Like many of the Penguin Great Journeys The Congo & the Cameroons,
while generally enjoyable, is at times a little uncomfortable.
The blurb tells us that Mary Kingsley had a scepticism for
the European Imperial and Missionary activity in Africa
and yet there is often a patronising air about her descriptions of her African
guides and helpers. She seems to despair
at their behaviour in the same way that a weary Cub Scout leader might feel
after a weekend camp with some troublesome youngsters. Although of course none of this was
necessarily racially determined – she may well have spoken in similar terms of
the “working class” folk she encountered back in England.
We can not ignore this but we have to hold a tension there –
Mary is a remarkable woman for her time, her travels and her writing would seem
to have been pushing the boundaries of what was possible or acceptable for a
“lady”. She was enlightened even if by
our own standards that enlightenment was incomplete.
I have recently shared my love for Miranda Hart, and there
are many moments when Mary Kingsley sounds like she has been lifted from a
Miranda sketch – little turns of phrase which are very dated and yet still echo
from the mouths of the tweed wearing upper classes. There is also a certain gung-ho spirit to it
all, I kept waiting for her to say “…and then a crocodile chewed off my right
leg – Such fun!”
On balance I spent more time enjoying the company of Mary
Kingsley than I did worrying about her views.
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