The Good Natur’d Man by Oliver Goldsmith | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘The Good Natur’d Man’ was a laughing comedy-drama by Oliver Goldsmith that was first staged in 1768. It premiered during the same time when Hugh Kelly’s sentimental comedy ‘False Delicacy’ was released and both plays rivaled each other. Though both plays proved to be successful, False Delicacy became a bigger success. Popular actor and critic David Garrick rejected and criticized The Good Natur’d Man because he was a producer and collaborator of Hugh Kelly’s False Delicacy and believed that The Good Natur’d Man was an antidote to Kelly’s False Delicacy. Samuel Johnson, on the other hand, criticized Kelly’s False Delicacy and described it as totally void of character.

Jeremy Collier and Thomas Rymer attacked the comedy of manners of the Restoration period as immoral. As a response, sentimental comedy was promoted as a dramatic subgenre by dramatists like Richard Steele, Hugh Kelly, and others. Oliver Goldsmith wrote an essay criticizing the Sentimental comedy and said that in these plays, the distresses rather than the faults of mankind made our interest and thus, they fail to offer any moral message. He further lamented that in sentimental plays almost all the characters are good and exceedingly generous; they are lavish enough of their tin money on the stage; and though they want humor, have an abundance of sentiment and feeling. The Good Natur’d Man was a response through which Oliver Goldsmith showed the follies of a sentimental hero.

Characters of The Good Natur'd Man:

Young Honeywood is the protagonist of the play as he is a sympathetic, sentimental, good-natured man who tries to be good for everyone. He is so good and innocent that other people, including his friends, often take advantage of him. Young Honeywood has lost his parents and he is the only heir of Sir William Honeywood, the guardian uncle of Young Honeywood. Sir William tries to change Young Honeywood’s habit of helping others without checking their merit. Sir William Honeywood devices a plan to trap Young Honeywood in lousy debt so that he may learn that none of his friends is willing to help him in his time of need. Young Honeywood discovers the limits of goodness when his inclination to sympathize with everyone takes him to the verge of losing himself. Miss Richland is a beautiful young girl belonging to a rich family and holding an independent fortune. She is a friend of Honeywood and both love each other but shy away from admitting their love. Miss Richland has lost her parents and Mr. and Mrs. Croaker are her guardians. Mr. Croaker is a friend of Sir William Honeywood who is exactly opposite to him. Mr. Croaker is a cynic, selfish person who is inclined to observe the defects of others. Leontine is the son of Mr. Croaker who loves Olivia, an orphan girl from France. Loafty is another friend of Young Honeywood who pretends to be sympathetic and benevolent to others while he is a cunning and greedy person.

Summary of The Good Natur’d Man:

Sir William Honeywood is worried about his nephew Young Honeywood. William Honeywood admits that Young Honeywood is a good-natured man with no bad habits. He treats everyone well and is benevolent to everyone. However, his easy generosity and sentimental sympathetic nature have led him into extravagance and foolishness. Sir William Honeywood talks about it with Young Honeywood but fails to convince him that he needs to check his attitude toward other people. Thus, William Honeywood devices a plan to burden Young Honeywood with such fictitious distress that he would face a jail term for bad debt. Sir William hopes that in such distress, Young Honeywood would be able to learn a valuable lesson by seeing which of his friends come to his assistance and which of them have only been taking advantage of his generosity.

Loafty is a close friend of Young Honeywood. Mr. Croaker and his wife Mrs. Croaker are a bit cynic and selfish people who have suffered some bad times when they lost their only daughter. Leontine is their son who learns that his long-missing sister is alive and is living in France. Mr. Croaker takes some money from Young Honeywood and sends Leontine to Paris to bring his sister back. However, Leontine fails to find his sister. Instead, he falls in love with Olivia, an orphan girl whom he met in France. He brings Olivia back to England in place of his sister and intends to marry her. Meanwhile, Young Honeywood comes in contact with Miss Richland and falls in love with her. While Miss Richland too likes Honeywood, they both are shy enough to express their love for each other. Miss Richland observes how helpful and generous Young Honeywood is for others. However, Young Honeywood finds himself in too much debt and when he asks his friends Mr. Croaker and Loafty to give the money back that he lent them in the past, they show their inability to pay him at that moment. Young Honeywood tries to take the help of Sir William but fails to find him. As a result, Young Honeywood gets arrested for lousy debt that he failed to pay back. He seeks help from his friends but none of them arrive to help him. In addition, Loafty pretends benevolence and says that Honeywood should not worry much as he will make sure of his early release from jail by influencing the court in favor of his friend.

When Miss Richland comes to know about Young Honeywood’s arrest, she decides to help him out by paying his debt back. Sir Williams comes to know about it and thinks that Miss Richland can be a great life partner for his nephew. Young Honeywood too loves Miss Richland deeply but his generosity, benevolence, sentimental behavior, and too much modesty create problems for him in developing a romantic relationship with Miss Richland whom he respects too much and doesn’t wish to offend her by proclaiming his love for her. He is content to be only a friend of Miss Richland and vows to himself, “Never let me harbor a thought of making her unhappy by a connection with one so unworthy her merits as I am.”

Furthermore, Young Honeyood is afraid that he may never succeed in pleasing Miss Richland’s guardians Mr. and Mrs. Croaker, whom he knows is pretty cynical, greedy, and selfish. While not being able to express his love was enough to distress him, his troubles increase as Mr. Croaker decides to arrange the marriage of his son Leonite with Miss Richland to gain power over her inheritance. However, Leonite doesn’t love Miss Richland and he wishes to marry Olivia whom he brought from France in place of her long-lost sister. Mr. and Mrs. Croaker still believe that Olivia is their daughter and Leonite’s sister. Young Honeywood tries his best to ignore all these happenings while consoling his bleeding heart and convincing himself that he cannot attain her despite his love for Miss Richland. However, he fails to keep his distance from Miss Richland when his fake friend Loafty asks him to court Miss Richland for him and convince her to marry Loafty. Young Honeywood faces a sentimental dilemma and wonders what should he do. “What shall I do! Love, friendship, a hopeless passion, a deserving friend! . . . to see her in the possession of another! . . . Insupportable! But then to betray a generous, trusting friend!—Worse, worse.”

Sir William Honeywood observes the inability of Young Honeywood in dealing with these circumstances and fears that his naivety may lead to long-lasting heartache for him and Miss Richland and thus he decides to intervene. First, he lends enough money to Leonite and Olivia so that they may elope and marry each other. However, Young Honeywood manages to ruin this plan of William Honeywood by telling Mr. Croaker about the inn where Leonite and Olivia are supposed to stay. Mr. Croaker catches Leonite with his own ‘daughter’ and is aghast by their act. He praises Honeywood for his help and starts liking him while Leonite curses him and blames him for betrayal. Sir William Honeywood arrives at the inn and informs Mr. Croaker that Olivia is not his daughter but an orphan from France. He convinces Mr. Croaker that Olivia is the daughter of one of his old acquaintances. He says she is an orphan belonging to a good family with a huge fortune. Mr. Croaker agrees to the marriage of Leonite and Olivia.

Meanwhile, Young Honeywood decides to express Loafty’s love to Miss Richland and when he goes to meet her, she expresses her love for Young Honeywood. However, Honeywood mistakes it as an approval of Loafty’s love for her. He pretends to be happy at helping his friend but within, he is very sad and exclaims that “nothing remains henceforward for me but solitude and repentance.” Sir William Honeywood again comes to rescue Young Honeywood by showing the duplicity of Loafty and proving that he is no friend and wellwisher of Honeywood. Honeywood gets rid of the dilemma of choosing between a friend and his love. Miss Richland too clarifies that she never expressed her love for Loafty and she always wishes to marry Young Honeywood. Going through all these ordeals, Young Honeywood gets his life lesson and closes the play by declaring, “It shall be my study to reserve pity for real distress, my friendship for true merit, and my love for her, who first taught me what it is to be happy.”

