吉卜林的《想当国王的人》与理想英国殖民者的塑造

Rudyard Kipling's“The Man Who Would Be King” and the Shapingof Ideal British Empire Colonialists

吉卜林的早期中篇小说《想当国王的人》多年来一直受到学术界的关注,但学者们对于小说的主旨却众说纷纭。如果将小说置于1857年印度民族起义后的社会语境里来考察,我们就会发现,吉卜林其实是通过两个英国流浪汉征服阿富汗腹地、建立王国但又迅速败亡的故事表达了他对于19世纪晚期英国在印度的殖民统治困境的担忧。吉卜林在小说中建构了自己心目中的理想英国殖民者形象:出身平民、熟悉社会各阶层情形、敢于冒险;能够为了殖民地的和平安宁勤勉奉献、富有牺牲精神。另一方面,小说主人公的败亡也是吉卜林的警告:殖民者要坚守种族疆界。在吉卜林看来,只有这样的英国殖民者才能维护帝国安全,在印度进行有效的殖民统治。

Scholars have been arguing over the years about the central concern of Rudyard Kipling’s famous story"The Man Who Would Be King".If we put the story in the social context after the Indian Mutiny in 1857,however,it would be clear that Kipling expresses his anxiety in the story about the plight of British imperial rule in India and his efforts at finding a solution for the problem.The story features two typically Kiplingesque colonialists of the ideal type:adventurous men of ordinary origin working hard and sacrificing themselves for the benefits of the natives.The fact that Dravot and Carnehan’s kingdom falls due to Dravot’s transgression is actually Kipling’s warning,and therefore his requirement of non-transgression.For Kipling,such ideal colonialists could ensure the safety of British colonial rule in India.