Seminar 3 summary: The Jewel in the Crown

            The PBS documentary caused a popular revival in the works of Paul Scott. Scott has been criticized for a lack of real Indian characters and portraying events negatively. He juxtaposes the images of the running girl and the singing girl. He uses a historical setting and political uprisings with fictional events to move his story along. Scott gives background on England’s control of India. He shows, and in chapter 6 Robin White tells, of the Brits closer affinity with Muslims. Scott believes Islam’s monotheism and common God are easier for Brits to understand. However, the Brits also appeared to use the minority Muslims as a police force. In the book we hear how the boys being held along with Kumar were forced to eat beef, which is strictly forbidden for Hindus, by their Muslim captors. We also discussed how a succession of powers had ruled India. Before the English was the Moghol empire, which was Islamic, and perhaps remembered best for building the Taj Mahal.

            Scott uses letters to act as a ventriloquist with the characters he has created .He enters into the voice of these characters but chooses not to do so with Edwina Crane. The parallel images of Edwina crying on the roadside saying, “there’s nothing I can do”, and Daphne saying the same after the rape are incredibly powerful and telling of England’s loss of control of their empire.

            Sister Ludmilla is a witness to the changes that occur in Merrick, Daphne, and Hari. Ludmilla can see into these changes as others can’t but she doesn’t see everything. The Sister also blames herself for leading Merrick to Hari on that fateful night. Scott’s mythology uses distrust between characters for their own undoing. Merrick doesn’t trust Hari or the Sister. Hari doesn’t fully trust anyone, perhaps not even himself due to self-hatred. Miss Crane doesn’t trust the teacher until it’s too late. Her benevolence in not driving through the crowd and her trust in everything she has been taught is right becomes her undoing.

            Class also plays an important role. Merrick hates Hari for speaking better English than he. As soon as Hari opens his mouth everyone knows he is different. Miss Crane is forced into some sort of work in order to support herself. She doesn’t have the luxury of choosing to help out at the hospital like Daphne just to occupy her time. Lacking any religious convictions she chooses to work at a school in order to avoid serving another upper class family. When she realizes she made a mistake and was thinking about another school she lacks the fortitude to fess up to it.

            Gender is equally important. The women have few choices. The can be nurses, teachers, nannies, or nuns. Men are able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps by entering the military, however women have no equal opportunity. The Indian women are similarly constrained in their roles as mothers and housekeepers.

            Hari and Lady Chatterjee are the most out of place characters as they try to straddle middle ground between the English and real Indians. They are not really accepted in either territory and as a result are trusted by no one. The White’s and Daphne’s family seem to have a sincere affinity for Lily but it’s made clear that right or wrong, if all hell breaks loose, she will not be with the English.

            Hari is the most pathetic character despite the terrible events that happen to Daphne, Miss Crane, and the dead teacher. Hari does have to helplessly watch Daphne’s rape and he gets severely punished as a result of it. Perhaps the both share some blame for not realizing their relationship was impossible at the time.

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URL of this webpage: http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/eng339/Seminar3.htm
Last updated: 08 April 2003