| The Casuarina Tree | |
|---|---|
U.S. first edition |
|
| Author(s) | W. Somerset Maugham |
| Cover artist | Winifred E. Lefferts |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Short story collection |
| Publisher | William Heinemann, U.K. George H. Doran Company, New York |
| Publication date | 1926 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 288 pages (U.S. first edition) |
| ISBN | NA |
The Casuarina Tree is a collection of short stories set in 1920s Malaya by W. Somerset Maugham that came out of travels he paid for by working for the British Secret Service[1] as a spy. It was first published by the UK publishing house, Heinemann, in 1926.
Contents |
The Casuarina tree of the title is native to Australasia and Southeast Asia, often used to stabilise soils.[2] In Maugham’s foreword, he says the title was a metaphor for "the English people who live in the Malay Peninsula and in Borneo because they came along after the adventurous pioneers who opened the country to Western civilisation." He likens the pioneers to mangroves reclaiming a swamp, and the expatriates to Casuarinas, who came later and served there. He then learned that his idea was incorrect botanically but decided it would suggest the planters and administrators who for him, were in their turn the organisers and "protectors" of society.[3] The book and the author are true to their times but express views and language that are considered politically incorrect today.
The stories—
Maugham wrote the introduction, "The Casuarina Tree" and postscript, himself.
The major themes are class division, racial difference, adultery, personal competitiveness and human nature in reaction to fate.
The strong thread running through the stories is alienation and contrast – between people and cultures. For most of the characters, after a crisis in their circumstances, life seems to take up where it left off and closes over the revelations that bring in the drama.
People who are regarded as sane and level-headed, reliable and "well brought-up" show their unexpected real character in a crisis, their inner workings become exposed in reaction to surprise events. The exceptional circumstances are about being away from the England of law and order, in a wild, unfathomable foreign country where they may be misled, misunderstood, faced with life-or-death decisions, physically and mentally at risk or beyond the scrutiny of their peers.
The Skinner family is preparing to attend an upperclass party. Among them is the aloof daughter Millicent, recently bereaved when her husband committed suicide while they lived in Borneo. While they are gathering to leave, after a few questions too many, Millicent declares the real reason he died. Explaining that she discovered he was an incorrigible drunk with a life long reputation, she describes her dogged attempts to help him reform. When he relapses badly after so many promises she reacts by killing him herself. The true circumstances dawn slowly on the family and the father, a lawyer, is faced with a dilemma.
A recently separated woman befriends a middle-aged man heading back to Ireland and retirement after 25 years as a planter in the Federated Malay States. Mrs Hamlyn herself is 40 and recently separated because her husband fell in love with another woman. Things are merry as the various passengers plan a Christmas party until the planter, Mr. Gallagher, develops incurable hiccups. His assistant, Mr. Pryce becomes exasperated with the doctor’s ineffectiveness, confiding to Mrs Hamlyn that the native woman he left behind put a spell on him to die before reaching land. Despite a witchdoctor's efforts to beat the curse, Gallagher does die at sea and through his death Mrs Hamlyn becomes aware of the importance of living, finding the courage to write a letter of forgiveness to her husband.
A story of brinksmanship follows two incompatible rivals, the precisely disciplined Resident officer, Mr Warburton and his newly arrived uncouth assistant Mr Cooper. In a battle of class difference, the feisty Cooper manages to repel his more refined boss and make enemies with the native helpers. Both are as lonely as each other, with the seeds of the outcome in both their natures and attitudes to their circumstances leading to a fatal conclusion.
Guy meets and marries Doris in England while on leave from Malaya, returning there as best friends to set up a home away from home. When a native woman casts a shadow over their lives, Doris discovers Guy's past and rejects him for giving in to circumstances, even though they were lonely and difficult for him.
"The Yellow Streak" is an internal story of class snobbery, racism and frail human nature in the face of death. Izzart is an insecure snob with a secret who is put in charge of the safety of Campion, a mining engineer hired by the Sultan of fictional Sembulu to discover mineral possibilities in Borneo. Drink, vanity, carelessness and self doubt bring Izzart to cracking point when an incident with a tidal wave on the river means it's every (white) man for himself[4]. Not only his weakness, but his inner torment is clear to the more experienced Campion.
The author contrasts outward appearances with inner passions in Singapore between the Wars through the characters of a suave lawyer Mr Joyce and the more rustic rubber planter, Robert Crosbie. Then there’s the mousey wife, Leslie Crosbie who "wouldn’t hurt a fly"[5] awaiting trial for the murder of popular ladies' man Geoffrey Hammond, claiming self defense in an attempted rape. The letter is a point of evidence that surfaces as evidence to unpick the woman's story, disclosing a character beyond recognition; and is a lever threatening to unwind a fragile marriage.
In the postscript Maugham explains choosing imaginary names for anywhere outside of Singapore because he based a lot of his material on personal experiences though the characters are composites.[6] In his disclaimer he recounts that while the people are imaginary, an incident in The Yellow Streak was "based on a misadventure" of his own.[7]
|
|||||||||||