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Echoes of Empire

Echoes of Empire: Postcolonial Melancholy in Sam Selvon’s The Lonely Londoners and Elizabeth Taylor’s Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont

by Lola Rose, Aujgust, 2024

In comparing Sam Selvon’s The Lonely Londoners alongside Elizabeth Taylor’s Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, shared perspectives emerge on the waning British Empire, postcolonial melancholy and evolving regional identities. Despite employing differing narrative approaches, both texts explore themes of displacement within post-war Britain’s urban landscape by portraying the precarious nature of existence. In this intersection, melancholy unveils two narratives: one portraying the aftermath of imperial history and its impact on the powerful and another highlighting its effects on the powerless. By analysing public and private spaces, this exploration aims to reveal how the authors utilise spatial constraints to depict intersecting transnational, cultural and emotional dimensions within evolving societal contexts (Despotopoulou 2023:2). This discourse will commence by examining Sigmund Freud and Anne Anlin Cheng’s theories on melancholy and mourning, providing a framework to explore how Selvon’s novel aligns with the former and Taylor’s with the latter. This discussion will explore Selvon’s portrayal of racial melancholy during the Windrush era and the unfulfilled promises of urban prosperity, contrasting with Taylor’s novel, which illustrates mourning for lost traditions, imperial decline and social stratification. Lastly, a comparison of both novels’ treatment of gender subjectivity will further discuss how it heightens issues of displacement. By comparing Taylor’s use of subjectivity to illustrate post-war female boredom and limited agency against Selvon’s male-centric narration, which eclipse the stories of female immigrants, broader discussions on the constraints of womanhood are showcased. Through spotlighting the doubly subjugated voice of subaltern woman, conclusions about the broader political discourse of Britain in both texts will be drawn.

Freud proposes that melancholia originates from repressed object-loss, contrasting it with mourning, in which the loss is consciously accepted (Freud 1914:245). While Mrs. Palfrey mourns her loss consciously- her husband, social status and youth- in The Lonely Londoners, loss is unconsciously repressed, impeding full acknowledgement of its impact on characters’ identity. Cheng utilises the Freudian framework to explore racial melancholia, focusing on how melancholy manifests in the rejection of the racial Other, who is left in a suspended state (Cheng 2001:11). In Selvon and Taylor’s works, despite a similar compassion of solitude, characters undergo varied forms of melancholia while confronting their fading identities in post-war metropolitan settings. Consequently, they can be compared to examine how melancholia impacts both dominant white culture and racial minorities, delineating their mutual definition through exclusion, manifested in forms of racial rejection and desire (ibid). Cheng elucidates how white identity is constructed by internalising racial others, whose presence, though unacknowledged, is central to its definition, while minorities experience melancholia shaped by an idealised but unattainable notion of perfection that informs their self-perception (ibid). Through Cheng’s framework, the analysis will draw parallels among characters in both authors’ novels by examining themes of identity and how their experiences deepen the understanding of displacement within evolving landscapes.

In a moment of tranquillity, Galahad reflects ‘This is London, this is life oh lord, to walk like a king with money in your pocket, not a worry in the world’ (Selvon 1956:75). Yet, as Selvon’s narrative unfolds, the promises of prosperity in the city give way to a marginalised existence, revealing the less idyllic reality of metropolitan life. To understand how Selvon’s linguistic and narrative form reflect the social, cultural and literary climate of 1950s London, it is vital to interpret Selvon’s language within its contextual framework (Bentley 2005:67). Selvon’s use of language, blending Trinidadian dialect and English vernacular, functions as a sardonic commentary on the process of Occidental assimilation. This linguistic strategy operates as a ‘site of resistance’ against dominant language forms, a significance underscored by its placement within the context of a Western genre (ibid:81). Displacement and security are central themes in Selvon’s work. Characters approach this challenge differently; some seek assimilation in British culture for love or financial stability, while others prioritise social status. Harris embodies the latter approach, described by the narrator as someone who ‘likes to play ladeda, and he like English customs’ (Selvon 1956:103). At a gathering with new English acquaintances, Harris feels embarrassed by his black friends arriving and smoking cannabis. He states ‘you boys always make a disgrace if yourselves and make me ashamed of myself (ibid:111). In contrast, Five staunchly maintains his cultural identity, resisting Harris’s efforts to assimilate into English culture, stating ‘Is only since you hit brit’n that you getting on so english’ (ibid:106). The term ‘ladeda’ is used commonly in the book to describe attempts to adopt English customs: ‘the cruder you are the more girls like you and you can’t put on any English accent for them or play ladeda (ibid:100). This façade, particularly maintained by Harris, offers a critique of cultural assimilation as a pathway to social mobility within an urban environment shaped by enduring colonial legacies and entrenched power imbalances. Selvon’s narrative portrays a disorientating metropolitan setting, functioning as a linguistic realm documenting the encounters of a marginalised diasporic community confronting London’s colonial epicentre (Bentley 2003:41). Through clever employment of creolised English and phrases like ‘ladeda’, Selvon provides a subtle and humorously critique British culture. Tailoring his language to captivate the complicity of European readers, Selvon aimed to convey socio-political commentary in a manner that could find resonance within the cultural landscape of the Western genre (Basu 2018:77). This broadens geographical space by utilising languages that resonate with both the marginalised and the privileged, offering solace to one while revealing the eclipse to the other.

