Chapter X. THE LIGHT THAT FAILED

THE LIGHT THAT FAILED

By Rudyard Kipling (1865—1936)

Rudyard Kipling is a well-known English poet, nov­elist and short-story writer. Kipling's literary heritage is marred by crude imperialist tendencies—the glori­fication of the British empire, the assertion of the superior­ity of the white colonizer over the native of Asia and Afri­ca, the cult of strength and courage. But Kipling is by no means all of a piece. Although reactionary in many of his political opinions, he was nevertheless a piercing critic of the society in which he 1ived. Everyone knows and loves "The Jungle Book" and the "'Just So Stories" written for children with a deep understanding and subtle humour. He often feels for the failures, the under­dogs, the men whom life has beaten. It is when he speaks of any true sorrow or misfortune that he becomes a really penetrative writer. The present selection is illustrative of all this.

"The Light that Failed" is Kipling's first novel. It be­longs to the early period in his literary career. The novel centres round the tragic fate of the painter Dick Heldar. A gifted artist, he goes blind in the prime of life. When Kipling portrays Dick at the crucial moment of his life, when he speaks of the terrible loneliness Dick faces, he does it with profound intuition and understanding.

Chapter X

Dick sought an oculist,—the best in London. He was certain that the local practitioner* did not know anything about his trade, and more certain that Maisie** would laugh at him if he were forced to wear spectacles.

"I've neglected the warnings of my lord the stomach too long.¹ Hence these spots before the eyes, Binkie.*** I can see as well as I ever could."

As he entered the dark hall that led to the consulting-room a man cannoned against him. Dick saw the face as it hurried out into the street.²

"That's the writer-type. He has the same modelling of the forehead as Torp.**** He looks very sick. Probably heard something he didn't like."

Even as he thought, a great fear came upon Dick, a fear that made him hold his breath as he walked into the oculist's waiting-room, with the heavy carved furniture, the dark-green paper, and the sober-hued prints on the wall. He recognised a reproduction of one of his own sketches.

Many people were waiting their turn before him.³ His eye was caught by a flaming red-and-gold Christmas-carol book.***** Little child­ren came to that eye-doctor, and they needed large-type amusement.

"That's idolatrous bad Art," he said, drawing the book towards himself. "From the anatomy of the angels, it has been made in Germa­ny."⁴ He opened it mechanically, and there leaped to his eyes a verse printed in red ink—

The next good joy that Mary had,

It was the joy of three,

To see her good Son Jesus Christ

Making the blind to see:

Making the blind to see, good Lord,

And happy may we be.

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

To all eternity!

Dick read and re-read the verse till his turn came, and the doctor was bending above him seated in an arm-chair. The blaze of a gas-mic­roscope in his eyes made him wince. The doctor's hand touched the scar of the sword-cut on Dick's head, and Dick explained briefly how he had come by it. When the flame was removed, Dick saw the doctor's face, and the fear came upon him again. The doctor wrapped himself in a mist of words.⁵ Dick caught allusions to "scar", "frontal bone", "optic nerve", "'extreme caution", and the "avoidance of mental an­xiety." ⁶

"Verdict?" he said faintly. "My business is painting, and I daren't waste time. What do you make of it?"

Again the whirl of words, but this time they conveyed a meaning.

"Can you give me anything to drink?"

Many sentences were pronounced in that darkened room, and the prisoners often needed cheering.⁷ Dick found a glass of liqueur brandy in his hand.

"As far as I can gather," he said, coughing above the spirit, "you call it decay of the optic nerve, or something, and therefore hopeless. What is my time-limit, avoiding all strain and worry?"

"Perhaps one year."

"MyGod! And if I don't take care of myself?"

"I really could not say. One cannot ascertain the exact amount of injury inflicted by the sword-cut.⁸ The scar is an old one, and — exposure to the strong light of the desert, did you say?—with exces­sive application to fine work? I really could not say."

"I beg your pardon, but it has come without any warning. If you will let me, I'll sit here for a minute, and then I'll go. You have been very good in telling me the truth. Without any warning; without any warning. Thanks."

Dick went into the street, and was rapturously received by Binkie. ⁹ "We've got it very badly, little dog!¹⁰ Just as badly as we can get it. We'll go to the Park to think it out."

They headed for a certain tree that Dick knew well, and they sat down to think, because his legs were trembling under him and there was cold fear at the pit of his stomach.

