Quiz:
What do you know about the time the British ruled India?
This quiz has some tricky questions, so don't worry if you don't know all the answers already. Use the quiz as a starting point to learn more about the time the British ruled India.
Discuss:
Talk about the questions with a partner or partners.
Then read the suggested answers below.
Describe the setting of this short story. Where and when does it take place?
There are many references to local places in the story. What is the effect of this? Are you able to locate the places on a map?
Lispeth's beauty is mentioned repeatedly. Why do you think that is?
- The Chaplain, his wife and the Englishman are not mentioned by name. What is achieved by not naming them?
- How did Lispeth change when she understood that the Englishman would not come back? Can we interpret this as more than just a broken heart?
- A world map puzzle that Lisbeth played with as a child is mentioned in the text. Can this be interpreted as a metaphor for something?
What does the story tell us about the customs of the natives? Why do you think the writer has chosen to describe their culture like that?
What is the significance of naming the short story after the protagonist?
Suggested answers
When you have talked about the questions, read through the suggested answers. Do you agree or disagree with the solutions suggested here? – Remember that analysis allows for many different interpretations.
The story is set in the Kotgarh Valley, which is in the Western Himalayas, in India. Most of the action takes place in or near a Christian mission in the valley. The protagonist’s parents came from higher up in the mountains but sought refuge from poverty by moving to the valley and converting to Christianity. The valley was at one point ruled by Christian missionaries, but that is in the past when the story takes place.
The fact that real places are named, and that these are places we can look up on a map or on the internet, means that the story seems more believable, and we can picture the places more clearly. On the other hand, if we don't take the time to look up these places then we only understand that the action is taking place somewhere exotic, where they speak a different language.
In the story we see that Lispeth's beauty gives her advantages: Lispeth is not asked to work hard, because she is too beautiful. Her beauty also levels the playing field a bit. She is not of the same class, background, or social circle as the Englishman, but he might still fall head over heels for an exotic beauty and ignore the social mores of the time. There is also a contrast between how beautiful she is when the main action of the story takes place, and how she ends up. This makes it easier to sympathise with Lispeth's fate. It is sad that she goes from being strong, vital and beautiful to being a drunken wretch.
By not giving the chaplain, his wife, and the Englishman names they become stand-ins for all English people. They are not specific people who made mistakes; – not naming them suggests that this is the way any English person would act in that situation.
Lispeth got very disillusioned and angry. She realised that she had been lied to not just by the man she loved, but by people who had been part of her life since she was a child and who had taken over responsibility for her when her parents died. She returned to her own people, put on traditional clothes, changed her hair, and rejected the English way of life and the Christian faith. This is not just about a broken heart. She was betrayed by people she trusted. She realised that they did not see her as an equal, and never would.
The world puzzle may be a metaphor for Lispeth's understanding of the world. She is trying to puzzle together an understanding of the world from fragments. Her childhood and background, her upbringing at the mission, her Christian faith, her feelings and so on. She does not get a complete picture of what the world is like from these pieces, in the same way that a puzzle map of the world does not really give anyone an understanding of what the world is like. The fact that she turns to a childhood toy when she is in emotional pain also suggests that she is not quote grown up. That in many ways she is still a child.
The customs of the natives are described quite dismissively. It is stated that they do not bathe, that the women dress in filthy clothes, and that the men beat the women. While the story highlights the unfair way that Lispeth is treated by the English, it does not glorify or romanticise her background. This negativity may confuse the reader into thinking that the narrator is on the side of the English in the story. However, the more likely explanation is that the author is trying to say that no matter where she came from, what the English did to her was still unfair and wrong.
The protagonist was named Elizabeth, but her name in the local tongue was Lispeth. The name suggests that she is someone who does not quite fit in with the English world. Lisbeth is a common way to affectionately abbreviate Elizabeth, but by using p instead of b it is made clear that Lispeth is not English. Using the protagonist's name in the title also highlights that she is who the story is about: This is who we should be interested in.
Create:
Pick one of the tasks. Choose to work in a group or alone as best suits you and the task you have chosen.
Make a film adaptation of the short story. You can choose what type of film you want to make, e.g documentary, animation, feature film ...
Rewrite the short story from the point of view of the Englishman.
Write:
Pick one of the tasks and write a longer text.
Lispeth is very bitter after everything that has happened, and before she leaves, she writes a letter to the Chaplain and his wife where she puts her bitterness into words. Write the letter.
Write a character description of Lispeth, the Englishman, and the Chaplain's wife. What are their strengths and flaws? Would you describe them as dynamic or static characters?
Analyse the short story paying special attention to theme and message.
What view of colonisation is evident in the short story? Is Kipling criticising colonialism, or does the story show a positive view? Write a text where you discuss these questions.
Research:
Choose one of the following countries: India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, or Bangladesh. Find out more about their situation during the colonial period.
What was it like for these countries to be under British rule?
How has the colonial period influenced the country after they gained independence?
What is the relationship between the country and the United Kingdom today?
Make a Power Point presentation or an audio recording where you present your findings.