Dear Maillist Members,
I hope all is going well with you.
This time, i would like to ask your help for two questions on Kipling's The
City of Dreadful Night, the piece on Calcutta, originally published in 1888.
One is about the racial identity of Mrs. D, who appears in Chapter VII.
What do you think her racial identity is, European or Eurasian? Kenneth
Frazer, in last year's Kipling Journal (No. 293), states that she is "a
European (or possibly Eurasian)" (53), and i tend to agree with his reading:
it is impossible to decide whether she is a European or Eurasian. As far as
my feeble knowledge goes, it is very unlikely that Eurasians are classified
as Europeans in Kipling's time. If so, the narrative's confusion is
interesting. But am i right? Please give me your feedback.
The other question is trivial. Kipling's narrative ends: "Her [Lucia's]
ghost went to a big Calcutta powder ball that very night, and looked very
beautiful. I met her." A nice ending, in my eyes. But what is "a big
Calcutta powder ball"? Any suggestion?
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Many thanks in advance,
Shizen Ozawa
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