“The Tea Planter’s Wife” by Dinah Jefferies

It’s very difficult to write some quality historical prose and even more difficult to set it in a foreign country, as it demands tons of research into the subject but Dinah Jefferies seems to be very hard-working in this aspect. I had some novels that I failed to finish, as throughout the text they felt awfully off-key with the period and the culture they described, but here I knew at once that the author knows what she is writing about.

The setting is colonized Ceylon (presently Sri-Lanka) at the beginning of the 20^th century. From the very beginning the reader can feel that the author is in love with this country (the fact that she willingly admits in the postface telling about her childhood year spent in Malaya very similar in culture and wildlife and her trip to Sri-Lanka while writing the book). The novel vividly describes Sri-Lankan wildlife and people touching upon several cultural milestones.

Anyway Sri-Lanka is not the main topic of the novel. This book is about prejudices and how they can lead to tragedies in human lives – both big and small.

19-year-old Gwendoline Hooper comes to her husband’s plantation on Ceylon in mid 1920s and sinks into a completely new culture and way of life. The household holds a lot of secrets and surprises for her and life of a planter’s wife turns out to be not the bed of roses that Gwen expected.

The period chosen by the author is a tough time for all British colonies but simultaneously the time of greatest expectations. In 1929 due to the activity of Mahatma Gandhi India started an official movement for independence and the revolutionary mood quickly spread into other countries under British rule. “The Tea Planter’s Wife” shows first riots on Ceylon against the British government and the despotism of estate owners.

Although the slavery was officially abolished in British colonies almost a hundred years before (in 1838) and coolies were paid workers, their working conditions haven’t profoundly changed. Laurence’s manager confesses that the workers have been beaten for any misdemeanour for as long as he can remember and he sees nothing special in it. Although Laurence tries to provide basic medical treatment for coolies and education for their children, this is certainly not sufficient, their villages are places of extreme poverty and the rest of planters are by far not as democratic. Surely we all understand that the date of official slavery abolishment is only the beginning of the process and it is yet very far from real democracy and equality. The author emphasizes that fact once more. The younger generation of planters understands that the ways should be changed but most of them are afraid of the upcoming changes, afraid to lose all they have and be ousted from the country in case it wins its independence.

What is particularly curious is that the difference here lays not only between the colonizers and the native people. Within the country the contradictions are strong as well. The author constantly contrasts the Tamils and the Singhalese, the Hindus and the Muslims. These contrasts make the independence movement develop much slower than it could.  

     

This difficult situation in the country becomes the background for Gwen’s personal tragedy. In Hooper family everyone seems to have a secret or two and soon enough the time comes for the girl to have her own. When Gwen gives birth to a long-expected baby, her happiness, it seems, should be doubled, as her newborn son comes together with a little sister. But all that Mrs. Hooper can feel at the moment is shock as her daughter turns out to be dark-skinned. Gwen fails to understand how it could have happened and starts making all kind of assumptions but whatever she thinks there is a hard question she has to answer – how to explain her husband why their daughter doesn’t resemble any of them. Her contemplations on the matter resolve in the hardest choice of her life…

The racial issue clashes with the power of family bonds and, sadly enough, the race wins. The author shows how the closest people can be divided by race prejudices. Gwen realizes that society would never accept a girl with the skin colour of her servants as her daughter and the owner of the plantation.

This situation raises gender issues in the novel with Gwen representing the classical feminine image – she is resolved to be a good wife and housekeeper, her main aim is to support her husband and her principal thought is about him, not about the children or herself.

Traditionally it was the woman who was blamed for all the troubles and problems in marriage. This idea is so strongly imposed by culture that Gwen has no doubts and blames herself immediately. When Laurence acts reserved and estranged, she takes it on her account. When the twins appear, she doesn’t even think of sharing her troubles with the husband who happened to be on the road at that moment. The secret she holds keeps consuming her from within and being afraid of social condemn she fears to share it with anyone, except for the old maid who acted as her midwife.

Mistrust to her from Laurence in business matters is also significant. Woman’s place is in the house, plantation is for men only, that’s what he believes. But Gwen is curious and decisive, she needs constant action and businesslike mind. Although she tries hard to correspond to the image of a perfect wife, by and by the young woman begins to understand that she can be much more than that.

The tragedy of the Hooper family is entirely based on assumptions the people make about each other and stereotypical roles they try to play. Gender and racial prejudices turn out to be of more importance than common sense, kindness or even family relations.

But very soon Gwen comes to realize that she needs to change her priorities and if she needs to go against all conventions in doing so, so be it. We can observe how the character changes from the typical young housewife in the beginning to a strong independent woman in the end. Laurence’s attitude towards his wife changes as well as well as his attitude to business matters. Both of them are not entirely new people in the end but surely they are different enough from the “earlier versions” of themselves and they are ready to embrace the new upcoming world full of changes.

“The Tea Planter’s Wife” is a read written in Maugham’s style with a touch of suspense and postmodern themes introduced into it. It’s a colourful insight into Sri-Lankan culture and the life on a tea plantation. The author gives us a glance on the Great Depression from another side of the ocean and describes the national revival in one of the British colonies. Although the plot is based on a tragedy, or rather several tragedies, this is generally a high-spirited novel can bring the reader many emotional moments.