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Chapter 15
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Burmese Days, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Imperialism and Hypocrisy
Status and Racism
Class, Gender, and Sex
Freedom of Speech, Self-Expression, and Loneliness
Friendship and Loyalty
Summary
Analysis
The following morning, Flory is walking down to the club, where he plans to find Elizabeth and propose. As he walks, he comes upon a European stranger: a young man, about 25, wearing shining polo boots and riding a white horse. Flory greets the man, who introduces himself as Verrall and says he’s with the Military Police. Verrall doesn’t doesn’t ask for Flory’s name. He says that he was sent to Kyauktada due to the rumored rebellion. Flory, feeling “old and shabby” in comparison to Verrall, awkwardly praises his horse, an Arabian. Verrall says she’s not bad and says he’s been tent-pegging because the muddy ground is useless for polo. Then he rides back and forth a few times, using a spear to pick up a peg from the ground while riding at a gallop.
As soon as Flory goes to propose to Elizabeth, he meets a man who seems to fulfill stereotypes of British masculinity better than he does. The man, Verrall, is younger and better-dressed than Flory, making Flory feel “old and shabby.” He’s also a member of the Military Police rather than a civilian, and he seems to be a good rider. Though readers do not yet know what role Verrall will play in the novel, the immediate contrast between Verrall and Flory hints that Verrall is higher status than Flory and may foreshadow that Verrall will become a romantic rival for Elizabeth.
Themes
Flory sees Elizabeth emerge from the Lackersteens’ house. He asks Verrall whether he can use one of the other horses to try tent-pegging, and Verrall agrees “ungraciously.” Flory is hoping to spear the peg just as Elizabeth passes by, but almost as soon as he mounts the horse, he falls off dramatically and sees his horse running away with the saddle swung under its belly—the girth must not have been adequately tightened, causing the fall. Flory, cheek grazed and bleeding, feels humiliated to have fallen in front of Elizabeth. He calls after her as she walks by, but she utterly fails to acknowledge him.
Flory’s humiliation in front of Elizabeth at a conventional masculine activity (riding) so soon after his success in front of her at another conventional masculine activity (hunting) hints that his romantic fortunes have turned: Elizabeth is not simply “his now,” as he assumed the previous night. This hint is confirmed when Elizabeth walks by him, prone and bleeding, without acknowledging him.
Themes
Verrall rides up to Flory. When Flory says that the saddle slipped, Verrall blames Flory, saying you can’t trust “these beggars” (meaning the native groomsmen), and then he rides off. Flory, shaken, wonders why Elizabeth behaved so coldly toward him. He goes back home, where Ko S’la cleans his cuts. He bathes, still thinking about Elizabeth. He’s sure she’s terribly angry with him, but he’s not sure why, as they haven’t even seen each other since the previous night.
Verrall’s casual racism toward his Burmese groomsmen, whom he calls “these beggars,” hints that he is a better romantic match for similarly racist Elizabeth and a potential rival to Flory. His conventionally masculine appearance reinforces this point. Meanwhile, Flory’s bewilderment at Elizabeth’s snubbing of him prompts readers to assume that she didn’t simply ignore him because he embarrassed himself: something else is going on.
Themes