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

The Consolidator by Daniel Defoe | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Consolidator, or, Memoirs of Sundry Transactions from the World in the Moon is a fictional adventure and a socio-political and science satire that was written by Daniel Defoe and was published in 1705. Defoe used the fantasy plot of intelligent life outside the Earth (the moon in this case) to satirize and criticize the social and political ills of British society during the Augustan age. He used life on the Moon as a device for pointing out earthly flaws. The book is often mentioned as a science fiction that describes a man landing on the moon with the help of a rocket called The Consolidator at a time when the first aircraft wasn’t even invented. The narrator believes in the possibility of landing on the moon someday. The Consolidator is one of the earliest scientific fiction that talked about spaceships.

Defoe contributed to the debate of Ancients versus Moderns through this work and compared the ancient Chinese Eastern knowledge as a way superior to all the modern scientific development.

In this novel, Defoe satirized Baconian experimental science and suggested that using science and technology to transform natural resources into useful goods for commerce results in harmonious social systems and the overall development of society. The novel also emphasizes that technological advancements not only will strengthen individual nations but it will also develop a world-encircling international network of trade. Defoe himself was a successful businessman and he had a deep knowledge of commerce. In The Consolidator, the narrator satirizes Chinese society and the political class of China

The title ‘The Consolidator’ is the name of a feather-covered rocket ship in which the main character travels to the moon. Each of the winged steeds of the rocket represents a house of the English parliament. The title itself was inspired by a political crisis in 1704 during which the Tories almost lost the power over Parliament as the opposition feverishly argued over the issue of civil liberties for the Protestant dissenters.

Characters of The Consolidator :

Boyl is a recurring character that appears many times in the story and is addressed differently in different places. Initially, he is simply addressed as Mr. Boy, not even a full second name. As the story develops, Boy is addressed as Honorable Boyl. In the later parts, he is addressed as Boy or Boyl. Boy or Boyl is an allusion to Robert Boyle, the Anglo-Irish chemist, physicist, and natural philosopher who gave Boyle’s law of the inversely proportional relationship between the absolute pressure and volume of a gas at a constant temperature. Bishop Wilkin is another real-life character whom Defoe satirized in The Consolidator. John Wilkins was an English natural philosopher and clergyman who was one of the founders of The Royal Society. He supported scientific development as an augmentation and proof of Anglican beliefs. The narrator is an unreliable and inconsistent character that Defoe used to satirize the socio-political situations of the early eighteenth century in England. On some occasions, the narrator operates as a mouthpiece for advocating Defoe’s political and social ideas. Lunarians are the living beings on the moon who observe humankind on Earth with keen interest. Lunarians are much more developed and scientifically superior living beings than human beings on Earth.

Summary of The Consolidator:

The narrator returns from his visit to China where he learns about a strange chariot, a rocket that can travel in the air. The rocket is driven by two mysterious creatures who can fly at great heights. The narrator discusses the superior political and social setup of China and ridicules the current political struggles going on in Britain. The narrator says that the two feathered creatures that can take the rocket up to the moon succeed in their endeavor only because they work harmoniously and supplement each other. The narrator says that the name of the rocket chariot is The Consolidator and then compares the two-winged steeds of the Consolidator with the two houses of the British Parliament. The wings of these creatures take a more representative role, acting as the different sides of a parliamentary seating with each feather assigned as a Member of the parliament. Both sides must work together to pass bills into law. By working together, the vehicle can be transported to the Moon safely. Defoe uses his imagination to create a utopia that can dissect the workings of the British parliamentary system.

The narrator then mentions that he was lucky enough to get a chance to land on the moon with the help of the Consolidator and he mentions that the Moon is inhabited by native Lunarians who are a much more technologically developed species than human beings, the earthlings. The Lunarians are just like Earth people, but their civilization is more advanced. They have traveled between the Moon and the Earth over a long period and have shared their technological marvels with the Chinese and that is why the Chinese use the Lunar calendar. The narrator says that when he was on the moon, he happened to meet a Lunarian philosopher, who showed him many fascinating things. These included special magnifying glasses that enable the Lunarian people to view the Earth and to perceive the iniquities and absurdities of human life and governments.

Defoe used the literary device of imagining life on the Moon observing the societies on the earth and then criticizing the flaws of human society. Defoe's characterizations of the Lunarian civilization mock national and European politics, the follies of the times, and prominent figures, including Robert Boyle and John Wilkin. In addition, the narrator himself landed on the moon and observed human society and especially the English society with the help of the much-advanced magnifying glasses of Lunarians. Defoe criticizes the struggles of the British parliamentary houses while raising the issue of the recent 1704 political crisis which almost ousted the ruling majority of the English parliamentary system. Members of parliament had already been pushed to their limit by the call of pardon for former protestants who requested amnesty and civil freedom. The narrator dissects, analyzes, and criticizes the flaws of the British political system and offers his support to Baconian scientific development while ridiculing the ideas of John Wilkin, one of the founders of the Royal Society. The narrator further praises the Ancient Eastern civilization of China and suggests that Chinese advancements exceeded all of the modern efforts and this the narrator suggests, is because of the help of Lunarians. He mentions gun powder and silk manufacturing technology that are new to the West came from the Lunarians through China.

The narrator also talks about a debate between the Lunarian scientists when they try to make a consolidatory map of Earth showing the different kinds of governments in different nations of Earth. They try to make a single map showing all the different types of government but fail to do so because of the frequently changing governments in different nations of the earth. Finally, they conclude that no single map suffices to show the complexity of constantly shifting government policies. Instead, the decision is taken to make a series of maps, each showing a different topic. The Lunarian scientists then use the power of their special magnifying glasses to demonstrate scientifically that the human behavior thus mapped is, in fact, rational and justifiable. The Lunarians again engage in a debate about whether all of the information about the Earth can be shown on one map. The merits of different projections are discussed. The decision is reached that the information is too complex to be shown on a single map. The result is separate maps for Publick Faith, the State of War and State Policy, and so on.

Defoe’s parents were Presbyterian dissenters and he got his school education at the Academy of Dissenters at Newington Green where he learned the uses of telescopes and other scientific devices. Defoe was aware of the works of Robert Hook and his experiments with the microscope. Defoe made use of this information to vitalize The Consolidator.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

To Helen by Edgar Allan Poe | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘To Helen’ is a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe that was first published in 1831. Poe continued to edit and revise the poem and it was published in its final structure in Poe’s 1845 poetry collection titled The Raven and Other Poems.

In the poem, Poe refers to the beauty of Helen of Troy while talking about Jane Stanard, the mother of one of his childhood friends. Poe mentioned that he was infatuated by Jane and she was one of the first dependable older, female presences in his young life.

The central theme of the poem is the beauty of a woman (Jane Stanard in Poe’s case). Poe compares the woman with Helen of Troy and compares the beauty of Helen with various other mythological figures.

In 1952, Hilda Doolittle, better known as H.D. published her poem To Helen in which she offered a response to Poe’s poem ‘To Helen’ while raising the issue of objectification of women and misogyny.

Structure of To Helen:

To Helen is a short poem consisting of 15 lines set in three stanzas of five lines each. Each stanza follows a different rhyming scheme. The first stanza is set in rhyme scheme ABABB, the second stanza follows CDCDC, and the third follows EFFEF. In addition, Poe used assonance and consonance to offer slant rhymes within the stanzas. Poe wrote the poem in iambic pentameter. Each line is made up of five sets of two beats. The first of these is unstressed and the second is stressed. Poe used metaphor, enjambment, alliteration, personification, and simile, and there are many allusions in the poem. Poe continues to use simile throughout the poem and thus, it can be said as an example of epic or Homeric simile.