"How could it have come without any warning?¹¹ It's as sudden as being shot. It's the living death, Binkie. We're to be shut up in the dark in one year if we're careful, and we shan't see anybody, and we shall never have anything we want,¹² not though we live to be a hundred." Binkie wagged his tail joyously. "Binkie, we must think. Let's see how it feels to be blind." Dick shut his eyes, and flaming com­mas and Catherine-wheels****** floated inside the lids. Yet when he looked across the Park the scope of his vision was not contracted. He could see perfectly, until a procession of slow-wheeling fireworks defiled across his eyeballs.

"Little dorglums,******* we aren't at all well. Let's go home. If only Torp were back, now!"

COMMENTARY

1. "I've neglected the warnings of my lord the stomach too long."
The seemingly jocular reference to the stomach shows Dick's desire to cheer himself up, his attempt at putting down his eye trouble to indi­gestion, at fighting his growing fear.

2. Dick saw the face as it hurried out into the street.

An instance of metonymy can be observed in this sentence (see commentary to Lessons 1 and 2). Speaking of the face that hurried out into the street Kipling means the man whose face really impressed Dick. The use of metonymy here draws attention to the expression of the man's face, the expression that caught Dick's eye and gave rise to a new wave of fear.

3. Many people were waiting their turn before him.

Note the transitive use of the verb ''to wait". This is rather a rare case. Commonly the verb "to waif is used intransitively with the pre­position "for".

4. "That's idolatrous bad Art," he said, drawing the book towards himself. "From the anatomy of the angels, it has been made in Ger­many."

The binding and the illustrations of the Christmas-carol book re­vealed bad taste and God-worship. The manner of painting the bodies of the angels (sentimental and photographic) was that of the German school.

5. The doctor wrapped himself in a mist of words. Again the whirl of words...

In these sentences the novelist uses one of the most expressive tropes—a metaphor. It consists in the use of a word or a phrase to describe an object with which it is not commonly associated. This figu­rative use of a word or a phrase is based on some existing or supposed resemblance. The unusual application of a name or a descriptive term fixes the attention on those characteristics of the object described that are meant to be accentuated.

The metaphor can he expressed by any part of speech.

In the present selection one comes across the metaphorical use of verbs:

...a man cannoned against him.

The doctor wrapped himself in a mist of words.

and nouns:

f. e. Again the whirl of words...

...a mist of words.

6. "frontal bone", "optic nerve", "mental anxiety"

The introduction of medical terms into the narration creates the atmosphere of a doctor's consulting-room.

7. Many sentences were pronounced in that darkened room, and
the prisoners often needed cheering.

Another instance of the metaphorical use of nouns could be ob­served here (sentence, prisoner). These words are commonly associated with the court of justice, not with the doctor's consulting-room. Their use in this context stresses the hopelessness of Dick's position. The word "verdict" used above plays the same role.

8. "One cannot ascertain the exact amount of injury inflicted by
the sword-cut."

Note a vast difference in the vocabulary used by the doctor and by Dick. A careful selection of dry unemotional terms characterizes all the doctor's remarks. Professional coolness and indifference of a suc­cessful practitioner are felt beyond his measured speech. It is all the more evident, as contrasted with Dick's informal emotional utter­ances: "Verdict?" "What do you make of it?" etc.

9. Dick went info the street, and was rapturously received by Binkie.

Binkie wagged his tail joyously.

The enthusiastic way in which the dog met his master only accentuates Dick's loneliness. The only living being that was with him at the moment was his dog.

10. "We've got it very badly, little dog!"

"We're to be shut up..."

The use of the pronoun "we" is of interest here. Kipling subtly reflects Dick's attempt to share his tragedy with someone if only a dog.

11. "How could it have come without any warning?"

"Could + Perfect Infinitive" expresses Dick's incredulity, his refusal to believe in the coming blindness.

Note that "could" is used to express doubt, incredulity only in interrogative and negative sentences.

12. "We're to be shut up in the dark... and we shan't see anybody, and we shall never have anything we want..."

We observe here such an arrangement of similarly built clauses (parallel constructions) which is called climax. It means that each clause (phrase or sentence) is more significant in meaning than the previous one. The stylistic value of this figure of speech is emphasis. And indeed the emotional tone of this sentence where each clause surpasses the previous one in intensity of expression is suggestive of great nervous strain.

