Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

“He had never thought of [his own death] before. It was ridiculous to think of it now, he reprimanded himself. No good acting like a poor old man just because Bertie had died.”

One of the Major’s flaws is to avoid the expression of anything he thinks of as sentiment. This quirk makes him overly reserved, and he fears that expressing his emotions will make him appear ridiculous. In reality, however, this restraint prevents him from fully acknowledging emotions such as grief. Throughout the novel, the Major’s reserve is linked to an expression of traditional British masculinity, and this becomes a point of interrogation and revision as he decides what behavior is most appropriate for him.

“It surprised him that his grief was sharper than in the past few days. He had forgotten that grief does not decline in a straight line or along a slow curve like a graph in a child’s math book.”

This fresh image is characteristic of the figurative language that Simonson uses throughout the novel. The prose style is thoughtful and precise and is often delivered in a dry voice that amplifies the subtle satire. Yet the novel is also full of observations about human nature that offer realistic portrayals of the characters’ experiences, and this observation on the nature of grief is a prime example.

“You and I are men of duty, men of honor. But we live in a different world today, my dear Major.”

Much of the Major’s conflict derives from the sense that his values have become quaint and old-fashioned and are no longer principles by which the rest of the world lives. This idea speaks to the sense of tradition that is one of the novel’s pervasive themes. The irony of this specific passage can be found in the fact that Mortimer Teale, whose ambition and unctuous behavior the Major finds distasteful, makes this claim that he shares the Major’s same sense of duty.

“Of course there is the law of the land […] But we have talked before of the pressures of the family. One may be the most ancient of charters, Major, but the other is immutable.”

Mrs. Ali’s statement introduces the novel’s thematic focus on The Tension Between Family Obligations and Personal Fulfillment. To some extent, her personal struggle is also one with tradition, another thematic preoccupation of the book. The acknowledgement of these concerns foreshadows the fact that the novel’s climactic moments will involve a dramatic reckoning with this issue.

“‘Black tie is not a theme,’ said the Major. ‘It’s the preferred attire for people of good breeding.’”

While the Major tries to exercise restraint, he is compelled on certain occasions to defend what he sees as points of etiquette and decorum. In many cases, the Major defends tradition or convention, such as this perception about the kind of formal wear that is appropriate for the golf club’s annual dinner. Notably, the Major’s favorite concerns, like appropriate conversation or dress, do not extend to the cultural prejudices that other characters in the novel express.

“He rose again from his chair and resolved never to mention the gun again. Instead, he would slip away to his own small fireside and try to find consolation in being alone. Perhaps he would even place an order for a single gun case, something with a simple silver monogram and a lining more subdued than dark red velvet.”

The Major’s expected inheritance of Bertie’s gun plays into the theme of Traditional Households and the Resistance to Change, but ironically, it also points to a reunion or reconciliation that can only happen when one of the brothers is gone. The image of consoling himself at his fireside emphasizes the sense of loss that the Major feels at both losing his brother and over being denied full possession of the family heirloom that he feels should be his. Likewise, the image of the single gun in its case foreshadows the consequence at the end when Bertie’s gun is lost.

“It was one of the things he had to watch out for, living alone. It was important to keep up standards, to not let things become fuzzy around the edges.”

This reflection of the Major’s, while he is preparing to have Mrs. Ali for tea, illustrates the decorum that the Major maintains and the principles to which he adheres. At the same time, his wish to impress her and his selection of Nancy’s cups for the tea subtly indicate his wish for companionship.

“‘Of course,’ said Mrs. Rasool. ‘Everyone will be very happy to dine like the Emperor Shah Jehan and no one will find it too spicy.’”

While the Rasools are extravagant and even ostentatious in the Major’s eyes, small undercurrents of Mrs. Rasool’s discussion with Grace show that she has learned to adapt to a predominantly white British customer base, especially when it comes to a tolerance for spice in food. Mrs. Rasool overlooks the fact that the Mughal Empire, which is part of India’s history, is considered an exotic or fascinating topic for the organizers of the golf club dinner—a subtle expression of cultural prejudice that they do not even recognize in themselves. The Emperor Shah Jehan, one of the rulers of the Mughal Empire, is famous for building the Taj Mahal.

“A lady is comfortable around all persons once properly introduced […] I am proud to say that I have not a bone of bias in me.”

Mrs. Augerspier, the widow who rents Roger and Sandy their weekend cottage, represents the type of insensitivity that refuses to identify itself as racism, since she incorrectly insists that her objections are on the basis of class or manner and are not an ethnic or cultural bias. Mrs. Augerspier comes across as crude and greedy while boasting of her own superior breeding, and this contrast stands as one of many examples of social satire in the novel.

“I’ve learned to tell the difference between the people who can really hurt you and those who just want to look down their noses.”

Amina, in contrast to the ways Mrs. Ali and Mrs. Rasool deal with discrimination, represents a different line of response, which is to be openly combative when she feels she is being slighted. As a single mother of lower socioeconomic status, Amina experiences prejudice on the basis of both race and class. Her assertiveness invites a conversation about the possible responses to Cultural Prejudice and the Possibility of Integration.

“‘Abdul Wahid, you will not attempt to lecture me on what is appropriate,’ Mrs. Ali said sharply. ‘I will rule my own life, thank you.’”

