Burmese Days

U Po Kyin marches up and down in his living room boasting to his wife, Ma Kin, about his plans to destroy Veraswami with the anonymous letters. Though he despises her intelligence, Ma Kin “was the only person in his immediate circle who was not afraid of him, and there was therefore a pleasure in impressing her” (116). Kyin’s letters have had their intended effect: Having received five letters questioning the doctor’s loyalty, Macgregor now wonders whether Veraswami is the type of man who might hold disloyal opinions though he has never done anything disloyal. Kyin spreads rumors accusing Veraswami of extortion, rape, torture, illegal operations, murder, eating beef, and making homosexual advances. Kyin also helps a man break out of the local jail, sending an anonymous letter to Macgregor the night of the escape claiming that Veraswami, the jail’s superintendent, had been bribed to let the man free. This act finally tips the scales in Macgregor’s mind against Veraswami, since a “jail superintendent who will take bribes to let a prisoner escape is capable of anything,” even sedition (118).

Meanwhile, U Po Kyin has also attacked Veraswami’s relationships with the club members: He has threatened the cowardly Flory; anonymously told Westfield, who knows about Kyin’s illegal activities, that Veraswami is in league with Kyin; hinted to Mrs. Lackersteen that Veraswami is inciting the natives to abduct white women; and relies on Ellis to need no convincing. Pleased with himself, Kyin concludes that he has fully undermined Veraswami and only needs one more push to finish him off. He tells Ma Kin that he secretly arranged the rebellion brewing in Thongwa by hiring a circus magician to pretend to be a powerful shaman and distribute jackets that the natives believe will stop bullets. Ma Kin is alarmed, but U Po Kyin brushes off her concerns, saying that he is only instigating the rebellion, not participating in it. The revolt will be blamed on Veraswami because of Kyin’s letters, while Kyin will be the first arrest the rebels, becoming a hero.

Ma Kin asks why he would do such a horrible thing, since Veraswami will lose his job and many villagers will be killed or imprisoned for life. They don’t need any more money and if U Po Kyin continues to do evil, he will be reborn as a rat or even sent to hell. Kyin tells her that there are greater things than wealth, like fame and greatness. He has taken care of the next life with his plan to finance the building of pagodas. He is not ruining Veraswami just because he dislikes him personally and finds his refusal to take bribes a nuisance, but rather to elevate his own prestige and social position: The Europeans are planning to elect a native member of the club and with Veraswami disgraced, they are sure to elect Kyin. This instantly silences Ma Kin’s objections, and she begins dreaming of her life in the club alongside the English ladies: “For the first time in her life she surveyed U Po Kyin’s intrigues without disapproval” (124).

In the hospital, Veraswami complains to Flory about the ignorance of the villagers and their refusal to submit to surgeries or operations. After Veraswami completes his rounds, Flory goes to his house. Flory has been avoiding Veraswami for two weeks, ever since signing Ellis’s notice at the club, but has resolved to apologize and to show U Po Kyin that he can’t be scared away from his friend. Flory begins apologizing, but Veraswami interrupts and tells him that he understands. Flory persists, admitting that nobody forced him to sign the letter and that he was simply too afraid to stand up to the other members of the club.

Flory asks about the conflict with U Po Kyin. A dejected Veraswami tells him that the rumor campaign is getting worse and explains Kyin’s plot to incite a rebellion and take credit for crushing it. If Veraswami seems to be sympathetic to the rebels, it will end his career, but he has no way of defending himself due to Kyin’s influence. Veraswami has no options except to wait things out and hope that his prestige is enough to maintain his standing with the Europeans. Flory pushes through his cowardice and commits to doing what he feels is his duty. He asks Veraswami if being elected to the club would help his prestige, and Veraswami explains that if he were a club member his reputation would be above reproach. He laments that he has no hope of becoming a member since Kyin has turned everyone against him. Flory promises to propose Veraswami’s name at the meeting, but cautions that the other members might not support it. Veraswami is overcome with emotion, almost begins crying, and warns Flory about making an enemy of U Po Kyin.

As he walks home, Flory laughs that he has committed to proposing Veraswami’s membership, which will cause a large row at the club. Only a month ago, the prospect would have terrified him, but he now feels exhilarated. He is changing for Elizabeth, renewing his lease on life because Elizabeth has “brought back to him the air of England” (131).

When he arrives home, Flory instantly realizes that Ma Hla May is in his house, which is confirmed when Ko S’la runs out with concern on his face. Flory orders her out, but May insists on speaking to him in the bedroom. Her appearance has degenerated in the week since he threw her out. May angrily shouts at him that she cannot return to her village in disgrace after telling them that she had become a white man’s wife. He has ruined her and stolen her youth by keeping her as his concubine for two years and then throwing her out without warning. Flory knows that May is correct, and cannot bring himself to look at her or tell her that he could not keep her as a lover while courting Elizabeth. He promises to give her money, and to send more when he is paid. At this suggestion, May falls to the floor wailing and grabbing his ankles. Flory insists that she stop, but she cries and asks why he hates her. She lays flat on the floor and begs to be taken back, saying that he can treat her worse than a slave. Flory realizes that she doesn’t love him, and is only looking to get her old status back. He promises to send her money to start a shop in the bazaar, giving her his remaining 50 rupees.

