Edwardian Upper-Class Pretension
In his short story “Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger,” Saki explores Edwardian upper-class vanity through the titular British socialite’s desire to hunt a tiger in India. Mrs. Packletide is a frivolous woman who is obsessed with her social aspirations. In particular, she must outdo the exotic adventures of fellow London socialite Loona Bimberton. Saki ridicules both women, but particularly Mrs. Packletide, to scorn the attitudes of upper-class Edwardian settlers and travelers at the turn of the…
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Female Jealousy
The three main characters of Saki’s satiric short story “Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger” all happen to be women. Mrs. Packletide, her paid companion Louisa Mebbin, and her rival Loona Bimberton cross paths in their hometown of London, after Mrs. Packletide has taken it upon herself to travel to India with Miss Mebbin in order to kill a tiger. Mrs. Packletide is trying to outdo Loona Bimberton’s social popularity after the latter flew eleven…
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Animals vs. Humans
The traditional relationship between animals and humans is flipped in Saki’s short story “Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger,” where he describes the animals as tame and the humans as wild characters. Mostly set in colonial India, the narrative is centered on Mrs. Packletide’s undertaking to kill the titular tiger in order to outdo fellow socialite Loona Bimberton. Bimberton has recently completed a daring and exotic trip by airplane with an Algerian aviator, but Mrs. Packletide…
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