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LISPETH

"Lispeth" is a short-story written by Rudyard Kipling and it is an example of colonial literature.

The main characters of the short story are two women. The first is an Englishwoman, the wife of a Chaplain, and the other is a native girl, Lispeth and they represented the conflict between two cultures.

The story is set in a real historical time and setting, during the British rule in Kotgarh, a region in the Himalayan mountains. Therefor the intelligent reader can understand the Lisbeth's family background.

She is the only character who is given a name and is portrayed both directly by the third-person narrator and other characters, as well as indirectly through her thoughts and actions.

The narrator depicts her as a seventeen years old beautiful girl. She stands out due to her appearance and height, unusual for her people and she is characterized by her physical appearance: "Lispeth had a Greek face - one of those faces people paint so often, and see so seldom. She was of a pale, ivory colour, and, for her race, extremely tall. Also, she possessed eyes that were wonderful".

Lispeth is the daughter of a Pahari couple who entrust her to the Christian Mission of the area when they die. The original name of the girl is never revealed, and the Chaplain and his wife christen her with the name of Elizabeth. Throughout the story is used the Pahari pronunciation of the name, Lispeth, that referrs to the girl's imperfect mastering of the English manners and socio-cultural code.

Lispeth grows up to be a beautiful and virtuous girl. The narrator, however, is uncertain whether this is a result of the girl being educated according to Christian principles: "Whether Christianity improved Lispeth, or whether the Gods of her own people would have done as much for her under any circumstances, I do not know".

Even though Lispeth seems to stick to the Christian principles she was educated into, the Chaplain's wife can perceive some difficulty in fitting the girl into well defined English schemes. Therefor the narratore characterized the protagonist also by her religion.