Knees trembling, Flory watches Ma Hla May leave and wonders to himself, “Where is the life that late I led?” (131).

Flory and Elizabeth canoe upriver for their afternoon shooting trip. Elizabeth’s back aches from having to sit in a canoe, but she is delighted to be holding a gun in her hands for the first time. The leader of small village invites them into his house, but Elizabeth never wants to go into a native house again after her experience at Li Yeik’s, so she asks for chairs to be brought out onto the veranda. Elizabeth, excited to start shooting, pesters Flory with questions but he warns her that game shooting is often disappointing here because of the thick jungle. When Flory describes shooting, Elizabeth loves him and finds him handsome, in contrast to when he discusses art and books. She encourages Flory to tell a story about shooting a tiger; he does it somewhat perfunctorily, not realizing that “talk such as this reassured her and made up for all the times when he had bored her” (141).

Flory and Elizabeth set out on their expedition, accompanied by Ko S’la, an old hunter, and six local youths serving as beaters. The natives perform a ritual for good luck, but don’t scare up at the first location, disappointing Elizabeth. At the second location, the beaters scare up a flock of green pigeons. Elizabeth fires wide and the force of the gunshot knocks her to the ground. Flory manages to shoot two of the green pigeons and a large imperial pigeon. Elizabeth is at first envious, but then adores Flory for his shooting powers. At the next two locations, Elizabeth is still not able to hit anything as she is too excited to aim her gun properly, but Flory hits several more birds. At the fifth location, they hear an imperial pigeon cooing in a large tree overhead. Flory coaches Elizabeth through the shot, and she manages to hit the bird. Elizabeth holds the dead animal, finding the experience sexually thrilling: “she was conscious of an extraordinary desire to fling her arms round Flory’s neck and kiss him; and in some way it was the killing of the pigeon that made her feel this” (145). At the next location, Elizabeth shoots instinctively, killing a jungle cock as it flies away. Flory excitedly praises her skill as “with a shock they discover that their hands, his right and her left, were clasped tightly together” (146). Flory takes her other hand and moves to kiss her, but remembers his birthmark and pulls away, not wanting their first kiss to be in the jungle during daylight. 

The guides inform Flory that they know where a leopard disturbed by their shots might be hiding. Elizabeth insists on going after it, despite Flory’s warnings about the potential danger. Assisted by the Burmese, they surround the leopard’s likely hiding place and wait. After some time, Elizabeth disappointedly assumes that they have lost the animal, but one of the beaters shows her the leopard’s head raised above the brush. Flory springs up and shoots the leopard twice, wounding, but not killing it. They follow its trail and find the leopard writhing on its belly, and Flory delivers the coup de grace. The natives string up the leopard on a bamboo pole and everyone returns to the village.

As they walk back together, Flory offers the cured leopard skin to Elizabeth, praising her for keeping her composure during the hunt. They do not say anything else to each other, but mutually understand that they will meet that evening at the club for Flory to propose.

After Elizabeth exits her bath, Lackersteen pinches her leg in a sexual manner, exposing her to the idea that incest isn’t beyond the pale for him: “This was her first introduction to the fact that some men are capable of making love to their nieces” (152). When Flory arrives at the club in the evening, Mrs. Lackersteen is furious with her drunk and sulking husband. Elizabeth is terrified—she is broke and has no home except her uncle’s. Worried about what she would do if she could no longer stay there because of his persistent sexual advances, Elizabeth makes up her mind to accept Flory’s marriage proposal. Although their shooting expedition brought her close to actually loving Flory, by the time she got back to town, her doubts about his age, birthmark, and highbrow way of speaking returned. Nevertheless, she resolves to marry him to escape her uncle.

Flory notices how much warmer Elizabeth is acting towards him and they go for a private walk. They embrace, but before kissing her, Flory asks if his birthmark bothers her. Elizabeth tells him it doesn’t, and they kiss for the first time. Flory feels his isolation and loneliness melting away and tries to tell Elizabeth what she means to him. He attempts to explain to her what his life had been like in Burma, and how she rescued him from his loneliness, but is unable to convey his feelings. He tries again, this time describing the difficulties of life in the jungle, which would be bearable if one were not alone. Elizabeth’s mind wanders as she half-listens and waits for the proposal. Flory begins to propose, but Mrs. Lackersteen calls Elizabeth from the main room. As Elizabeth gets up, Flory kisses her and starts proposing again, when a sudden earthquake knocks them to the ground.

Unharmed, Flory and Elizabeth return inside where Lackersteen orders drinks for everyone. The exhilaration of surviving an earthquake causes “an extraordinary joie de vivre” (159), with everyone is eager to talk since “an earthquake is such fun when it is over” (159). Everyone stays in the club until midnight, drinking and talking excitedly about this and other earthquakes, even including the native butler in their conversations. Flory does not propose that night, since “one cannot propose marriage immediately after an earthquake” (160), but goes to bed with a peaceful mind, knowing that Elizabeth will accept him.