2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

An Examination of Kipling's Depiction of "Illness" - A Study of Representations of Anxiety Before and After the Collapse of the British Empire

Research Project

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Project/Area Number	21K00400
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Review Section	Basic Section 02030:English literature and literature in the English language-related
Research Institution	Tokyo University of Science
Principal Investigator	MATSUMOTO Kazuko 東京理科大学, 教養教育研究院葛飾キャンパス教養部, 教授 (90385542)
Project Period (FY)	2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
Keywords	キプリング / 帝国主義 / 病い
Outline of Final Research Achievements	This study was conceived to focus on "illness" in Kipling's works, which has not received sufficient attention in previous Kipling studies, and to examine the reasons for the frequent appearance of "illness" in Kipling's works in the light of the historical phase. The study, conducted in a comprehensive research style dealing with the entire writing period, supports the transition from Kipling's depiction of illness caused by external factors in the early period of his writing career, which coincided with the heyday of imperialism, to his frequent depiction of illness caused by psychological factors from the middle period, when imperialism and the British Empire were beginning to decline. This transition can be regarded as an indication that Kipling's works depict illness as an expression of his anxiety about the collapse of the British Empire, which he was forced to suppress as a public figure who people believe to be a strong supporter of imperialism.
Free Research Field	イギリス文学
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	キプリングの作中に描かれた「病い」を通して帝国主義に対するキプリングの懐疑的な眼差しと帝国主義に下支えされた大英帝国崩壊の不安を明らかにした本研究は、1960年代半ばに機運が高まったキプリング再評価の重要なミッションである「帝国主義者」のレッテルをキプリングから剥がす動きを加速化し得る点に学術的意義がある。社会的意義としては、繁栄を誇るの当時のイギリスにおいて政治的・経済的基盤となる帝国主義の限界を察知しながらも帝国主義の牽引役としての役割を果たしたキプリング像を浮き彫りにしたことにより、時代と国家の強力な圧力に対峙した一知識人の事例を提示した点に意義が求められる。