Morgan Kathleen Dr. Stone English 206 February 15, 2008 Kipling takes an interesting stance on the colonization of India. He is English, but he spent a lot of time in India. So the poem shows a certain ambivalence of who has the most power--England or India? Throughout the poem, India's presence becomes more prevalent and dominant, while the "Britishness" is still present, but having to be anxiously repeated as to remind people of who is really in charge. The repetition of "the Empress of India" makes it known that the Queen of England is in charge, and not only is she the ruler, but the mail runner is doing his work "In the Name of the Empress of India." Also, what makes the Queen actually weaker is that she is in England while "ruling" India. So throughout the poem there is the occasional absence of the Queen, but then there is that anxious repetition reminding everyone that, "Oh! Wait, you're doing this in the name of the Queen of England, the Empress of India!" However, the British do have control over this mail runner and actually help him to get to his destination and deliver the mail to the British exiles. The mail is very important for the British, and everything pretty much is put on pause just so this mail can get to the exiles. All the rest of the time, the British have control of everything. The poem does mention "the service" making it seem as though the postal service is some sort of army or perhaps the FBI? Historically, the British used the mail runners as spies, which explains why it was so important for them to make sure that the runner delivered the mail safely and undoubtedly. But maybe the fact that the
Indian is actually doing the work shows some weakness on the British side. The runner having to overcome all the problems with the land and nature allow for the reader to see that the runner is actually a strong individual, and not so much a servant. So while the poem shows this ambiguity between England having power but not actually being India, in gives India a sense of power as well. Kipling never really gives Britain any credit but doesn't really say much about India either. So throughout Kipling's poem, English seems to start off with the most power, but then is overcome by the power of India, whose power is increasing throughout the poem. We can see this representation through the poem--it starts on a footpath, then heading up a hill to then face all the obstacles that land and nature present, then the poem proceeds to the rock-ridge and to the peak where looking down one could see the mail runner. While reading the poem, one would think that Kipling is writing stanzas two, three, and four to show the runner's journey as he experiences it. But then we approach stanza five and realize that at the top of the mountain is not the runner, it is an onlooker who can see the "speck on the hillside". Once again, this shows the ambivalence of who's really on top.
1. The Empress of India 2. In the Name of the Empress of India 3. The service 4. Speck on the hillside
1. "Nature is represented destructive, a malignant force, hazardous and unaccommodating" (58). 2. "So we can detect a pattern of asymmetrical oppositions under-pinning the landscape: night vs. day, wild vs. civilized, below vs. above" (60). 3. "[The runner] is significant only as the facilitator of the Overland Mail, he has no other purpose... the runner is made subservient to the compulsion of the exiles" (61). 4. "...this service is a life sentence..." (61). 5. "As we noted, in the robber we have the colonized who exists as other to the West, threatening to his very occupation to disobey its rules, while the runner signifies the domesticated colonized subject" (62). 6. "...the runner's travails mimics the journey of the British into the hills..." (63). 7. "[The runner's] presence is vital to the exiles' survival in the hills, but also creates anxieties because of the threat he poses to its smooth running" (63).