The Unbearable Bassington: Analysis of Setting
"The Unbearable Bassington: Analysis of Setting" delves into the intricate environments depicted in the novel, primarily focusing on how these settings reflect the characters' lives and societal values. The central location, Francesca Bassington's London home, represents a temporary existence, symbolizing the superficiality of upper-middle-class society; its impermanence is echoed by the limited interactions Francesca has with others. This house, filled with chance-acquired furnishings, reveals her desire for meaning amidst a life characterized by transience.
The narrative extends into various London settings, highlighting the West End's elite social gatherings, where bridge games and gossip dominate, further conveying the pettiness of the social milieu. In contrast, Elaine's garden-park serves as an Edenic backdrop, yet it is marred by the characters' flaws, illustrating the disparity between idealism and reality. Keriway farm introduces a natural world that offers both beauty and violence, reflecting the ambiguities of life outside urban confines. Finally, an African colony, though presenting dangers, contrasts sharply with the artificiality of English society, hinting at a deeper complexity in human experience. This exploration of diverse settings enhances the novel’s critique of societal norms and personal disillusionment.
The Unbearable Bassington: Analysis of Setting
First published: 1912
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Satire
Time of work: Early twentieth century
Asterisk denotes entries on real places.
Places Discussed
Bassington house
Bassington house. London home of Francesca Bassington, whose house is hers only until Emmeline Chetrof marries. Thus, it is not truly a home, and its very impermanence drives Francesca’s actions and suggests the shallowness of the society in which she lives. Francesca’s only visitors seem to be her son and her brother—one more indication that the house will disappear. The furnishings that Francesca prizes she has acquired mostly by chance; her “delicious bronze Fremiet” she buys with winnings from horse racing; some Dresden figurines are given to her by an admirer; other Dresden figurines she acquires with bridge winnings. There are other things she values, in part because they come from marvelous, mysterious places, but above all because they are somehow connected with her own history. Her prize possession, the “Van der Meulen” painting, turns out to be a fake.
*London
*London. Great Britain’s chief city, in which almost all the action in the novel takes place. The people inhabiting Saki’s London are strictly upper middle class, with an occasional member of the lower aristocracy. Francesca plays bridge with her female friends at various houses, especially Serena Golackly’s, all of which are clearly in the West End of London, where the upper classes live. Besides bridge, the main purpose of these parties is gossip, of a petty and nasty sort.
Elaine’s garden-park
Elaine’s garden-park. Place where Elaine entertains both Comus and Youghal. With its roses, “emerald turf,” and brilliantly plumed pheasants, the park functions as a kind of Garden of Eden. All should be well. But Comus foolishly shows himself at his worst, just when he should be at his best, a small, self-destructive, selfish Adam who demands that Elaine give him a silver bread-and-butter dish which is a family heirloom.
Keriway farm
Keriway farm. Place outside London where Elaine pays an accidental visit to Tom Keriway. The farm presents the ambiguities of the natural world against those of the city world. Keriway, too, has an Eden, and Elaine believes it is a real Eden. However, he himself points out its violence and, at the same time, its dullness. Like virtually all the places in the novel, the farm, too, disappoints.
African colony
African colony. Unnamed tropical British colony where Comus is sent and dies. With all its faults, the colony appears to be somehow superior to the superficial English world of the rest of the novel, though Saki is not making a clear anticolonial statement. At the same time, Africa is hot, humid, and dangerous—the very opposite of the well-furnished, comfortable houses of upper-middle-class life back in England. However, it is also the only place in the novel containing people of other races and other classes. Comus Bassington sees and envies the African children at play, something he would have hardly noticed back home. Indeed, the only glimpse of children in England is at the public school that the young Comus attends and at which casual cruelty is the ruling principle. Human violence and emptiness is not the point here. The finally irony is that Comus does not fit in—and that this place will kill him.
Bibliography
Baring, Maurice. Introduction to The Unbearable Bassington, by Saki. New York: Viking, 1928. Thematic analysis of the work; calls it “an ironic tragedy on a high level.” Believes Saki possessed a stoic view of life, recognizing the fragility of human relationships but resigned to struggle for the preservation of a civilized society.
Bloom, Harold, ed. Twentieth Century British Literature. Vol. 4. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. Collection of excerpts from reviews by eminent literary critics of the early twentieth century. Allows readers to place The Unbearable Bassington in the context of Saki’s career, and relates it to his short stories; also comments on the quality of satire in the novel.
Gillen, Charles H. H. H. Munro (Saki). New York: Twayne, 1969. General survey of the novelist’s career as a historian, journalist, short-story writer, novelist, and playwright. Surveys the critical reception of The Unbearable Bassington; explains how the novel summarizes themes present throughout Saki’s writings and discusses his handling of issues involving sexuality.
Langguth, A. J. Saki: A Life of Hector Hugh Munro. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1981. Well researched and well written biography integrating literary analysis with details of Saki’s life. A chapter on The Unbearable Bassington reviews biographical genesis of the work and comments on characterization. Judges the novel a mixed success.
Spears, George James. The Satire of Saki. New York: Exposition Press, 1963. Demonstrates how Saki uses a number of satiric techniques in the novel to explore the “will to destruction” residing in humankind; notes how he manages to evoke sympathy for the mother in the story.