The Siege of Krishnapur by J. G. Farrell
"The Siege of Krishnapur" by J.G. Farrell is a historical novel set during the Sepoy Mutiny in India in 1857, focusing on the British colonial experience amidst a siege. The narrative opens with a portrayal of British confidence and cultural superiority, exemplified by the idyllic life of the English residents in the town of Krishnapur, who remain largely oblivious to the growing unrest among the local population. As the mutiny unfolds, Mr. Hopkins, known as "the Collector," emerges as a key figure, leading the defense of the besieged English quarter alongside a cast of diverse characters, including George Fleury, whose romantic entanglements add personal stakes to the crisis.
The novel delves into themes of cultural arrogance, the fragility of social conventions, and the disillusionment faced by its characters as they confront the harsh realities of war and siege. Internal conflicts, such as the ostracism of individuals like Lucy Hughes and the clashing medical philosophies of Doctors Dunstaple and McNab, illustrate the breakdown of Victorian ideals under stress. Ultimately, the narrative reveals a profound moral reckoning for the characters, who come to understand that their civilization is an unwelcome presence in India, leading to a reconsideration of their beliefs and values. The novel, awarded the Booker Prize in 1973, stands as a significant commentary on colonialism and human nature, making it an important work in contemporary literary discussions.
The Siege of Krishnapur by J. G. Farrell
First published: 1973
Type of work: Historical novel
Time of work: 1857
Locale: Northeastern India
Principal Characters:
Mr. Hopkins (“the Collector,” ) , the protagonist, who is the chief administrator of the Krishnapur areaTom Willoughby , “the Magistrate,” the area’s chief judicial officerGeorge Fleury , a civilian visitor to IndiaMiriam Lang , his recently widowed sisterLouise Dunstaple , the belle of local societyHarry Dunstaple , her brother, a young artillery officerLucy Hughes , a beautiful young woman considered “fallen” because of a broken engagementDoctor Dunstaple , the civil surgeon at KrishnapurDoctor McNab , the regimental surgeon at KrishnapurThe Reverend M. Hampton , “the Padre,” the Protestant chaplain at KrishnapurHari , son of the local Maharajah
The Novel
The opening pages of The Siege of Krishnapur portray the British colonial regime in India at the height of its self-confidence and success. Although the reader is given several indications of restlessness among the country’s native population, the novel’s English characters are blissfully unaware of anything except the apparent superiority of their own culture and civilization. The brilliance of their social life, the rich diversity of their material possessions, and the ample leisure time provided by legions of servants are all emphasized in an idyllic prelude that depicts an almost paradisaical mode of existence.
Mr. Hopkins, more usually referred to as “the Collector,” is responsible for Krishnapur’s administration, and he becomes the central figure of the narrative when the Sepoy Mutiny of native troops breaks out in the summer of 1857. He organizes a successful defense of Krishnapur’s English quarter that attracts a variety of local refugees, among whom the Fleurys and Dunstaples predominate. George Fleury, a young gentleman as yet undecided about his occupation, is accompanying his widowed sister, Miriam, on her travels. Their letter of introduction to the Dunstaples, with whose daughter, Louise, Fleury soon becomes infatuated, results in their being besieged at Krishnapur, where the mentally unstable Doctor Dunstaple and his brave young officer son Harry are stationed.
This isolated outpost of English authority is threatened by more than the vast numbers of mutinied native soldiers surrounding its makeshift fortifications. There are internal conflicts at work as well; among them, the ostracism of “ruined” Lucy Hughes by Krishnapur’s priggishly respectable ladies, and the different medical philosophies espoused by Doctors Dunstaple and Mc-Nab provide contrasting examples of the effects of severe stress upon social conventions. The snobbish treatment of Lucy holds her responsible for something that is not really her fault, and she ultimately breaks down under the pressures of the long siege; the rivalry between the doctors, on thc other hand, masks a clash between personalities as well as ideas, and it is finally resolved only by Doctor Dunstaple’s death, caused by his obstinate insistence upon following his outmoded method of treating cholera. From the standpoint of the reader, in fact, it sometimes seems as though the sufferings of the Krishnapur garrison are partially justified by the slowness with which useless prejudices and mistaken ideas are reluctantly discarded.
From the standpoint of the defenders, however, this is a tragic rather than a salutary phenomenon. The Collector and “the Padre,” the Reverend Mr. Hampton, are among those who see their cherished notions about humanity’s essential goodness and progressiveness being exposed as the most baseless optimism. As the siege goes on and no relief is in sight, two conclusions become painfully clear to both the apostles of progress and those who, like “the Magistrate,” Tom Willoughby, have always taken a more pessimistic view: The English way of life has only covered over, rather than eradicated, man’s basic selfish impulses, and it has not at all succeeded in imparting its values to a supposedly inferior Indian society. It is this moral shock that combines with the deprivations caused by the siege to bring about an entirely new apprehension of reality in the novel’s more thoughtful characters.
