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The Betrothal Visit (G, 1800 words)
For Khana, Yuletide 2007
Arundhati frowns over philosophy and Swati sighs over Gothic romances and Vishaka and Chitra giggle over texts on India, in the margins of which they sometimes inscribe corrections and sometimes inscribe outrageous lies.
About the series
Victorian Romance Emma by Kaoru Mori is published in English as Emma by CMX Manga/DC Comics. It is a charming, meditative story about the romance between William Jones, the young scion of a family of tradesmen trying to rise in the aristocracy, and Emma, a maid. Although this is essentially a Cinderella story, Mori pays a lot of attention to changing social mores, the growth of the British Empire, and the interactions of a wide set of characters, including William's entire family (he has four siblings, a stern father, and an estranged mother) and Emma's employers and fellow servants.
William's dearest friend is the Indian prince Hakim Atawari (or Atawally, depending on which transliteration from Japanse you prefer), who comes to visit William and his father with a large entourage including innumerable servants, several elephants, and four dancing girls. (I know there are only three in the panel, but in the early volumes, which I no longer have scans of, there are four of them. One of them must be busy later on.) The dancing girls appear at several points in the story, but never speak. This troubles me as a representation of race, gender, and power, but they are drawn with such charm, affection, and humor that I cannot help but love them. For all their lack of dialogue, they are one of my favorite parts of the series.
I was, and remain, a little nervous about posting this story because I wasn't able to do the kind of research on India I would have liked, or get a knowledgeable beta, because of poor scheduling on my part. I hope that it doesn't read as appropriative, but if it does, or if there are incorrect Indian details, I hope you'll let me know.
William's dearest friend is the Indian prince Hakim Atawari (or Atawally, depending on which transliteration from Japanse you prefer), who comes to visit William and his father with a large entourage including innumerable servants, several elephants, and four dancing girls. (I know there are only three in the panel, but in the early volumes, which I no longer have scans of, there are four of them. One of them must be busy later on.) The dancing girls appear at several points in the story, but never speak. This troubles me as a representation of race, gender, and power, but they are drawn with such charm, affection, and humor that I cannot help but love them. For all their lack of dialogue, they are one of my favorite parts of the series.