Summary of To Helen :

Stanza 1

“Helen, thy beauty is to me
Like those Nicéan barks of yore,
That gently, o’er a perfumed sea,
The weary, way-worn wanderer bore
To his own native shore.”

The poet begins with a metaphor as he addresses Helen and mentions how he feels about her beauty. The poet basically refers to some lady he knows well while addressing her as Helen, suggesting that the lady he wishes to talk to is as beautiful as Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the classical Greek world. It is believed that Poe dedicated this poem to Jane Stanard, the mother of one of his close friends.

He compares the lady’s beauty with the ships of Nicea in the old times. Nicea was an important ancient port of the Greek empire. The poet says that her beauty offers the same relief that a tired wanderer would feel when a strong and gentle ship takes him away from the struggles to the security of his native place.

Poe begins with a simile “Helen, thy beauty is to me/like those Nicéan barks of yore.” Poe uses a

syncope in the third line (O’er or over), and alliteration in the fourth (way-worn wanderer). Poe used an allusion to Odysseus as the tired wanderer who returned to his home from Nicea. Another allusion is Catullus, a Greek poet who once traveled from Nicea where flowers and fruit trees were in bloom. The seas would seem "perfumed" as a result of the odors coming from those trees.

Stanza 2

“On desperate seas long wont to roam,
Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face,
Thy Naiad airs have brought me home
To the glory that was Greece,

And the grandeur that was Rome.”

The poet continues to praise the beauty of that lady and his tone becomes more romantic. He romanticizes the glory and grandeur of the Greek and Roman eras and compares them to the beauty of the lady who he refers to as Helen of Troy.

‘Wont’ is an obsolete word now which meant ‘used to’ or ‘accustomed to’ in the past. The poet says that the seas are desperate, rough, and dangerous, and the wanderer has little hope to reach the native shore safely. Her beauty guides the poet, who is the wanderer now and brings him home through the rough roaming seas. The poet means that he was lost before he met the lady whom he refers to as Helen. The poet compares the hair of the lady with bunchy hyacinth flowers of probably reddish-orange color. Poe again uses alliteration (hyacinth hair). Poe compares the lady with Naiad, a mythical figure that lives near the seas, a nymph representing beauty and magic.

Stanza 3

“Lo! In yon brilliant window-niche
How statue-like I see thee stand,
The agate lamp within thy hand!
Ah, Psyche, from the regions which
Are Holy-Land!”

The poet begins with an exclamation as he sees the lady standing near a spacious circular bright window (window-niche). He exclaims that the lady is looking astonishing as he sees her standing near the window niche like an artful statue, as she is not moving. She appears to the poet like a work of art. He appreciates her physical attributes that appear proportionate, perfectly crafted, and just totally hot. Poe uses simile again (statue-like). The lady is standing still with an ‘agate lamp in her hand. An agate lamp is a kind of stone through which light is reflected. The poet suggests that the lady embodies light and warmth, providing him with a destination to aim for. The poet then compares the lady with Psyche. Psyche is a mortal mythical figure in Greek mythology. Psyche was the most beautiful mortal woman in the world. She was so beautiful that people began ignoring Venus, the goddess of beauty. Thus, Venus got jealous of her beauty and told her son Cupid to shoot an arrow at Psyche and make her fall in love with a bull. Cupid followed his mother’s order but when he saw to shoot at her, he found her so astonishingly beautiful that he got distracted and accidentally got poked by one of his own arrows and fell in love with her. The poet compares himself with Cupid. Later on, Psyche herself got rid of the mortal world and became a goddess. The poet says that the lady, Helen, Psyche, Jane Stanard has arrived from the Holy-land, the place of the goddesses.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

The Haunted Palace by Edgar Allan Poe | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The very first published work of Edgar Allan Poe was Tamerlane and Other Poems which was first published in 1827. In 1839, Edgar Allan Poe published The Haunted Palace, a poem in the April 1839 issue of Nathan Brooks' American Museum magazine. In September 1839, Poe added the poem in his short story The Fall of the House of Usher in which Roderick Usher sings the poem as a song for the narrator. The story of The Fall of the House of Usher is about madness, illness, and the collapse of buildings and people and so is the central idea of The Haunted Palace in which the poet compares a human head with a glorious palace that withstands hard times but gradually dilapidated and suffer depression and eventually deteriorates.

Structure of The Haunted Palace:

The poem consists of 48 lines designed in six stanzas of 8 lines each. Though the rhyming scheme is not persistent, the poem loosely follows the rhyme scheme of ababcdcd. The poem is an allegory about a king "in the olden time long ago" who is afraid of evil forces that threaten him and his palace, foreshadowing impending doom. Poe used enjambment, hyperbole, personification, caesura, and alliteration in the poem. In the opening part, Poe describes the palace as a beautiful, glorious building and uses assonance to beautify it (: ”Yellow”, “glorious”, “golden”, “float”, and “flow”; repetition of vowel sound ‘O’). The poem is an early example of imagery and the title itself lets the reader know what the central focus of the poem is, the main image it deals with. The later part of the poem appears to be a contrasting image of the upper part. Poe uses allegory to describe a person's psychology, their inner mental state suffering depression.

Themes of The Haunted House:

The poem begins with the theme of Happiness and the poet uses words and imagery to offer a sense of immense happiness and prosperity. In the first four stanzas, the poet describes a palace situated in a “green” valley where “sweet” and “gentle” air continues to flow. The different parts of the Palace are described by positive adjectives like “radiant”, “glorious”, and “sparkling.” In the first four stanzas, the narrator is describing his bittersweet memories, of the Palace it used to be. The narrator suggests that the past was a golden age, much better than the darkness and grim misery that followed. The Palace was full of good vibes and positive spirits. The theme of supernatural forces is continuous throughout the poem.

Poe raises the theme of Sadness in the fifth stanza and describes the Palace turning “desolate”, “ghastly”, and “hideous.” One can easily imagine the state of Roderick Usher’s house while reading the fifth stanza. Now the palace is haunted by evil spirits. However, the poet isn’t actually talking about a palace, rather he is offering an allegory for a man's descent into depression and madness. The ‘palace-head’ goes from being cheerful, orderly, and in-tune to being grim, disordered, and pretty much just totally out-of-whack. That’s what Roderick Usher went through.

Summary of The Haunted Palace:

Stanza 1

In the greenest of our valleys | By good angels tenanted,

Once a fair and stately palace— | Radiant palace—reared its head.

In the monarch Thought’s dominion, | It stood there!

Never seraph spread a pinion | Over fabric half so fair!

The poet begins while describing a beautiful, grand palace that is governed by ‘Thought.’ The palace is situated in a beautiful green valley. The poet suggests that it is the greenest valley accommodating the good angels. Poe uses enjambment to describe how beautiful and radiant the palace was that stood in the past. Poe then uses Personification and says that the Palace reared (raised) its head up. Poe then personifies ‘Thought’as a monarch. The palace is in Thought’s dominion. The poet then describes the majesty of the Palace. Serap is an angel of Christian mythology, belonging to the highest order of the ninefold celestial hierarchy, associated with light, ardor, and purity. The poet uses exaggeration and hyperbole and says that this angel of the highest order never spread its wing (Pinion) on a fabric (an old-fashioned word for a building), so fair.

Stanza 2

Banners yellow, glorious, golden, |On its roof did float and flow

(This—all this—was in the olden | Time long ago)

And every gentle air that dallied, | In that sweet day,

Along the ramparts plumed and pallid, | A wingèd odor went away.

