Literature Network » Rudyard Kipling

Kipling's "Mary Postgate" reconsidered: an example of critical obtuseness. (Literature).(Rudyard Kipling's short story reconsidered)

Content courtesy of

From: Quadrant
Date: 20010901
Author:Colebatch, Hal

THE SHORT STORY "Mary Postgate", written by Rudyard Kipling early in 1915, before his own son was killed in the First World War, has been subject to the most extraordinary amount of fundamental misinterpretation. Few short stories can have been so often explained by specialist authors and learned critics as meaning the exact opposite of what their meaning actually is. Kipling seems to have played a successful psychological trick on his educated readers while proving precisely the story's point.

"Mary Postgate" is generally summarised as follows: the central character, Mary ...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Other Articles on Rudyard Kipling

About Our Articles: We've partnered with Highbeam Research to provide these article excerpts for your research needs. However, due to copyright laws, we cannot publish the whole article. To view these articles in full length you'll need to use the link above to access the free trial at Highbeam.