Spatial order, defined as the culmination of various elements including, human perceptions, objectives, institutional rules, and material conditions, shapes both physical and human landscapes within the diasporic setting (Shields 2013:16). Selvon’s narrative underscores the significance of location in shaping identities and classes: ‘London is a place like that, it divide up in little worlds and you stay in the world you belong to’ (Selvon 1956:60). Utilising margins and space, Selvon comments on the struggles of exiles on the urban periphery. Shields explores marginal places, unveiling their rich history of transformation as depicted in literature. These spaces transition between sacred liminal zones of Otherness and carnivalesque leisure spaces, where dominant cultural norms are inverted (Shields 2013:6).  The novel’s portrayal of place transcends London’s mere geography, transforming the metropolis into a canvas for exploring themes of dislocation and longing. Cheng’s examination of racial melancholia applies insights into rejection and internalisation within American/white racial culture to themes of place and nation (Cheng 2001:11). Melancholia emerges in Selvon’s depiction of London, not only through the private lives of its characters but through the public imperial geography that surrounds them, serving as barrier to their freedom of movement. By delving into the utilisation of space and setting in literature, these landscapes emerge imbued with deeper hues, resonating with broader echoes of the historical and geopolitical forces that have sculpted them.

‘It was hard work being old… every day for the old means some little thing lost’ (Taylor 2011:172). In Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont, this portrayal of loss goes beyond Mrs. Palfrey’s personal experiences of losing her youth, identity and companionship. It is intertwined with the broader narrative of the decline of British colonial power. As previously noted, this Freudian mourning process diverges from melancholia. With the demise of colonial rule, the elderly residents grapple with redefining themselves and finding purpose in a world that no longer esteems their former roles. They mourn not only this loss but also the vibrant world they once commanded. Singh suggests that Taylor invites us to interpret the loneliness at the Claremont hotel as linked to wider colonial shifts in England, as Mrs. Palfrey carries the ghosts of the native past into the hotel’s confines (Singh 2023:63). Mrs. Palfrey’s inner dialogue is populated by the colonial subjects with whom she lives, and against whom she identified herself (ibid). In this manner, the transformation of public and private spaces within the evolving metropolitan space resonates with the solitude woven through Selvon’s narrative, albeit in a different manifestation. In both stories, the urban environment takes on a character of its own, reflecting the disconnection and fragmentation wrought by urbanisation and modernisation, thereby amplifying individual marginalisation as cities evolve. While Selvon’s work illustrates marginalisation through immigrant identities, Taylor delves into the plight of the elderly, depicting their relegation to society’s margins. The Claremont Hotel, with its aging residents and faded grandeur, becomes a symbol of societal neglect and indifference towards the elderly. As Simone de Beauvoir explains, aging initially diminishes social status, relegating individuals as ‘outcast[s]’, devoid of any sway over external affairs (Beauvoir 1972:2). This leads to self-alienation, as the elderly grapple with the disparity between their inner sense of self and the perceptions imposed upon them by society. Beauvoir’s existentialist insights into aging, illuminate the experience depicted in Taylor’s work. Aging individuals grapple with internal conflicts between their true selves and society’s-imposed perceptions (ibid). This existential struggle contributes to uncertainty and confusion about identity and place in the world, ultimately placing the ageing individual in jeopardy in the outer world (ibid:464). As Mrs. Palfrey loses control over her surroundings, she confronts feelings of insecurity, reflecting Beauvoir’s notion on the prevailing sense of incapacity to control the environment (ibid). ‘Alarmed at the threat of her own depression’, and actively ‘banish[ing] terror from her heart’ (Taylor 2011:1), Mrs. Palfrey confronts the stark reality of marginalisation and diminished status within a post-colonial milieu. The loss of their erstwhile status transcends mere diminishment of influence; it signifies a fundamental disruption of their sense of self and purpose. Amidst the remnants of their once-prominent status and the harsh realities of urban life, they face an existential crisis.