The poet continues to describe the majestic palace that it used to be in the past and mentions that a long time ago, there were always beautiful bright banners in glorious yellow-golden colors that used to float and flow in the serene air. Poe uses Assonance here with the repeating sound of the vowel ‘O’. The poet then reminds the reader that all this beauty was a long time ago. Poe used caesura (using ‘dashes’ within a line to break it and offer stress).

The poet describes a beautiful day a long time ago when the air was sweet and gentle that flew along the ramparts (surrounding walls) of the Palace. These ramparts of the palace were pale and decorated in a way as if they had (plumed) feathers. Poe indicates the yellow, golden banners he mentioned earlier.

Stanza 3

Wanderers in that happy valley, | Through two luminous windows, saw

Spirits moving musically | To a lute’s well-tunèd law,

Round about a throne where, sitting, | Porphyrogene!

In state, his glory well befitting, | The ruler of the realm was seen.

The poet continues to describe the beauty and majestic aura of the palace and says that wanderers would often visit the valley to witness the magic of its beauty. They would see through the two glittering windows from outside and observe the dancing spirits that follow the well-tuned law of the lute, or the music of that guitar-like musical instrument. There are only two windows into the palace through which one can see inside.

The poet then mentions the throne on which the monarch is sitting. He mentions the monarch as ‘Porphyrogene.’ It is a word that was made by Edgar Allan Poe and it means ‘born in purple.’ In the past, during the Roman era, purple was a color associated with royalty in ancient Constantinople. Thus, being born in purple means belonging to the aristocracy. The wanderers could see through those two windows, the monarch of the realm in all his glory and befitting opulent and magnificent surroundings. We already learned that the monarch is Thought.

Stanza 4

And all with pearl and ruby glowing | Was the fair palace door,

Through which came flowing, flowing, flowing | And sparkling evermore,

A troop of Echoes, whose sweet duty | Was but to sing,

In voices of surpassing beauty, | The wit and wisdom of their king.

The poet then describes the entry door of the palace which is decorated with bright pearls and rubies.

The pearl and rubies signify red lips and white teeth. Yellow, golden banners of the palace are the orangish hair of a man. The only two glittering luminous windows are his eyes. The realm is the whole head of a happy, healthy man whose ruler is Thought. Poe offers the metaphorical image of a happy, healthy, thoughtful, and sane human being in these four stanzas.

Through the door of pearl and ruby of that palace, a troop of Echoes comes out and sings in the chorus. In Greek mythology, Echo is a nymph who could only repeat the words of others. The poet says that whatever that human head said, or whatever words came out of the mouth of that human head were harmonious, sweet, and nice to listen to, like a song. The words coming out of the door of that palace praised the wit and wisdom of the ruler, Thought.

Stanza 5

But evil things, in robes of sorrow, | Assailed the monarch’s high estate;

(Ah, let us mourn!—for never morrow | Shall dawn upon him, desolate!)

And round about his home the glory | That blushed and bloomed
Is but a dim-remembered story | Of the old time entombed.

Time changes in the fifth stanza and so does the mood and theme of the poem. The palace, the human head is no more a happy jolly place. It has been attacked and defeated by evil things, evil spirits. The monarch was defeated and his majestic high estate was attacked by evil spirits that wore robes of sorrow. The poet then mentions the present. All happiness is gone now and what remains is agony and sorrow. The poet then calls out the reader to mourn for the defeated abandoned (desolate) monarch who will never see another happy day again. The poet mentions that all opulence, wit, and beauty of the Palace or human head is a thing of the past now.

Stanza 6

And travellers, now, within that valley, | Through the red-litten windows see

Vast forms that move fantastically | To a discordant melody;

While, like a ghastly rapid river, | Through the pale door

A hideous throng rush out forever, | And laugh—but smile no more

The travelers still continue to visit the valley but unlike the old times, when the wanderers enjoyed the sight of glittering luminous eyes, the travelers now see dimly red litten eyes. Red eyes symbolize sickness, mental distress, madness, lack of sleep, and evil. Now the travelers cannot see the beautiful spirits dancing on the law of a lute. Rather, they see vast forms that move like fanatics, following a discordant, incoherent, inharmonious (or lacking any harmony) tune. It all seems unreal, or out of fantasy. The head is sane no more. The door of the palace is not glittering with ruby and pearl now. It is rather a pale door through which a ghastly rapid river of words often flows out that offers nothing but disaster. The head now laughs like a mad person but smiles no more. It is an image of insanity, endless laughter with no joy in it. The head palace is not able to understand joy or happiness anymore.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American English Literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

In Cold Bood by Truman Capote | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. “In Cold Blood’ is a novel by Truman Capote that was first published serially in The New Yorker in 1965 before appearing in book form in 1966. The novel details the events of a real-life quadruple murder case that took place in Finney County, in western Kansas, between 1959 and 1965. Truman Capote preferred calling the novel a true-crime book or a non-fiction novel. It was branded as a prime example of New Journalism, a genre that gained momentum during the 1960s and 1970s. Along with Truman Capote, other writers who were recognized as New Journalists included Tom Wolfe, Norman Mailer, Hunter S. Thompson, and Joan Didion.

On the night of November 14th, 1959, Richard Hickock and Perry Smith entered a home in Holcomb, Kansas, and slaughtered four members of the Clutter family, a wealthy and respected household in Finney County. Capote learned about the crime through a newspaper and decided to travel to Holcomb and investigate the case as a writing project. His childhood friend Harper Lee accompanied him and together they interviewed residents and investigators assigned to the case. Hickock and Smith were arrested six weeks after the murder in Las Vegas and transferred to Finney County, where they were tried and convicted of the killings. They spent five years on Death Row, during which time they corresponded regularly with Capote and provided him with numerous interviews, as well as written accounts of their personal histories and experiences.

Truman Capote used triple narrative for the novel describing the lives of the murderers, the victims, and other members of the rural community in alternating sequences. He researched and gave specific attention to the psychology of the killers Richard Hickock and Perry Smith. Capote noticed that Perry Smith, who allegedly pulled the trigger on all four victims was more sensitive of the two. He learned that Smith was highly intelligent and creative, yet scarred from a turbulent upbringing by neglectful parents. Capote himself suffered a turbulent childhood and thus he developed a liking for Perry Smith. Harper Lee mentioned the relationship between Capote and Perry Smith and noticed, “Each looked at the other and saw – or thought he saw – the man he might have been."

Characters of In Cold Blood:

Herbert William Clutter is a 48 years old, successful, rich, and well-respected farmer of Holcomb Kansas who lives at his ranch with his wife and two children. Herbert is a hardworking, ethically strong, religious Methodist man who not only provides well for his family but also employs many local people and helps them through. He is a generous employer but a strict father who teaches his children the importance of hard work. He is a well-educated man who got a degree in agriculture from Kansas State University. Bonnie Clutter is Herbert’s wife. She is a slight, nervous, apologetic woman who suffers from chronic postpartum depression, which leaves her bedridden for many days. Nancy Clutter is 16 years old beautiful, intelligent, and smart daughter of Herbert and Bonnie. She is a good student and generous human being who is involved with community service activities. She is a good musician and teaches music, sewing, and baking to other younger girls in the town. She is dating Bobby Rupp, the star player of the High School Basketball Team. Kenyon Clutter is 15 year old younger brother of Nancy. Unlike Nancy, Kenyon isn’t too much social. He doesn’t like dating girls and prefers to spend his time in the Clutters’ basement workshop, where he does carpentry and mechanical projects. He too is a good student and he has a good friendship with Bob Jones, his classmate. Perry Smith is the man who murders all four members of the Clutter family. Initially, he resisted and opposed the plan of robbing Clutter’s home. Things got out of his hand and in his frustration and rage, he shot at the members of the Clutter family. He suffered a troubled childhood that has a great imprint on his psyche. He is a sensitive, intelligent, creative, and thoughtful person with more feminine traits. Dick Hickock planned to rob the Cluttle house. However, he didn’t think of murdering anyone. Though he didn’t try to stop Perry, rather remained a bystander when Perry executed all four members of the Clutter family. Dick is a bombastic, smooth-talking, self-confident petty criminal. Perry finds him more masculine than himself and feels that he needs Dick as a support. Alwin Dewey is the lead investigator of the Clutter case. He is an old friend of Herbert and Bonnie. He is too hurt after their murder and obsessively hunts for the perpetrators of the crime. Susan Kidwell is the closest friend of Nancy Clutter who spend her childhood with her. Nancy Ewalt is another friend of Nancy's who, along with Susan discovers the dead body of Nancy.