WORD AND WORD COMBINATIONS TO BE MEMORIZED

seek (v)

neglect (v)

amusement (n)

bend (v)

wince (v)

remove (v)

come upon (on)

verdict (n)

whirl (n)

convey (v)

cheer (v)

decay (n)

inflict (v)

rapturously (adv.)

head (for) (v)

float (v)

vision(n)

to hold one's breath to wrap in a mist of words

to catch one's eye to waste time

to leap to one's eyes to pronounce a sentence

to come by something

EXERCISES

I. Explain and expand on the following:

1.That's the writer-type. He has the same modeling of the
forehead as Torp.

2.His eye was caught by a flaming red-and-gold Christmas-carol
book.

3.Little children came to that eye-doctor, and they needed large-
type amusement.

4.When the flame was removed, Dick saw the doctor's face, and
the fear came upon him again.

5.The doctor wrapped himself in a mist of words.

6. Again the whirl of words, but this time they conveyed a meaning.

7.Many sentences were pronounced in that darkened room, and
the prisoners often needed cheering.

8.Dick shut his eyes, and flaming commas and Catherine-wheels
floated inside the lids.

II. Paraphrase the following sentences from the text:

1.As he entered the dark hall that led to the consulting-room a
man cannoned against him.

2.He looks very sick.

3.Even as he thought, a great fear came upon Dick, a fear that made
him hold his breath...

4.He opened it (the book) mechanically, and there leaped to his
eyes a verse printed in red ink...

5. Verdicts?... What do you make of it?"

6.They headed for a certain tree that Dick knew well...

III. Paraphrase the following sentences using expressions from the
text:

1. From what the doctor said Dick understood what awaited him.

2.He walked towards a bench he often sat on.

3.A great fear seized Dick.

4.This fear left him winded.

5. Dick's attention was attracted by a reproduction of one of his
own sketches.

6.Dick wanted to know how the doctor diagnosed his case.

7.He explained to the doctor when and where he had been wounded
and how he had got the scar of the sword-cut.

8.He asked the oculist to tell him how much time might pass before
he went blind.

9.The dog was delighted to see his master.

DISCUSSION OF THE TEXT

I. Questions for the discussion:

1. What types of narration does the extract represent?

2. In what key is it written? What is the general slant?

3. In what parts does it fall? Characterize each, give a title.

4. Read the first paragraph. What does Dick trouble about? Does it seem that he worries about trifles?

5. Comment on the incongruity between his worries in the first paragraph and the tragedy in the end.

6. Do you think that Dick tries to cheer himself up?

7. What does he notice in the face of the man hurrying out? Analyze the use of the metonymy?

8. His thoughts about the man are provoked by fear on the one hand and his professional look on the other hand, aren’t they?

9. Is there a reiteration in the 5^th paragraph? What atmosphere does it create?

10. What epithets help to describe the waiting-room? What effect does this description produce?

11. Do you think that Dick is a good artist? Prove it (with the help of the sentence "He recognized a reproduction…").

12. Analyze the epithets to the "book".

13. Why is the oculist in the 6^th paragraph called an “eye-doctor”?

14. What does Dick think about the book?

15. Is Dick nervous? Can you prove it?

16. Comment on the repetition of the "eye" in the 6^th and 7^th paragraphs.

17. What is the rhyme about? Does it seem symbolic?

18. Comment on the reiteration of "read".

19. Why do you think the writer mentions all the details of the oculist’s examining?

20. Can you prove that tension is growing in the 8^th paragraph?

21. Define the stylistic device in the sentence "the doctor wrapped…".

22. Do the metaphors underline Dick’s fear.

23. Find in paragraphs 9 – 12 the words of the court usage. What do they mean?

24. Characterize the doctor’s speech.

25. How can you prove that Dick is in shock?

26. Find the repetition in the 17^th paragraph. What does it express?

27. How does the dog meet Dick? Can you compare Dick’s and the dog’s feelings? Why are they put in contrast?

28. Does Dick’s physical condition reflect his fear? How is his fear described?

29. Why does Dick shut his eyes? Why is his perfect sight mentioned?

30. Characterize Dick’s feelings in the end of the extract.

II. Complete the table:

* the local practitioner - local doctor Dick had applied to

** Maisie – the girl Dick loved

*** Binkie – Dick’s dog

**** Torp (Torpenhow) –a journalist, the friend Dick shared rooms with

***** Christmas-carol book – a book of Christmas hymns (carols)

****** Catherine-wheels –rotating fireworks

******* dorglums – here evidently stands for “doggie”

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