We are familiar with the name Mrs. Richard Collins, the author of the novel The Slayer Slain, but her maiden name Mary hardly finds mention in literary circles. Mary Collins had begun writing the novel in English in 1859, but passed away before she could complete it. Her husband took it up from where she had left it and the book in its present form was published in the Vidyasamgraham quarterly magazine of the CMS College, Kottayam, from 1864-66. Mr. Collins translated The Slayer Slain into Malayalam as Ghathakavadham in 1877 and it is this version that finds repeated mention in the discussions of novels in nineteenth century Kerala.
The nature of language is such that sometimes we have to rely on figures of speech like paradox and oxymoron to convey what we want to say. Going by this way of reasoning, The Slayer Slain can be considered the first ‘Malayalam novel in English’. It tells the story of the Christian communities in Travancore in the 1850s, often at war with each other. At one level, the plot revolves around Syrian Christian landlord Koshy Curien who later repents his callous and inhuman treatment of his Pulaya slaves. This change of heart is attributed to the forgiveness granted by Poulusa, a slave, whose grandson Curien had cruelly thrashed to death, and his own daughter Mariam, who is represented in the novel as the epitome of Christian virtues.
The Slayer Slain has won critical attention as an early attempt in the form of the novel and also as one that dramatises the conflict between two Christian denominations. But reading the novel more than 150 years after its writing, it is possible to discern that Dalit contestations form the core of the narrative. The rhetoric of faith masks the real issue of slavery and how conversion to Protestantism brought no real change in the lives of the slaves. The work ethic of Protestantism prompted them to work harder than ever before for the benefit of their masters. Forgiveness as a virtue circumvented their anger and protest. Segregation in terms of caste continued to dog them.
The questions that continue to haunt us are, was faith used as an instrument to enforce submission to the will of God and obedience to the master? Was liberation at all possible in the historical context when missionary enterprises knowingly or unknowingly colluded with the economy of colonialism? What were the changes that conversion brought about in the quality of life of the slaves? In what ways were the domains of culture caught up in the discourse of modernity? Was the emerging genre of the novel used to naturalise ideologies of domination? What role did women play in projecting ideals that were to be followed? It is possible that Mrs. Richard Collins was oblivious of these scorching political issues, as her aim was to tell a simple story of bad turning good. However, simple stories can conceal complex truths, truths that disturb many of our certainties.
(A fortnightly column on the many avatars of women in Malayalam literature. G. S. Jayasree is head of the Institute of English, and editor of Samyukta )