Summary of In Cold Blood:

Herbert and Bonnie Clutter are leading a peaceful, prosperous, and principled life at Herbert’s ranch in Holcomb, a small rural town in western Kansas. They have two teenage kids. For many years, Bonnie is suffering from postpartum nervousness and often remains bedridden. Despite their troubles in married life, they are a loving couple. Nancy is their 16-year-old daughter and Kenyon is their 15-year-old son. Both kids are intelligent, smart, and good at studies. Nancy and Kenyon learned the worth of hard work from their father and they too are principled and generous like Herbert. Bonnie often feels that her illness renders her from being a better, strong mother. All four members of the Clutter family are well respected and admired by the local people of Holcomb. On November 14^th, 1959, two men who recently got out of prison on parole, plan to rob the Clutter family. One of them is Richard Hickock, also known as Dick and the other one is Perry Smith. Initially, Perry wasn’t interested in the robbery but then Dick suggested that with the help of robbed money, they can go to Mexico for the treasure hunt. Perry is very interested in the treasure hunt and thus, he decides to be with Dick. Dick manages to get a 12-gauge shotgun, rubber gloves, rope, and black stockings to be used for the purpose of the robbery at Clutter farm. They use a car to travel toward Garden City and arrive at Holcomb at midnight. Soon, they head towards the Clutter house.

On the morning of November 15, Nancy’s friend Susan visits her house with one of their other friend Nancy Ewalt to go to school with Nancy Clutter. They see the dead body of Nancy at the stairs. The police arrive at the scene and find that not only Nancy but the whole of the Clutter family has been brutally murdered. The news spread like wildfire in the town. Every member of the Clutter family was well-respected and loved by the local people. The police fails to find any evidence except two boot marks and the black stockings and tapes that might have been used to bind gag and blindfold the victims. The authorities resolve to find out the murderers as soon as possible and authorize an investigative team to solve the crime. Alwin Dewey, who is a friend of Herbert and Bonnie is appointed as the head of the investigative team. Other members of the investigative team include Roy Church, Clarence Duntz, and Herbert Nye.

Meanwhile, Perry and Dick reach Kansas City where they read the news about the quadruple murder in Holcomb in a newspaper. Perry wonders if they can be caught, Dick assures him that he was very cautious and they left no clue to be caught. Yet, they decide to move to Mexico as soon as possible to ensure their safety. Since they have no money, they decide to issue forged bad checks in Kansas City to get some quick cash.

The narrative changes as the author describes the psychology of the murderers. Perry is an intelligent, creative person with a troubled childhood. He often tries to forget the harsh memories of his childhood and his current ignominious lifestyle by dreaming of grand adventures and being whisked away from his troubles by beautiful yellow parrots. This is the reason why he is very keen to go to Mexico and engage in the treasure hunt. He is very sensitive, self-conscious, and philosophical. He feels feminine within himself. He is not very confident about himself and admires Dick for his masculinity and self-confidence. Dick has a contrasting personality as he is cocky, self-assured, and pragmatic; financial irresponsibility has led him away from a solid upbringing to a life of petty crime. His ambitions are also a way of compensating for his lack of means, but his bluster and bravado stand in sharp contrast to Perry’s demure presence.

At Holcomb, the police learn that Bobby Rupp was the last person who saw the Clutter family alive. They interview him but fail to find out any clue about the murders. Alwin Dewey decides to visit Kansas State Penitentiary where Floyd Wells is serving his jail term. Floyd was once employed by Herbert Clutter. He informs that his previous cellmate Dick Hickock once planned to rob Clutter Ranch when he informed that Herbert Clutter used to keep a locked safe full of cash in his home. When Dewey investigates further, he comes to know that Dick was traveling toward Holcomb along with Perry on the night when the Clutter family was murdered. The investigative team begins a statewide search for Dick and Perry who have already crossed borders to reach Mexico.

Dick continues his extravagant ways while Perry invests a good sum in a treasure hunt but gets nothing. Soon they lose all their money and are forced to come back to the U.S. Dick and Perry are unaware that the special investigative team is looking for them yet, they maintain a low profile and continue to roam the countryside. One day, just before the New Year, six weeks after the murders, they are caught stealing a car in Las Vegas.

The investigative team reaches Las Vegas to interrogate Dick and Perry. Alwin Dewey decides to interrogate them separately. Initially, the investigative team does not reveal that they are being questioned for quadruple murders. Alwin first pressurizes Dick by gradually implicating that he is responsible for the murder of the Clutter family. He traps Dick in his lies and false alibis and forces him to confess his crimes on the night of 14 November. Dick succumbs to the pressure and confesses that he did plan to rob the Clutter ranch as he was informed by Floyd about the hard cash Herbert Clutter used to keep. But Dick claims that he didn’t kill anybody and that all four were murdered by Perry. On their way back to Holcomb, Alwin interrogates Perry and reveals to him that Dick has already confessed and has blamed Perry for all four murders. Perry tries to discard the accusation but finally accepts his defeat as he fails to provide any strong alibi for his presence anywhere on the night of 14 November. He then offers a detailed confession about what transpired that night. Perry says that Dick had planned to rob Clutter Ranch as he got information from Floyd that Herbert Clutter used to keep ten thousand dollars in cash in a locked iron safe at the ranch. Perry says that he was not interested in the robbery but he needed money to go to Mexico and engage in the treasure hunt. But when they reached the Clutter ranch, they found no safe nor any cash. They tried to threaten Herbert Clutter to reveal where the cash was. But they were surprised to know that there was really no cash or any valuables at the home of Clutter. Perry says that he wished to go back and leave the ranch right at the moment but Dick stopped him and said that they cannot just go away and they should not leave any evidence or witness for their crime. Perry tried to convince Dick that they cannot just kill people to avoid witnesses. He tries to show how difficult it is to kill anyone by making a bluff knife attack on Herbert but failed to control his rage and stabs Herbert on his neck. This created a shock to Perry and in his frenzy and fear he used a shotgun to kill the other members. The police match their foot size to the boot prints that they collected.

The two accused then face trial in Garden City and are kept at the Kansas State Penitentiary. During the trial, the accused are kept on a psychiatric test which reveals that both are psychologically ill and show definite signs of mental illness and emotional dysfunction.

Meanwhile, the police gather enough foolproof evidence to ascertain that they are the actual murderers of the Clutter case beyond any doubt. The court considers the psychiatric report of the two criminals but follows the M’Naghten rule, which disregards mental illness in determining whether criminals are responsible for their actions. The court and jury declare them guilty of four counts of brutal murders and they are sentenced to death by hanging. Dick and Perry continue to appeal for clemency to postpone the date of the hanging. During the period, they meet many other convicts of murder charges including Lowell Lee Andrews, Ronnie York, and James Latham. All their pleas get rejected and finally, after spending five years on death row, Dick and Perry are hanged on April 14th, 1965, before a crowd of twenty witnesses.

