back to Canada, and their return to their own countries becomes an insurmountable barrier, reflecting the larger political forces that have driven them apart.

Yet, Ondaatje creates an ending that borders on the magically surreal, suggesting that Kip and Hana can transcend the physical boundaries of geography. In Canada, as Hana knocks a glass off a shelf, Kirpal Singh in India reaches out to catch a falling fork. This ending hints at a glimmer of hope, suggesting the existence of a realm beyond the constraints of both political and physical worlds.