‘Be independent; never give way to melancholy; never touch capital’ a rule Mrs.Palfrey abides by throughout the book (ibid:19).  Her unwavering adherence to these principles serves as a testament to her determination to retain agency and preserve echoes of her past life as the wife of a colonial official in Burma. With him, ‘She had always known how to behave’ contrasting to her arrival at the Claremont, where ‘she was rowed across floods to her new home; unruffled, finding it more than damp, with a snake wound around the bannister to greet her’ (ibid:2). Taylor often juxtaposes the peculiarities of the Claremont with memories of Mrs. Palfrey’s imperial past, symbolised by the snake’s coils, reflecting her transition from stability to dislocation in the aftermath of colonialism. Mrs. Palfrey’s displacement is linked to her declining social status; she only feels belonging when in control of a home in her native land. At the Claremont, England’s changing landscape challenges her understanding of what it means to be English. This sense of exile is directly linked to the decline of the British Empire, with memories of colonial settings lingering and haunting her experiences at the Claremont (Singh 2023:62). Characters like Miss Benson, enduring prolonged solitude, epitomise the haunting presence at the hotel, echoing Mrs. Palfrey’s own ‘panic at her loneliness’ (Taylor 2011:20). This enduring sense of haunted pasts resonates back to Freudian theory on mourning, where mourning involves grappling with the loss of significant element of one’s existence, like a nation or an ideal (Freud 1914:243). Cheng further explores this idea by suggesting that racism, akin to melancholia, involves a nuanced relationship with the racial other, often seeking to assimilate them rather than fully expel them from existing structures (Cheng 2001:12). Thus, it is impossible not to view the Claremont hotel as a site saturated within imperial geography (Singh 2023:65). Colonialism alters the constructions of racial identity, rendering it contingent upon geographical and historical contexts.  In her mourning, she grapples with solitude, displacement and the erosion of her identity. Once, she held herself as an ‘Englishwoman’, cherished by her husband and revered among natives (Taylor 2011:2). Now, Englishness shatters like glass, its fragments revealing the void within. Stripped of spousal and power over native connections, her sense of belonging intertwines with the colonial echoes of their landscape and history.

Another interpretation of displacement and homelessness in Taylor’s writing emerges from examining the contrast between public and private spaces at the Claremont. Singh suggests that the hotel aligns with a literary tradition blending personal and communal discussions among residents, delving into female relationships and their underlying tensions (Singh 2023:60). Taylor’s focus on middle-class domestic concerns situates the hotel as a microcosm of urban life, reflecting society’s diversity and complexity (Despotopoulou 2023:2). Taylor’s portrayal of displacement resonates in a milieu where many post-war 20^th-century women faced limited agency, diminished interest, and perceived insignificance (Pease 2012:1). The hotel’s space symbolically creates an intimate public sphere, fostering emotional connections and shaping political and emotional identities for women whose agency may feel supressed or latent (ibid). Through its symbolism, the Claremont hotel comments on changing metropolitan spaces, societal norms, identity, and the broader historical context of post-war Britain, particularly through the female subjective experience. In this way the hotel’s power is twofold, offering both inclusion and exclusion, cultural expansion and isolating confinement (ibid:3). Central to this exploration is the notion of space, both physical and psychological as a determinant of personal value and significance. Mrs. Palfreys melancholy and boredom thus transcends personal ennui: it becomes a symbolic manifestation of the constrained spatial realities within which they exist. These portrayals underscore the pervasive sense of limited agency, interest and significance experienced by many women of the time, as they navigate the restrictive spatial boundaries imposed upon them by society.