Alwin Dewey visits the cemetery where the Clutter family was buried and sees Susan Kidwell there, praying for her friend Nancy and her family. Alwin marvels at the persistence of life, even in the aftermath of such a hopeless tragedy.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

A Wife’s Story by Bharati Mukherjee | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. A Wife’s Story is a short story written by Bharati Mukherjee that was published in her short stories collection titled ‘The Middleman and Other Stories was published in 1988. Her novel titled ‘Wife’ was published in 1975.

Bharati Mukherjee always maintained that she was an immigrant rather than an expatriate. All of the stories of ‘The Middleman and Other Stories’ are based on the central theme of the cultural transformation of characters belonging to Southeast Asia (Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshi, Chinese, and so on) and how they face troubles, yet assimilate the Western culture just because according to ‘Bharati Mukherjee,’ it is a better culture. She maintains that she is an American, not an Indian, and thus, the usual subject of ridicule in her stories is Indianness. Her love and loyalty towards the Western culture earned her and the short story collection the National Book Critics Circle Award (NBCCA), an American literary award, in 1889. The book was also selected as the New York Times Book Review's notable book of the year.

Characters of ‘A Wife’s Story :

The story is written in first-person narrative style and Panna Bhatt is the narrator and protagonist of the story. She is a middle-aged married woman who lost her only son in a terrorist attack in India. She was arranged marriage and she doesn’t have a romantic relationship with her husband who remains unnamed in the story. After her son’s death, she hardly finds any reason to remain in the relationship and leaves India and her husband for two years after their son died to study on scholarship for a doctorate in special education in New York City. She was never happy in her married life and always felt that Indian society is patriarchial, oppressive, and exploitative against women. Panna Bhatt never read about Sarojini Naidu or Indira Gandhi or Viajaya Lakshmi Pandit, or Annie Besant but she remembers how her ‘illiterate’ grandmother had beaten her mother when she decided to learn French. Panna’s husband is a patriarch and like a good submissive housewife, she doesn’t even take his name ever, and thus, her husband remains unnamed in the story. He is a textile mill manager who understands the financial struggles of middle-class families in developing countries. He is tender and overprotective towards Panna and is unaware of the fact that Panna never loved him and since now she has options, she considers her life with him as imprisonment. Her husband has those peculiar ridiculous and cringeworthy traits of common Indians that Panna is gradually giving up. One of them is fidelity as she has developed an adulterous relationship with Imre Nagy, a Hungarian expatriate and her classmate. Imre Nagy too is married with his wife and two children back in Hungary. Panna’s husband notices that men in America ogle at her wife and is worried about that but he never suspects Imre Nagy as he doesn’t have even an iota of doubt on his wife. Panna is not abrasive and abusive against him and in fact, tries to offer him the best physical gratification as a parting gift. Panna goes to watch a play by David Mamet, a noted American author, and playwright with Imre, and learns a lot about herself as a new and transformed individual. Charity Chinn is the roommate of Panna who is a Chinese immigrant. She is a successful hand model. She disliked her Chinese looks so much that she went under the knife to change her Chinese eyes to Caucasian eyes. Charity is married to an American named Eric who is living in Oregon as a devotee of Rajneesh, the Indian Guru. Charity didn’t have enough money for her plastic surgery and thus, she sleeps with her plastic surgeon every third Wednesday. In addition, she also has developed a relationship with Phill, a flutist. Despite her adulterous relationship with Imre, Panna feels that she is morally superior to Chinn in a sense. On the other hand, she is envious of Chinn too for Charity’s greater extent of physical joy and sense of freedom.

Summary of A Wife’s Story:

Panna and her husband lost their only son in a terrorist attack and Panna is distraught about her loss. Her husband, however, being emotionally dormant, succeeds in overcoming the pain and continues to devote himself to his usual business and work. Suddenly, Panna too gets a chance to study on scholarship for a doctorate in special education in New York City. Panna is excited about this opportunity and she remembers how her illiterate grandmother had brutally beaten her mother when she decided to learn French in an Indian college. Panna notices the transformation of the three generations, from being illiterate to visiting a foreign land for higher education. Panna’s husband is a traditional oppressive, patriarchial man who though allows her to go abroad, doesn’t allow her to even take his name. In America, Panna starts sharing a room with a Chinese immigrant who, just like Panna, is enamored by Western culture. Her name is Charity Chinn she is married to an American man named Eric. However, Eric decided to go to Oregon to live at the Ashram of Guru Rajneesh of Indian origin.

Meanwhile, Charity Chinn, who always disliked being Chinese, decided to change her looks and took the help of a plastic surgeon to change her Chinese appearance to a more Caucasian appearance. However, she didn’t have enough money for plastic surgery, thus, she managed a deal with the plastic surgeon. Charity spends each of the Third Wednesday nights of a month with her plastic surgeon, offering his physical gratification. In addition, Charity has also developed an affair with another Caucasian named Phil, who is a flutist and also works as a home service provider, waxing floors of apartments and baking bread for people as per their requirements. Panna is not too impressed by him and considers him childish and womanly. Though she is impressed by Imre Nagy, one of her classmates who is a Hungarian expatriate. Just like Panna, he is married and has two kids with his wife. Her family is back in Hungary. Charity would often ask Panna if she should leave her spiritualist husband and commit to Eric with whom she is already having a sizzling physical relationship of which Panna is a bit envious because, unlike Charity, Panna suffered the burden of arranged marriage, forced to live with a man she didn’t know. Anyways, after living so many years with her husband, she comes to know almost everything about him and can exactly guess how he would feel or react to any particular situation.

One day, she accompanies Imre Nagy to watch a standing performance by David Mamet. At the show, David Mamet observes her and seems to pick her up for blatantly ridiculing Indian women and Indian culture. He makes fun of Indian traditions, Indian frugality, Indian accent, Indian looks, and so on. Panna, still an Indian by birth, feels a little hurt and decides to write a letter to David Mamet in protest. However, she finds that Imre Nagy totally enjoyed the show. Imre feels that there is nothing wrong with stereotyping and being racist. Panna realizes that the Indian traits that David Mamet made fun of, are actually truly ridiculous and most of them are too visible in her own husband that she often doesn’t like. She feels more ‘un-Indian’ and decides not to feel bad about it. After all, she is a submissive woman and her current male companion, Imre Nagy isn’t feeling bad about Indians being lampooned and satirized. Panna is astonished and excited when she sees that though she was openly ridiculed and satirized by David Mamet during the show for being Indian, Imre isn’t disturbed by it, rather he asks her not to take the show so seriously. He then flirts with her and openly expresses his affection by kissing her, as if giving a consolation prize for being ridiculed. Panna is happy about getting the prize and she forgets all her revolting protest against David Mamet. She enjoys watching Imre dancing on the street and thinks, no one can live so freely in India. Obviously, she never attended an Indian marriage or Holi festivities and she doesn’t know anything about how Indians love to celebrate every occasion and how dance and music are a part of Indian life. Panna thinks of the predictable Indian men, the engineers, lawyers, shopkeepers, or businessmen like her husband who can never dance like Imre in the streets. She is completely taken over by the superiority of Imre over Indian men. Imre tells her that he is considering bringing his wife and children to the U.S. and settling there with his family. Panna doesn’t know how to react to it. She is having an affair with Imre but unlike Imre, she cannot think of requesting her husband to settle with her in the U.S.

