Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Kim, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Mentorship and Parenthood
Race, Identity, and Colonialism
Connection vs. Detachment
Misogyny
Summary
Analysis
The narrator recounts Hurree Babu’s humorous manipulations of the two men, describing how he led them past telegraph stations to deliver them into the hands of a hostile Rajah. The men give Hurree a certificate of thanks. In Doon, Kim and the lama bid goodbye to the cart-drivers and Kim observes a newfound peace in the lama. Carrying the lama, Kim is only able to travel a few miles a day. The lama thanks Kim for his devotion, noting how strange it is that he is a sahib. Quoting the lama’s assertion that there is no white or black, Kim dismisses the title of sahib, claiming only to be the lama’s chela.
Rejecting the lama’s narrow-minded labeling of him as “Sahib,” Kim defines himself as the lama’s “chela.” In doing so, Kim signals his departure from more normative conceptions of identity, like race or ethnicity, opting instead to label himself in terms of his personal allegiances, specifically his devotion to the lama. So far in the novel, this is Kim’s most direct assertion of identity, highlighting the profound impact his love of the lama has had on his life.
Themes
The lama expounds on the senselessness of the flesh, claiming that, though they traveled less than a mile in the flesh, he traveled “ten thousand thousand” in the spirit. Kim admits to the lama that he sent for the widow to pick them up by carriage. Breaking down from exhaustion, he laments that he has not been a better disciple. The lama comforts Kim, reassuring him of his devotion as a disciple and blaming the body for his lamentations. A palanquin soon arrives, carrying Kim and the lama to the widow’s residence. After some playful bantering, the lama tells the widow that Kim is like a son to him, and she promises to restore Kim’s health.
Kim and the lama further demonstrate the depth of their mutual affection, with Kim tirelessly carrying the lama on his back, and the lama comforting him when Kim breaks down. Later, the lama openly expresses his fatherly love for Kim, signaling the profound transformative impact of their relationship. For Kim, the lama is willing to compromise his commitment to material detachment.
Themes
The widow takes personal charge of Kim’s recovery, joking that there are two types of women, those that take men’s strength and those that put it back. Though she was the former in her youth, she claims to have since become the latter. After a few days, Kim rises, feeling rejuvenated, and asks for the lama. The widow tells him the lama is well but criticizes him for refusing food and nearly drowning in a river a week ago, claiming to have been freed from sin. Kim expresses his gratitude for nursing him back to health, calling her “Mother,” and asks how he can thank her. The widow asks for no blessing for her house, only for Kim to thank her as a son.
Thanking her for nursing him back to health, Kim calls the widow his “Mother,” signaling the depth of his affection for her, as well as his metaphorical adoption by her and the lama. Though they are not themselves married, both think of Kim as a son, and both take shared responsibility for his well-being, forming a kind of ad-hoc parental unit for Kim; at least symbolically, then, Kim stops being an orphan.
Themes
The widow mentions the Bengali hakim is there, and Kim asks to see him. The Babu arrives, and Kim gives him the papers and maps from the kilta. Hurree is delighted, noting the significance of the information contained in the men’s kilta. Hurree recounts saving the lama from drowning in the brook, as well as his experience with the Russian and French agents. Kim asks after Mahbub, and Hurree shyly replies that he is stationed nearby, explaining that he had wired Mahbub out of fear that the woman might steal the documents while Kim was sick. Kim expresses his disapproval, but cannot help but admire Hurree Babu’s dealings with the foreign agents.
Kim and Hurree Babu affectionally reunite, though it quickly becomes clear Hurree Babu’s primary motivation for visiting is to retrieve the intel. This highlights not only the highly sensitive nature of the information retrieved, but also Babu’s professionalism; he takes no chances in ensuring the security of the intel.
Themes
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Hurree Babu leaves and Kim decides to see the world again. Upon walking outside, however, Kim feels a profound disconnect with the world. Asking himself, “What is Kim?,” he begins to cry and suddenly the world becomes comprehensible. Kim rests beneath a tree, reveling in the feeling of the earth and surrendering himself to Mother Earth. That evening, Mahbub and the lama discuss Kim’s future, with the lama expressing confidence that Kim will soon be freed from the Wheel of Things, just as he was. The lama expresses his wish that Kim become a teacher and Mahbub plays along, suggesting that he become a scribe for the state; the lama assents, but says it does not matter much either way.
Leaving his sickbed to go outside, Kim undergoes a final identity crisis. This time, however, Kim asks “What is Kim?” not the usual “Who is Kim?”, signaling his departure from socially constructed notions of identity, such as race or religion. Instead, Kim now seeks to define himself in terms of his tangible, material connections to the world, such as the lama, or as is the case here, “Mother Earth” herself. This underscores the profound connection between Kim and his homeland.
Themes
Before leaving, Mahbub expresses his admiration for the lama, praising him as a virtuous man and requesting that he treat Kim well before sending him off as a teacher. Awoken by the lama, Kim describes feeling as though he slept 100 years. The lama reveals his Search has concluded, narrating how, after two days of meditation, his soul liberated itself from his corporeal form, uniting with the Great Soul. Once there, however, the lama recounts “wrestling” his soul back from the "Threshold of Freedom," driven by the purpose of guiding Kim to his own enlightenment. The lama smiles, confident that he has won Salvation for himself and Kim.
Returning to his physical form to guide Kim to his own salvation, the lama reveals the extent of his affection for Kim. Though he seems to return without compromising his own salvation, the lama’s choice is clearly not an easy one, exemplified by the language of struggle he uses to describe turning back from the “Threshold of Freedom.” As such, this scene underscores the profound mutual impact of Kim and the lama on one another; just as Kim overcomes egoism for the lama, the lama overcomes material detachment for Kim.
Themes
