Cultures of Corruption: British Libertinism and Its Colonial Manifestations
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CULTURES OF CORRUPTION: BRITISH LIBERTINISM AND ITS COLONIAL MANIFESTATIONS By SAYANTI GANGULY PUCKETT Bachelor of Arts Presidency College Calcutta, India 1998 Master of Arts Jadavpur University Calcutta, India 2000 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2009 CULTURES OF CORRUPTION: BRITISH LIBERTINISM AND ITS COLONIAL MANIFESTATIONS Dissertation Approved: Richard Frohock Dissertation Adviser Robert Mayer William Decker Perry Gethner A. Gordon Emslie Dean of the Graduate College ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation could not have been completed without the generous help of many people who unstintingly gave their time, energy, and expertise for its success. I was fortunate to have an excellent dissertation advisory committee who helped me with every step of this project. Dr. Richard Frohock, the chair of my dissertation committee, has been a kind mentor and patient reader of this work. He has read my dissertation closely several times, and his comments have contributed enormously in shaping the argument of the dissertation. He also enthusiastically supported me for numerous awards that I applied for, and kindly guided me through many conference presentations that were indispensible for the completion of my dissertation and doctorate degree. I have been very fortunate to have such an extraordinarily helpful advisor who guided me through this daunting project. I am also deeply indebted to Dr. Robert Mayer for his close readings of my drafts. Much of the argument in this dissertation was prompted by his insightful and constructive criticism of earlier drafts. Afternoon discussions with him helped me think much more clearly about the arguments I wanted to make, and I thoroughly enjoyed conferences with him and looked forward to them. He not only helped me with my thinking on this subject but also pointed out bad habits in my writing. Dr. Mayer’s faith in my ability to complete this project meant a lot to me; it gave me the confidence I needed to finish the iii dissertation, and I sincerely thank him for being a wonderful mentor to me throughout my time at Oklahoma State University. Dr. William Decker took me under his wing during my first semester at Oklahoma State University when I was his Teaching Assistant. I am thankful for his support during a particularly tough time in my life as a graduate student, and his consideration and acuity in reading this work. Working with Dr. Decker as his T.A. and as a graduate student in his class has been a very rewarding experience. His insightful comments will be immensely helpful as I continue to work on this project in the future. Dr. Perry Gethner helped clear up many fuzzy parts of the dissertation through his sharp reading of my work. I greatly appreciated his insightful comments on drafts, and he helped me improve my writing considerably. I also want to thank him for the presents of books and cookies he often had for me. I was truly blessed to have an advisory committee whose support was always generous. This project could never have been completed without their constant encouragement and guidance My deepest gratitude and love are for my parents, Swapan and Mukti Ganguly. I could never have undertaken this project (or any other) without their never-ending love, support, encouragement, and patience. I especially want to thank my mother for her visits to College Street to hunt down primary texts on the babus for me, and my father for lightening my mood every time I hit a rough patch with my writing or research. My parents will derive far more pleasure out of writing “Dr.” before my name than I ever will. Although my uncle, Ranjit Roy, did not live to see the completion of this degree, I know how delighted this would make him. I miss him every day, and am grateful for the magical times I had with him. I can never be thankful enough for the love, joy, and fun that Roxy and Ava have brought into my life. They never missed an opportunity to jump iv over piles of books and trample on the laptop in their efforts to get into my lap every time I sat on the floor to write. And finally, I want to thank my husband, Caleb. His boundless love, endless patience, thoughtfulness, and unfaltering belief in me sustain me every day. He always lent me his ears, and discussed my ideas for as long as I wanted to; he soothed me during tough times when my writing wasn’t going very well and I was grumpy, and he always had wonderfully positive things to say about everything I wrote. I am thrilled by the life I live with him, and I dedicate this dissertation with all its imperfections to Caleb and to my parents. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 Sources Used in the Dissertation .............................................................................8 Outline of Study .....................................................................................................15 Chapter Outline ......................................................................................................19 I. THROUGH THE SPLINTERED LOOKING GLASS: DEFINING THE BRNGALI BABU ....................................................................................................................37 Loss of Face: the Emergence of a New Identity ....................................................40 Price of a New Respectibility: the Rise of the Babus ............................................45 Between the Book and the Bottle: the Babus’ Education and Influences ..............58 Conclusion .............................................................................................................80 II. CLASHING COLORS: COLONIAL PERSPECTIVES AND FASHIONING THE SELF ......................................................................................................................84 Images and Impressions: Restoration and Colonial Mimicry ................................86 Tailoring The Self: the Rake’s and Babu’s Clothing .............................................97 The Definitive Word: Culture, Language, and Literature ....................................121 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................139 vi Chapter Page III. WAYWARD SONS: THE SEARCH FOR SELF OUTSIDE OF TRADITIION ...................................................................................................141 Under the Influence: Fathers and Authority Figures ...........................................143 Dregs and Debts: Entertainment, Leisure, and Luxury ........................................165 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................186 IV. THE BONDS OF MATRIMONY: THE PRICE OF BEING A LIBERTINE’S BRIDE..............................................................................................................189 Wooing the Purse: Money-Minded Marriages ....................................................192 Divisive Liberties: The Plight of the Libertine’s Wives ......................................211 Crown of Horns: the Cuckolding of Inept Husbands...........................................233 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................248 V. STRANGE BEDFELLOWS: THE LIBERTINE’S INFIDELITIES AND INABILITY TO REFORM...............................................................................250 Variety is the Spice of Life: the Libertine’s Extra-Marital Affairs .....................253 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................278 CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................................281 REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................292 APPENDICES ...........................................................................................................303 vii INTRODUCTION In Restoration drama the rake’s dashing wit and outlandish lifestyle remain in focus, and his schemes drive the action, which is never complete until he has achieved his ends. It is not difficult to trace the rake’s influence on numerous and diverse character types such as Samuel Richardson’s egotistical and vicious Lovelace, Henry Fielding’s extravagant Tom Jones, and Oscar Wilde’s dandies, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff. Additionally, as Harold Weber points out “important aspects of the rake characterize figures as diverse as Byron’s early Romantic heroes, the frightening villains of gothic fiction, and the Wickhams and Crawfords of Jane Austen’s prose comedies of manners” (H. Weber 184). The uninhibited, self-indulgent, exhibitionist spirit of the rake, however, was not confined to the Western world or its literature. Nearly two hundred years after his existence in England, the rake became well known in colonial Calcutta as a new class of young, educated, and self-absorbed men embarked on a life of libertinism that clearly resembled the hedonistic, rebellious, and riotous manner in which the Restoration rakes had lived their lives. The fact that the Restoration rake’s way of life was taken up again in nineteenth-century colonial Calcutta attests to his ability to find resonance well beyond the borders