She learns that the mill managed by her husband is suffering labor unrest. He calls her on the phone and expresses his love and how much he is missing her. She feels a sexual urgency in his voice and fakes her own love for him and says that she too is missing her. In such hard times when her husband’s mill is facing labor troubles, she cannot think of him visiting her in New York, especially when she knows how cheap and frugal he is. Yet, she comes to know that her husband has decided to visit her as he is worried about how she is living alone in a foreign land and if she needs any help. Panna is a submissive wife of a patriarchial exploitative husband. She doesn’t like Indian dresses but is forced to wear a saree as she goes to the airport to greet him. She wears her most expensive Indian jewels and her mangal sutra, the necklace that she got at her wedding. Luckily, Charity had left the city for two weeks and thus, Panna and her husband have the apartment to themselves, affording them more privacy than they ever had in India. Panna’s husband spends several days in New York during which he meets all her friends and classmates including Imre Nagy. She finds that her husband too likes Imre and just as she thought, her husband is unable to guess about her affair with Imre. He doesn’t have an iota of doubt over her fidelity towards him, though it hardly exists. Panna feels loved by her husband but she notices that he is more interested in the abundance of consumer goods in America such as hair rinses and diet powders and with its street vendors and store sales. She also notices the differences between her husband’s preferences and Imre’s choices of entertainment. Imre wants to see an avant-garde French film, her husband the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. Panna’s mother rebelliously learned French and she too knows French well thus she feels Imre has better taste in entertainment, ignoring the fact that her husband hardly knows any French and he is not even fluent in English.

Another issue that she notices is her husband’s money-making mentality. He had spent too much money to convert his rupees into dollars in black and thus, he wishes to buy some electronic items and other goods at cheap prices that he may take back to India to compensate for his loss. Panna doesn’t like his business-minded Bania attitude. On the 10^th day of his visit, Panna’s husband plans for a site-seeing tour and arranges the cheapest touring company that will allow them to visit most of the sites in New York at the least possible price. Panna realizes that her husband is again showing all those traits that David Mamet made fun of. Since her husband is not fluent in English, he sends Panna to buy the tickets. When she goes, the ticket seller takes extra interest in her and gets flirtatious. Her husband notices that and when she returns, he complains that while he asked her to wear a saree, she chose Western clothes and that is why the ticket checker mistreated her as he believed she is a Puerto Rican. Panna feels that her husband is blaming her for bad behavior though it was not her fault. They visit the Statue of Liberty but find that it is closed on that particular day for some maintenance work. On their ferry to World Trade Center, her husband requests her to take his picture with the WTO building in the background. However, she fails to handle the camera properly. She is approached by a bearded man who offers to help. He, too, is an immigrant, a photographer, and while snapping the picture, he offers to buy her a beer, which she politely refuses. How could she accept the beer, she was with her Indian oppressive husband.

Her husband who never doubted her relationship with Imre, questions her what the bearded man was asking, to which she hides that he was asking to buy a beer for her. Her husband isn’t happy after the outing as he feels that his wife is too exposed to other men. He requests her to come back to India and insists that he came there just to take her back. Panna is astonished by this and a bit enraged. She plainly says that she cannot go back before completing her course. Her husband gets frustrated and in his anger and oppressive fit, he throws a food plate.

Later that night, he gets a phone call. He is in no good mood so he hands over his phone to Panna, saying that he cannot understand the accent of Americans. When Panna attends the phone, she learns that it was from her husband’s boss. Her husband’s mill is facing much difficult time and his boss had called him back. Her husband decides to go back to India the very next morning and Panna fakes her worries and love for him again. He forgets how she rejected his request to come back to India and pulls her in his arms. As he starts to undress her, feeling how American she has become, he too decides to be a little American and says, wait for two minutes. rushes to the bathroom to administer the "American rites: deodorants, fragrances." She decides that she should make up for her absence and the labor trouble half a world away; she wants to pretend to him that nothing between them has changed. Panna waits for him while looking at herself in the mirror, naked, shameless, and liberated. She wonders if she will ever return to India as a good Hindu wife, or if she will continue to enjoy this freedom as an expatriate?

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of Indian English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.

The Golden Honeycomb by Kamala Markandaya | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘The Golden Honeycomb’ was the ninth novel written by Kamala Markandaya that was published in 1977. It is a historical realistic fiction novel that presents the conditions of the Indian Princely states under the influence of the British Raj during the period spanning from 1850 to 1947. During that period three fifth of India was directly under the British administration, while two-fifths comprised the princely states ruled by autocratic Indian princes who were bound with Britishers in various types of treaty relationships, ranging from subordinate alliance to vassalage. The Governor-General was overall in charge of princely states in India, as a representative of Queen Victoria.

The novel is divided in three parts along with a prologue and an epilogue. The prologue depicts the urgency of the British administration to increase their dominion over the Indian subcontinent by hook or crook.

The British Government faced defeat and ignominy during the American War of Independence and that pushed them to increase their grip in the East, especially in India. After hearing about the defeat of the British forces in America, Warren Hastings, the then Governor General of India makes a remark:

“If it be really true the British arms and influence have suffered so severe a check in the western world, it is the more incumbent upon those who are charged with the interest of Great Britain in the East to exert themselves for the retrieval of the national honor.”

The novel depicts the emasculation and alienation of royalty from their people through an ingenious British scheme, the subsidiary Alliance, which reduced the princely states to mere “golden honeycombs” while The British had all the authority to snatch the honey whenever they wish.

Characters of The Golden Honeycomb:

Bwajiraj-I is the king of Devapur, a princely state of India. He is struggling against the increasing power of the British forces and as he tries to side with the general public of his state, he is deposed for his seditious activities against the British government. Dewan is a shrewd minister of Bwajiraj-I. Bwajiraj-II is a young man of the ruling class who is picked by the British government as the new king of Devapur. Bwajiraj-II has no real power in his hands but he is allowed to have all possible amenities in return for being a puppet in the hands of the British administration. The British government appoints a British Resident to overlook the administration of Devapur. Manjula is the wife of Bwajiraj-II. Bwajiraj-III is the only son of Manjula and Bwajiraj-II who becomes the King after his father’s untimely death at a very young age. Bwajiraj-III is raised and indoctrinated under British influence and he proves to be a perfect vassal of the British government. Mr. Barrington is the English tutor of Bwajiraj-III. Colonel Arthur is the British Resident of Devapur who keeps a strong hold over Bwajiraj-III. Shantabai is the Queen wife of Bwajiraj-III who gives birth to three daughters. Mohini is an attractive commoner maid of the Queen who grabs the eyes of the King. Bwajiraj-III proposes Mohini to become his second wife but she declines, claiming that Bwajiraj-III is not a king even in his own house, he is just a puppet. Rabindranath or Rabi is the son of Bwajiraj-III and Mohini. Being his only son, Rabi becomes the heir-prince of Devapur. Sophia is the daughter of a British Agent.

Summary of The Golden Honeycomb:

The novel begins with a prologue in which the author explains the premise of the period from 1850 to 1947, during which, the Indian sub-continent was under the oppressive influence of the British government. ‘The Prologue’ depicts clearly the British policy to keep India as its prized colony for its power as well as economic prosperity. The author highlights the commercial mindset of the East India Company and its subtle intriguing ways to hold on to India and conquer its princely states one by one.

