Mary Postgate - Rudyard Kipling

• Mary Postgate - Rudyard Kipling

  Main themes - War, propaganda, alienation, indoctrination, the feminine vs the masculine, sexuality
• “conscientious, tidy, companionable, and ladylike.”


  presentation of mary, good reputation
• “mary was not young, and though her speech was as colourless as her eyes or her hair, she was never shocked.” “for she prided herself on a trained mind, which ‘did not dwell on these things.’


  bland contrast, as a character she’s nothing special, may allude to her being more masculine due to the ladies need to be pampered and prim at the time, repressed, this trained mind phrase is repeated throughout
• “equally respected by all the cliques.”

  will find a way to fit in with anyone, can shift to be what they expect or want from her
• “and the limitations of ’you women,’“ “always his butt and his slave.”


  wynn is a very masculine character, mary allows herself to be pushed around by him, they have a very loving but difficult relationship
• “a sheep would know more than you do, postey.”


  animalistic traits, seen as a follower, allowing herself again to be pushed around by him, yet will brush it off due to the nature of the nickname “postey” as a show of desire
• “her heart and her interest were high in the air with Wynn,”


  turning romantic, something changing in their relationship, repressed emotions coming out
• “i’m sorry it happened before he had done anything.’ 


  two meanings, sorry he didn’t have the chance to go off and fight in the way, sorry he didn’t get to do anything to further the relationship that was blooming with Mary
• “quite handsome!”


  full transformation into a masculine state after the death, as if this was who she was meant to be when hiding behind a feminine facade, takes on wynns role with full control
• miss fowler - sees through mary, slightly complicit in mary’s transformation yet is the root of repression in the household, simple lady
• mary - restrained woman under the psychological effects of war, her changing from the natural ‘english lady’ to rather ‘flat chest[ed]’ in the name of propaganda and influence from wynn due to her delusions of love, her enemy was not only the germans but men in general
• wynn - oozing masculine energy, typical young soldier of the time almost a tragic character, influential and manipulative
• “did not stay decently outside England, intruded on the lives of people whom she knew.”


  war can effect everyone, sees it as a nuisance on their lives as it claimed many around them
• “dowey old cassowary.”


  small, insignificant, a bird who cannot take flight and therefore can’t be free