The Next Two Stories

[poliphilo]

The next two stories are political. "The Man Who Was" warns against Russian aggression on the North-West frontier- and prophesies a war that never happened. "The Head of The District" is an attack on the Viceroys's policy of appointing Bengalis to high office in the Indian civil service.

Kipling was an Imperialist. He could get heated in defence of his political views. And when he got heated he simplified. These two stories muster a range of racial stereotypes- Russians are cruel and sneaky, Pathans are lovable and childish, Sikhs are noble, Bengalis are venal and cowardly, only white men are fit to rule-  calculated to make a 21st century liberal shudder. When he wasn't being political he rose far above this Punch and Judy level. There are two Kiplings. There's Kipling the journalist and Kipling the artist. When the journalist is in control the work suffers.
 
"The Man Who Was" takes us inside an officer's mess and shows us how it works- which is interesting. And "The Head of the District" is a ripping yarn with two splendid passages- one moving, the other horrific. Otherwise they are stories about problems that arose and were settled a long time ago in an Empire that no longer exists.

Comments

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

My Kipling set doesn't include the re-collections such as Life's Handicaps. I'd happily read along with you, but I'll need the Table of Contents. All the Three Musketeers stories were in Soldiers Three.

I take issue with your summation, though, at least as far as The Man Who Was is concerned. I'd say that it's a chilling meditation upon the disintegration of the human mind under appalling conditions -- and the surprising tenacity of a kernel of self despite that.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The Man Who Was doesn't particularly do it for me, but I take your point.

I think there my be differences between the American and British editions of Kipling's work. My copy of Soldiers Three (1891) is a small book containing 7 stories. The rest of the canon is to be found elsewhere.

Anyway, here are the remaining stories from Life's Handicap:

Without Benefit of Clergy
At The End of the Passage
The Mutiny of the Mavericks
The Mark of the Beast
The Return of Imray
Namgay Doola
The Lang Men o' Larut
Bertran and Bimi
Reigelder and the German Flag
The Wandering Jew
Through the Fire
The Finances of the Gods
The Amir's homily
Jews in Shshan
The Limitations of Pambe Serang
Little Tobrah
Moti-Guj- Mutineer
Bubbling Well Road
The City of Dreadful Night
Georgie Porgie
Naboth
The Dream of Duncan Parrenness