An essay on Lispeth
The story begins with a description of the environment. On just a few lines the narrator makes us aware of the both the surroundings and the social environment. The story is set in the Kotgarh Valley, and we are let into a community of farmers. The fields are put under with maize and opium poppies. We are introduced to an area far away from everything and an area where agriculture provides the basis of all life. The social environment is split up into two parts. On one side we have the hill people who are Hindu, and on the opposite we have the Mission who are Christian. Lispeth is born by Hindus, but after their staple food maize fails Lispeth is brought to the Mission, and she is baptized. In this way we learn how
The following author comment ridicules her and shows which opinion the author has of Chaplain’s wife: “Seeing she had been taken into the Church of England at the mature age of five weeks, this statement does not do credit to the Chaplain’s wife”.(Lispeth: p. 37 l. 27-29) The author clearly has an opinion of his characters but of the theme. Through the story he discusses the theme of race. It is in no way the colour of skin, because we learn that Lispeth is fair skinned, but it is a perception of the mind. The theme of race is discussed in the terms of love. Can an Englishman and an Indian woman fall in love? In the short story Lispeth one can discuss if the love relationship really does take place. But the story in no way denies the fact that it is possible. In Kiplings short story Beyond the Pale an Englishman and an Indian girl have a love relationship, but society does not allow their relationship. As is it in Lispeth. Looking at the epigraph to Lispeth Christianity is also represented as cold and tangled. Already here we learn what decision Lispeth will make in the story. Not knowing what this epigraph means gives the reader a wish to seek the answer in the text. Her returning to her people is a sign of betrayal. She has been betrayed by the people she thought she could trust. The author’s message is that love beyond races could