One such state is Devapur. The king of Devapur is Maharaj Bwajiraj-I who is a self-indulgent, irresponsible, and vane person lacking a strong individualistic character. However, he doesn’t like the British intervention in the administrative manner of Devpur as it makes him realize how little power he actually holds. Thus, he tries to restrict the interventions of the East India Company. The British Government, which is gradually taking over the role of the ruler of India while replacing the East India Company and the princely states, decides to get rid of Maharaj Bwajiraj-I and he is deposed for his seditious activities. The Dewan of Devpur hobnobs with the British Agent and suggests the name of an eighteen years old young man belonging to the ruling class as the new king. The British Agent accepts the idea because he believes that the new king will be no more than a puppet under the influence of the British administration. The young man is anointed as Bwajiraj-II the king of Devapur. Originally, he was a commoner, the son of a landlord who is just married to Manjula, a girl of thirteen. Now, he is the king of Devpur with all possible amenities available for him. However, he is neither free nor happy. It becomes a duty of his to wear the robes of the king and attend the Durbar as a mere vassal of the British empire as all the major decisions are to be taken by the British Agent. He continues to enjoy the richness of the Durbar and soon, his wife gives birth to his son. Bwajiraj-III. The new prince is raised under British influence and he gets English tutors and indoctrinators. Maharaj Bwajiraj-II wishes his son to thoroughly imbibe the British culture but Maharani Manjula opposes him and says that he must learn about his own country and culture first. The British Agent ensures that the Queen has no say in the prince’s life. The prince knows nothing about Devapura and India but he learns the history and geography of England, He learns about the British constitution, laws, customs, and mannerisms and learns about the British generals and statesmen who rule over a third of the world.

Unfortunately, Bwajirao-II meets an accident while hunting and dies. His son is announced as the new king Bwajiraj-III while the British Agent becomes the caretaker. Bwajiraj-III hardly gets any idea of India as his nation or Devapura as his state. He grows up in the best of the leisure and amenities and then is sent to the Chief’s College for higher education. Chief’s College is a special institution founded by the British government to educate and civilize the sons of Indian princesses and noblemen to inculcate British ways in them. The Chief’s College is designed to function as the Indian Elton. This further alienates Bwajiraj-III from his people anddd he thoroughly becomes a British vassal. Bwajiraj-III becomes the favorite student of his English tutor Mr. Barrington who praises him highly and writes a favorable testimonial describing him as “a fine horseman, an excellent shot, a first-class cricketer, and unrivaled at polo.” The British Agent keeps a close watch on Bwajiraj-III to keep everything under control. Bwajiraj-III praises everything British and he ridicules and hates his own culture and people.

Maharani is completely alienated from her son, so much so, that she is not allowed to select the bride for her son. Dewan again shows his shrewdness and suggests Shantibai as a match for Bwajiraj-III who is liked by Maharani and British Agent both. He gets married to Shanibai, chosen by the British Agent. Shantibai gives birth to three daughters. Bwajiraj-III continues to be the perfect puppet in the hands of the British Agent. He is the ruler of Devapur with no power to rule. Shantibai is a traditional Indian woman whom Bwajiraj-III doesn’t like very much. She gives birth to three daughters. Bwajiraj-III wishes to have a son to be his heir. He falls for a common girl Mohini who becomes his mistress. Bwajiraj-III wishes to marry Mohini but she declines the proposal as she realizes that he is not a free man. Mohini gives birth to a son and demands that he should be recognized as the heir of Bwajiraj-III without her marrying the Maharaj. She insists that though the Maharaj is not a free man within his own palace, her son will lead a life of freedom. She names the prince Rabindranath and calls her Rabi with love. Since Rabi is not the official son of Bwajiraj-III, Mohini succeeds in avoiding the unwanted attention of the British Agent in the life and growth of his son. She appoints a Pundit as an Indian tutor for Rabi as he grows old. Despite Bwajiraj-III’s wish to send Rabi to the Chief’s School and then Chief’s College like a prince, Rabi’s mother, and his grandmother ensures that he gets his education in Indian manners. The Pundit, with the help of Mohini and Maharani Manjula, inculcates Indian values in Rabi who learns the glorious past of India and how the foreign rulers are now devastating his nation. He learns about the heroic deeds of his ancestors and understands the value of Individual freedom and cultural identity. Being the son of Mohini, a commoner, Rabi lacks the vanity and pride of Bwajiraj-III. He plays with Das, the son of a servant, and enjoys his time with Janaki, a sweeper girl. He has no inhibitions of caste and class and he learns to love the people of the ‘empty-belly race.’ When Bwajiraj-III sees Rabi playing with Janaki and Das, he dismisses Das’s father and Janaki from their jobs. Rabi protests against this as he wants the freedom to choose his friends. Life goes on and Rabi continues to understand the situation of his father as a vassal of British Agent. Maharani Shantidevi notices that Rabi is becoming a rebel who doesn’t like his father being a mere servant of British rulers. She further explains how everybody has sold their soul to the Britishers. She says that Bwajiraj-III is proud of his legacy as the king of Devapur but in reality, he is just a slave of the British rulers. Rabi then learns why he was alienated from Janaki and Das. He understands that being the son of a slave, he too is a slave with no freedom to choose his companions. However, he doesn’t yet realize the extent of slavery of his father.

Bwajiraj-III insists Rabi join his Durbar as the prince. Rabi agrees to it half-heartedly and then he learns the true extent of the submissiveness of Bwajiraj against the British Agent. This fills him with hatred toward his own father.

As Rabi grows old, he starts learning about the world outside the walls of the palace. He learns about the hardship of the common people. He decides to take sides with the mill workers protesting against the inhuman conditions in the mills for the workers. Rabi meets Sophia, the daughter of a British Agent and Sophia notices the fire of individual freedom in Rabi’s eyes. She starts appreciating him. Both of them are on the opposite side of the political fulcrum. Both were aware of the troubled alliance that existed between the British and the Indians and of the boundary between them that they were forbidden to cross. But all this changes one night when, during the revelries of a village festival, the two find themselves passionately drawn to each other. Realizing what is at stake, the lovers dare to defy every rule of class and race.

Bwajiraj decides to take Rabi to the grand Delhi Durbar where he has been invited to attend the meeting in honor of the ceremony of the crowning of His Majesty King-Emperor Edward in 1903.

Mohini opposes Rabi from going to Delhi and insists that, unlike his father, Rabi is not a slave of the British Empire. However, Bwajiraj manages to persuade her to allow Rabi to go with him. Bwajiraj is very excited because he loves Durbar and especially the Delhi Durbar. After all, it allows him to feel as being linked with the King Emperor or Britain, his beloved nation. He believes that as the representative of the people of Devapur, he can express the loyalty of all people of Devapur towards the Viceroy and the King-Emperor.

At the Delhi Durbar, Rabi sees his father bowing three times against Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India. Lord Curzon treats Bwajiraj coldly and this fills Rabi with hatred. He realizes that the Maharaja has no power and respect in the Durbar, he is powerless. He learns that all the power is held by Lord Curzon while Bwajiraj is only his vassal. Rabi makes up his mind and decides to join the non-violent protests against the British empire.

On their return, Rabi actively starts taking part in social services and as he devotes himself to the cause of the Indian Freedom Struggle, he makes distance himself from Sophia.

Once, a group of peasants and laborers decide to stage a protest against increased levies and taxes. They forcefully stop the car of Maharaja to request him to take back the order of increased taxes. Rabi appears as the leader of the mob and asks Bwajiraj to rescind the order of increased levies and treaties that cannot be supported by poor peasants and laborers. Bwajiraj says that he is the prince and heir of Devapur and that his actions will ruin the state. Rabi exclaims that he is against monarchy and wishes India to be a free democratic state. While Bwajiraj is not happy with the freedom struggle, Rabi continues to increase his contribution to the revolution. India achieves Independence and the princes of India were left with two choices. They had to sign the Instrument of Accession and accede either to India or to Pakistan. By participating in the national freedom movement, Rabi wins popularity and helps to bridge the gulf between the ruler and the ruled.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of Indian English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!