The comparison between Selvon and Taylor’s work offers an intriguing avenue for delving into gender subjectivity. Situated in post-war urban landscapes, their novels take distinct approaches to displacement: one delves into migration while the other scrutinises the waning power of the British Empire. However, arguably of greater concern regarding the handling of displacement is the subjective gendered voice in each narrative. Taylor’s work concentrates solely on the female struggle, especially that of British women in post-war modernity, whereas Selvon’s narrative entirely privileges male narration, thereby marginalising female migration accounts. This absence stems from the male characters pursuit of whiteness, particularly their desire to assimilate into British spaces by seeking the affections of white women, as hinted by the narrator’s remark ‘when he hold on to an English thing he hold on tight’ (Selvon 1956:50). Both Bentley and Basu agree that the derogatory labelling of women as ‘things’ and the portrayal of ‘conquering of white women’ (Bentley 2003:43) serve to perpetuate rather than challenge many of the stereotypes prevalent in mainstream white culture (Bentley 2003:42). However, I contend that this criticism overlooks, if not dismisses, the plight of the marginalised native female who remains obscured. This prioritisation of whiteness may be rationalised as a commentary on male desires to attain acceptance in a society that marginalises them (they pursue white women as a means to attain whiteness themselves). However, justifying the subjugation of the black female narrative in the novel remains untenable. As Bentley observers, female subjectivity in the narrative is either portrayed as comical constraints on male characters or as objects of sexual desire, with black women embodying the former role and white women embodying the latter (ibid:43). Tanty, the sole example of black female representation in the novel, addresses her lack of desirability by stating ‘Your own kind of girls not good enough now, is only white girls… They catch up with you in this country’ (Selvon 1956:59). Tanty’s character exemplifies a paradoxical sense of displacement within the text; while she is excluded from the fraternal solidarity among the male characters, she emerges as a powerful agent of change within her community (Kabesh 2011:12). She consistently acknowledges the differences between her homeland and her current urban environment, stating, ‘Here is not Jamaica you know’ (Selvon 1956:72). Tanty’s resilience against displacement allows her to support abused women within her community, becoming a refuge and advising male characters to stop ‘beating’ women or else she will ‘bring them up for assault’ (ibid). While male characters envision a community privileging masculinity, Tanty actively opposes exclusion and oppression, internally and externally (Kabesh 2011:12). Tanty is described as one of the most ‘immobile characters of the text’ she stays put, unlike the male characters who enjoy travelling the metropolis (ibid). Moses even characterises her as someone who ‘live in small village and never g to the city’ (Selvon 1956:80). Kabesh explains that while Moses’ statement may suggest Tanty is ‘backwards’ for struggling to adapt to urban life, her deliberate choice to maintain ties with her community and remain stationary constitutes a resistance against prevailing narratives of progress (Kabesh 2011:12-13). Tanty’s conscious defiance serves as a counterpoint to the erasure of cultural identity and community fragmentation caused by urbanisation. However, her limited narrative agency restricts the exploration of this resistance in Selvon’s work. Remaining largely obscure, Tanty’s lack of narrative agency reflects the dominance of masculinity in post-colonial literature. This absence, though manifested in entirely different circumstances, reflects the constraints of womanhood experienced by Mrs. Palfrey in the Claremont Hotel. Despite racial or class distinctions, there exists a compelling connection between Selvon and Taylor’s works in this regard. Within the margins of displacement, the narratives of these women offer insights into the constraints of womanhood and homelessness, amidst the fading remnants of the British Empire.

For ‘In mourning it is the world which has become poor and empty; in melancholia it is the ego itself’ (Freud 1914:246). For Selvon, melancholia raises urgent questions about mapping the exile experience in a search for belonging, while for Taylor, mourning reacts as that of grievance amidst Britain’s declining empire. Despite differing forms of displacement- whether as an immigrant or a lonely  wife- both authors engage in a compelling conversation about its effects. They emphasise how displacement impacts not only physical boundaries but also their sense of belonging amidst cultural alienation. This shared exploration of homelessness unveils the haunting presence of melancholia within British society’s fringes, charting a journey of exile, identity and varied urban landscapes. In this labyrinth of solitude, London paradoxically denies subjectivity while fervently demanding for a sense of place in a rapidly modernised metropolis- a duality that encapsulates the essence of urban existence.

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