The material qualities of Victorian culture are effectively conveyed through a close examination of its love of new inventions, methods of treating disease, and interest in supposedly new scientific discoveries such as phrenology. The Collector is a keen acquirer of newfangled devices—his nickname refers to this proclivity as well as to his official tax-collecting duties—and J. G. Farrell’s descriptions of machines for reproducing great works of art and multiple-barrelled pistols remind the reader that the Victorian cra has often been called “the age of invention.” The medical disputes between Doctors Dunstaple and McNab are also developed at great length, with Dunstaple’s eloquent but scientifically unsupported arguments convincing many who are unable to follow McNab’s logical but lusterless search for empirical truths. Magistrate Willoughby’s obsession with phrenology, on the other hand, offers a humorous parody of the Victorian search for enlightenment, since it makes absurd claims for profound insights in the most confident and scientific-seeming manner.
As Krishnapur’s beleaguered garrison is slowly worn down in terms of both numbers and self-assurance, it is the possession of superior military tactics and technology that proves to be the only significant difference between the defenders and their enemies. Even this, however, cannot completely stop the advance of the determined Sepoys; it is only the timely arrival of a relief column that keeps them from being overwhelmed. Although their deliverance has been, in an immediate dramatic sense, a saga of heroic triumph over great odds, in the long run the survivors of Krishnapur have learned that both they and their civilization are an irrelevant intrusion upon an India which does not want what they have to offer.
The Characters
Both the excitement of its battle scenes and the impact of its demolition of Victorian assumptions tend to overshadow The Siege of Krishnapur’s cast of characters. The variety of the personalities depicted, however, and the varying responses evoked by the hardships of the siege do provide a degree of human interest that complements the novel’s more general historical and philosophical concerns.
The locus of the narrative, like the organization of Krishnapur’s defense, originates in the person of Mr. Hopkins, the Collector. It is he who first senses the impending rebellion, and it is his foresight and resolution that enable the garrison to hold out until help arrives. Since he is by far the strongest character among the defenders, a firm believer in the advance of reason and progress as well as a brave and resourceful leader, his gradual loss of faith in human perfectability is the most tragic occurrence in the book: If even a man of the Collector’s convictions and experience can see no light at the end of the tunnel, Farrell implies, the rest may well despair of what the future holds.
The quirky figures of Willoughby, the Magistrate who fantasizes about feeling the bumps on people’s heads, and Hampton, the Padre whose literal interpretation of the Bible becomes increasingly divorced from the real needs of his parishioners, are clever personifications of typical forms of Victorian eccentricity. Doctors Dunstaple and McNab are also memorably odd, with the former’s refusal to modify his theories in the light of new facts nicely contrasted with the latter’s coldly scientific determination to ignore anything smacking of emotions and sentiments. More straightforwardly humorous relief is provided by Hari, the son of the local Maharajah and a hopelessly confused dabbler in the byways of Victorian culture, whose attempted photographing of George Fleury turns into a form of primitive torture rather than the sophisticated hobby with which Hari imagines himself to be toying.
The novel’s younger Englishmen and Englishwomen are more romantically presented. In their separate ways, each finds new resources that round out deficiencies of character: George Fleury’s intellectualism is fortified by courage, Harry Dunstaple’s bravery by mature common sense, and the feminine weaknesses ascribed to Miriam Lang, Louise Dunstaple, and Lucy Hughes replaced by their assumption of responsibilities denied them under normal conditions. If these characters were more prominent in the narrative, one would be justified in comparing The Siege of Krishnapur to the classic Victorian adventure stories of G. A. Henty and R. M. Ballantyne; as it is, however, their relative unimportance, if anything, tends to emphasize the novel’s demythologizing intentions.
Critical Context
The Siege of Krishnapur won the 1973 Booker Prize, Great Britain’s most prestigious literary honor and a sign of Farrell’s acceptance as a writer of serious fiction. Previously he had published four novels, of which only the last, Troubles (1970), set in Ireland in 1919, brought him any significant degree of public recognition. Both Troubles and The Siege of Krishnapur were greeted as extremely enjoyable historical novels that also had serious things to say about the human condition in general, and Farrell, understandably, continued to work along these lines.
His next book, The Singapore Grip (1978), was an equally well-received treatment of the fall of Singapore to the Japanese in 1942; the protagonist of Troubles, Major Brendan Archer, appears in this book as well. Farrell’s untimely death in a fishing accident in 1979 cut short a brilliant literary career, which is memorialized by the posthumous publication of his unfinished but nevertheless eminently readable The Hill Station (1981), set in post-1857 India and carrying over one major character, Doctor McNab, from The Siege of Krishnapur.
Bibliography
Binns, Ronald. J. G. Farrell, 1986.
Bristow-Smith, Laurence. “’Tomorrow’s Another Day’: The Essential James G. Farrell,” in The Cambridge Quarterly. XXV (Summer, 1983), pp. 45-52.
Deck, John. Review in The New York Times Book Review. LXX (October 6, 1974), p. 16.
Maddocks, Melvin. Review in Time. CIV (September 30, 1974), p. 93.
Sissman, L. E. Review in The New Yorker. L (November 25, 1974), p. 193.