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August 26, 2025

The Influence of the Sepoy Mutiny on British Literature The White Man’s Burden

Key Points

Post-Mutiny literature demonstrates significant shifts in British attitudes towards India, reinforcing the notion of the 'white man's burden'.
Authors like Wilkie Collins and Henry Kingsley questioned colonial rule yet perpetuated paternalist perspectives, as seen in their works.
The analysis involves a close examination of important literary texts that reflect changing opinions on imperialism and colonialism.
Understanding this literature sheds light on the complex relationship between British identity and colonial actions during the 19th century.

Abstract

The paper explores how the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny that marked the beginning of the Indian Independence Movement shifted the British psyche, as demonstrated by marked trends in post-Mutiny literature. Given how the Sepoys still were able to strike fear into the heart of the Empire, despite being unsuccessful in their immediate goals, authors such as Wilkie Collins and Henry Kingsley produced new works that questioned Britain’s colonial rule over India. Yet, their cohort’s seemingly progressive gestures in favor of the Indian people were anything but post-colonial, still operating within colonial mindsets. By analyzing the Collins’ The Moonstone and Kingsley’s Stretton, I argue that post-Mutiny literature reinforced paternalist attitudes towards India, specifically the “White Man’s Burden”.

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