Made possible by people like Gandhi- Post Colonial Literature

I, Wordsmith, english major and blogmaster extrodinaire, have a confession to make.

I really like this book.


I like it for several reasons, the first of which is that it deals with a time period in history that i really enjoy reading about- Mughal India. Of course, it wasn't until I started reading this book that I realized the significance of this.

I first became interested in the Mughals (Or Moguls, depending on what you're reading) after reading a book on Jahanara, the daughter of Shan Jahan, the emperor who built the Taj Mahal and who is mentioned in Holder of the World as the World Ruler. It's because of the post-colonial literature movement that I can read about what India was like both before (and after) the British created their Raj there in the 1800s.

In HOTW, Bharati Mukherjee illuminates for us a story that would not have seen the light of day before the post-colonial movement, a story that allows inter-racial relationships to be seen in a somewhat positive light. She is telling the story that wouldn't be allowed to be told otherwise; that there are narratives besides the white narrative that have value and a place in the literary spectrum.

In a fanfiction that I'm writing now, one of the characters, when proposed the idea that the Taj Mahal is bigger and more fantastic than anything the English have constructed, she puts her nose in the air and replies,

"Barbaric. I suppose this great marble palace pales in comparison to St. James’ Palace. Your friend must be exaggerating; nothing can outstrip the grandeur of British architecture or the ingenuity of English builders."

If you were ever to venture to India," Another character replies," I think you would find much there that outstrips British ingenuity. Was it not the Romans who built the coliseum with nothing more than a few simple cranes and ladders? And did not the Greeks build the temples after which we fashion our own houses in the same manner? Those are the tools which still exist in India today to build their houses and temples. Simple people they may be now, barbaric, if you must, but do not underestimate their capability in erecting monuments. Once there were great kings in the Deccan, and their accomplishments make our English wars and castles look pale and puny in their shadow.”

The story takes place in the 1830s, just at the outset of the British Raj, and to be completely fair, I doubt that the character speaking there would have given the Mughals the time of day. But the fact remains that I as the author think that they deserve a place in my story, because I have been able to hear their part in world history and I like it.

The first character, Catherine, has never traveled outside of England, thinking that there is nothing there worth exploring, and the character who answers her, Horatio, is a ship's captain who, along with several other people in the conversation, has both been to India and seen all the marvelous things the Mughal Emperors did there. He tries to correct her idea of Oriental Decadence by reminding her that it wasn't until after the Viceroys began celebrating the Durbar did these shows of eastern wealth and power that she seems so adverse to actually began happening. These well-traveled men, who have been to parts of the world some people only dream about visiting, are trying to de-mystify why she thinks the way she does.

(On a historical note, the practice of Durbar wasn't actually celebrated until the 1860s under Lord Canning when Victoria became Empress of India. Empress, I should add, of a land she never even visited.)


And while we're talking about Posts, I guess we should talk about Post Modernism, the re-imagining of accepted forms to suit new purposes and methods of transmission. To put it in Professor Steve's words, Mo on a necktie. The story that I've been quoting to you from is, in my opinion, a type of what might be considered Post Modern literature- the fan fiction.

Fan Fiction is the art of taking an established piece of work (in the case of the above story, Pride and Prejudice, among other things; there's a note in my bio about it) and fiddling around with the characters, placing them in different or amusing situations, trying to write yourself into the story, or just exploring the nuances of place and person the author didn't get around to establishing. It's not necessarily Modernism on the chopping block, but it is the re-imagining of accepted forms. In this case, however, it's not architectural elements but characters. HOTW is in essence a fanfiction as well- it takes an already established story, and, with a bit of research and scholarly application, re-imagines Hawthorne's story.


While I'm really looking forward to completing Mukhergee's book, I'm not really looking forward to the end of these blogs. The end of the blogs means the end of the class, and I've really grown fond of all the people in my writing group.