Themes in The Empress - Edexcel

The four main themes in The Empress are:

• Class, power and responsibility

• Racism and Empire

• Relationships

• Education

Remember

When writing an answer about theme, you should aim to:

• Include evidence from the play (a quotation or key moment)

• Explore how the historical setting might impact on the theme

• Consider what the author Tanika Gupta's message might be.

There is a hierarchy of power in the play: the Queen is at the top of this social structure and lascars and ayahs are at the bottom.

In the play white, British, wealthy characters are able to maintain authority over others due to their higher status in Victorian society. However, Gupta also shows how characters experiencing oppression fight back.

Through the themes of class and power, Gupta criticises social injustice in the Victorian era.

Gupta explores the themes of power and class in the play through:

• Victoria’s role as the Queen of England, Empress of India and ruler of the British Empire
• The harsh treatment of lower-class characters such as Rani and Hari and how they reclaim their power
• The changing power dynamic in Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim’s relationship
• Dadabhai’s role in Britain seeking to obtain political power
• Lady Sarah and Bertie’s increasing power over Queen Victoria throughout the play.

In The Empress, Gupta illustrates and explores racism, as a part of an overlooked period of British history. Many characters in the play face discrimination and exoticisation due to their race.

Rani

Rani faces racial prejudice and discrimination at several points in the play.

• She is fired by Susan Matthews who has hired an English nanny to care for her children as soon as they arrive in England.
• While working for her next employer, Lord Oakham, Rani is exoticised as he demands that she dresses in traditional Indian clothing while serving him curry. He says:

I prefer to see you dressed as an Indian woman."

Abdul Karim

Abdul faces racial discrimination and exoticisation as soon as he arrives in England.

• When he is presented to the Queen as a gift for her Golden Jubilee, Lady Sarah doubts that Abdul can speak English and immediately makes plans to “send him back”.
• Victoria argues with Lady Sarah that he should be allowed to stay because his turban matches her eggcup. This implies that Victoria sees Abdul as a possession as opposed to an equal.

Hari says that Abdul:

Might be all dressed up like a fancy peacock but he is still a lackee to the white man."

Dadabhai Naoroji

Dadabhai was an Indian politician who researched the devastating impact British rule had in India.

In the play, Gupta presents his successful campaign to be a Member of Parliament and society’s racist attitude towards him.

• In a parliamentary speech, Dadabhai criticises Queen Victoria and the expanding British Empire.
• By the end of the play, Dadabhai returns to India.

He feels he is not able to make a real difference in England due to the racist attitudes of fellow politicians and members of society.

When he is elected, a British politician speaks out against him and says:

Naoroji is an alien in race, in custom, in religion."

In The Empress, Gupta presents friendships, romantic relationships and relationships between employees and employers. Some relationships are supportive, whereas some are abusive. Characters in The Empress rely on their friendships and learn from them.

Rani and Hari’s friendship gets them through times of hardship and suffering. It also inspires them to improve themselves.

• At the start of the play, Rani teaches Hari how to read and write. In his letter to Rani later in the play, Hari reveals that she has inspired him to continue learning.

• When Rani is fired and left helpless at the docks, Hari helps her find somewhere to stay by taking her to Lascar Sally’s boarding house.

Their friendship develops into a romantic relationship by the end of the play when they declare their love for each other and kiss.

Gupta highlights the importance of empowering and supportive female friendships through the characters of Firoza and Lascar Sally.

• Sally provides a room for Rani when she is stranded in London at the start of the play.
• When Rani is jobless and alone, Firoza gives her advice about finding a new job.
• Later in the play, when Rani considers abandoning her baby at the docks, Firoza and Lascar Sally give her emotional support.

They help her name her baby and take her to the Ayahs' Home – a refuge for abandoned and destitute ayahs.

The friendship between Abdul and Victoria is presented as a close bond from which both benefit.

• Abdul benefits from his relationship with Victoria as he is able to rise through the ranks of the royal household and extend his influence over the Queen.

• Victoria benefits from the friendship as she learns Hindi, learns about the history of India and is provided with a companion in the final 14 years of her reign.

Gupta presents their relationship as flirtatious and romantic at times, which is looked down upon by members of the royal household.

Rani works for Lord Oakham’s family as an ayah and becomes pregnant with his child. Gupta presents Oakham as an aggressive and abusive employer who manipulates Rani into a sexual relationship. He denies fathering her child and throws her out into the street.

Gupta highlights the power imbalance in their relationship and reveals how ayahs were powerless and forced to endure abuse so they could make a living to support themselves and their family overseas.

Gupta presents Dadabhai as Rani’s mentor. At the start of the play, they meet on the ship to England and Dadabhai offers her friendly advice about the importance of education.

Later in the play, Dadabhai helps to open the Ayahs' Home when Rani seeks refuge following her dismissal by Lord Oakham. When Dadabhai campaigns to be a Member of Parliament, Rani persuades him to let her work as his assistant.

He encourages Rani to stay in England to be with her daughter and friends and he also encourages her to listen to Hari.

Gupta shows the importance of education for all members of society regardless of their status and wealth.

Key moments

• Rani teaches Hari to read and write on the ship at the start of the play. Hari is inspired by Rani to continue teaching himself once they are separated. Later in the play, Hari is able to use this education to write a list of demands for the captain.

• The Ayahs' Home, set up by Dadabhai, is a place of refuge for Firoza and Rani. While there, ayahs are provided with education as well as shelter.

• Abdul teaches Victoria Hindi and educates her about India and the brutality of the British Empire’s rule in India. In The Empress, Victoria does not take proper responsibility for her actions as a leader. She does not understand the full extent of suffering that people who lived in nations colonised by the British had experienced.

Key quotes about education

Gupta encourages the audience to view education as a necessary and positive force which can benefit all characters, regardless of their position in society. Characters from the young, mistreated Hari to Queen Victoria, the Empress of India, are shown to require education is differing ways, and to benefit from educating themselves.

Gupta also highlights that there are differing attitudes to different types of information. For example, while Queen Victoria is willing to learn words of her choosing in Hindi, she is less willing to educate herself about the impact of imperialism on nations like India.

Test your understanding of themes in The Empress by taking this multiple-choice quiz.