Mrs. Ali works against the prejudicial beliefs of her father’s and husband’s Pakistani culture by defying the expectation that she should obey her nephew because he is male. She also refuses to comply with his stricter interpretation of their faith. Her wish for independence illustrates The Tension Between Family Obligations and Personal Fulfillment, while her rebellion against her nephew’s attempts at management mirrors the Major’s efforts not to let Roger treat him like a doddering old man.

“In this shrunken world, without Nancy, without Bertie, it seemed very sad to be indifferent to one’s own son.”

Part of the Major’s character arc involves coming to a new understanding of his son, and these struggles reflect the novel’s focus on The Tension Between Family Obligations and Personal Fulfillment. Roger and the Major are foils in several respects, not least in their desire for companionship and the ways in which they choose to treat the women they desire.

“‘A shop is a curious thing,’ said Mrs. Ali. ‘I have always found it to be a tiny free space in a world with many limits.’”

This passage makes it clear that Mrs. Ali relishes her sense of independence, which is at odds with the familial expectations placed upon her. Her search for a place where she can feel that she belongs—a place that offers freedom and fulfillment—parallels the Major’s own quest.

“The age of great men, when a single mind of intelligence and vision might change the destiny of the world, was long gone. He had been born into a much smaller age.”

This brief reflection of the Major’s captures his admiration for the deeds of great men and aligns with his respect for his father and his sense of national and familial pride, which are defining aspects of his character. This image of living in a smaller world also expresses the Major’s sense that, as a widower, his life has diminished in meaning.

“He opened his mouth to say that she looked extremely beautiful and deserved armfuls of roses, but the words were lost in committee somewhere, shuffled aside by the parts of his head that worked full-time on avoiding ridicule.”

While others often look to the Major as a judge of good sense or good taste, this passage reveals his fear of ridicule, which helps to explain the reticence he displays. This effort sometimes poses conflicts for his character when he opts not to confront another person for their bad behavior. In the end, his growth is based upon his gradual improvement in learning to express himself and in disregarding the shallow judgments of others.

“‘Perhaps it’s an allergic reaction,’ said Mrs. Ali in a mild voice. ‘The British Empire may cause that.’”

This passage crystallizes Mrs. Ali’s sharply perceptive character, an extension of the dry but pointed humor that Simonson uses to examine the conflicts of cultural prejudice within this comedy of manners. In the midst of a celebration of British conquest in India, Mrs. Ali cuttingly exposes the fact that the short-sighted valorization of the British Empire insults those who were its subjects and had a far different—and far more traumatic— experience.

“People never speak of it directly, but you know that these things are difficult in a small community like ours.”

The Vicar of St. Mary’s, in trying to counsel the Major about having a relationship with Mrs. Ali, expresses the sense that the Major should accommodate the community’s small-minded attitudes rather challenging or overcoming them. This conversation becomes part of the range of responses to discrimination that the novel explores.

“He feared, however, that his son must be at fault if such a self-possessed woman had been reduced to the fragility of glass.”

The image of Sandy as fragile contrasts sharpy with the smooth self-assurance that she displayed in earlier meetings, and it is clear that Sandy has been deeply wounded by her relationship with Roger. The Major’s compassion for Sandy and his acknowledgement that his son has behaved badly illustrates his progress in openly addressing the more problematic traits and behaviors of his own son.

“‘It really won’t do, Roger,’ said the Major. ‘If you don’t feel any real spark of passion for Gertrude, don’t shackle yourself together. You’ll only be dooming both of you to a life of loneliness.’”

The Major recognizes the irony of giving his son love advice based on his recent experience of being rejected by Grace. Combined, these experiences motivate the Major to pursue Mrs. Ali, leading him to choose love and personal fulfillment over his old fears of ridicule and judgment. His actions confirm the novel’s ultimate celebration of personal satisfaction above convention, obligation, or tradition.

“‘I would ask you something more,’ he said. ‘But my need to get you out of here is more important than any considerations of my own heart and I will not burden your escape with any strings. Simply tell me what I have to do to get you out of this room and take you somewhere where you can breathe.’”

As romantic declarations go, the Major’s is not in the vein of great romantics like Don Quixote, to which he briefly compares himself. But he does, in effect, rescue his lady love, and their running away together in defiance of her family’s expectations adds a note of comedy to the romantic action.

“I haven’t smelled a paraffin lamp since I was a small child. My father would tell us how it was discovered by an alchemist in ninth-century Baghdad who was trying to distill gold.”

Mrs. Ali’s remark about the lamp at Colonel Preston’s fishing cottage points to the historical reality that civilizations in the East had certain inventions well before Europeans, which adds a note of absurdity to the cultural prejudices exhibited elsewhere that consider Eastern cultures as inferior or benighted (or simply “exotic”) in contrast to cultures of the West.

“He thought how wonderful it was that life was, after all, more simple than he had ever imagined.”

Their respite at the fishing cottage offers Mrs. Ali and the Major a chance to declare their feelings and affirm their relationship, and the seclusion of the setting allows them to do so with interference or practical considerations of community opinion or family disapproval. Despite the Major’s careful navigation of courtesy and his adherence to decorum, he finds that he feels most rewarded when he follows the dictates of his own heart.

“How can we not all feel [shame]? We are all small-minded people, creeping about the earth grubbing for our own advantage and making the very mistakes for which we want to humiliate our neighbors.”

The Major, who has tried to understand Abdul Wahid’s sense of honor, is finally able to connect with him during their confrontation on the cliff, drawing upon the fact that they both feel shame over their past behavior. While the men are foils in many respects, this last scene connects them through the people they care about.