Rebecca Yeoh Yao Xia
Dr Rashidi
HXE 305 Malaysian Literature
10 December 2015

Exile in Robert Raymer’s ‘Mat Salleh’ and Wong Ming Yook’s ‘A Beautiful Lady and the Fish’

Homi K. Bhabha in his book, The Location of Culture said that
“…the question of identification is never the affirmation of a pre given identity, never a self-fulfilling prophecy - it is always the production of an image of identity and the transformation of the subject in assuming that image.” (Bhabha)

When the British colonized Malaysia, local Malaysians were known as the ‘Others’ while the British were identified as the “Self”. This is seen during the colonial era within Malaysia. However as time passed, during the post-colonial era, the identity of Malaysia seemed to be the issue that readers and writers tried to identify. In the postmodern era of Malaysia, creating or reinventing individual identity in a nation or in a cultural group becomes more crucial in building stability in identifying oneself. Therefore the issue of exile will be addressed in accordance to Robert Raymer’s Mat Salleh and Wong Ming Yook’s The Beautiful Lady and the Fish. In Rehman Rashid’s ‘A Malaysian Journey’ gives us a vivid description of a Malaysian who feels out casted in his homeland, his community, and his people. Through the analysis of the two short stories mentioned above, the issue of ‘exile’ would be seen in the light of exile from a family, culture and from a nation. Through that, similarities and differences will be drawn and identified.

Robert Raymer is an American who has been living in Malaysia for more than 20 years. He currently lectures in Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. He has also published a compilation of short stories titled ‘Lovers and Strangers Revisited’. ‘Mat Salleh’ is a short story from this compilation and it is a story about a Malaysian Malay, Yati who went to the United States of America and later got married to an American, Bob. Yati received a letter from her family about her father’s illness and decided that they both should return to Perak. This would be his first time visiting his in-laws. The story unfolds and reveals the difficulties faced by Bob in adopting the Malaysian way of life. The story is written in the first person point of view, that is Bob’s point of view.

Bob, as a foreigner would most definitely be made to feel as though he is unable to fit into the new culture. In this situation, would be a traditional Malay family in Perak, Malaysia. The setting of the environment is set in a very old fashioned manner because the house in which Yati’s family lives in is surrounded by a lot of greeneries, the house of made of wood and estates surrounds the village of Parit. This would then be the first sign of exile encountered by Bob as he comes from a county that is developed, United States. In addition to that, exile is shown very clearly in this story through the words “her replies to my barrage of questions took an unmistakable edge”. He is not just distanced by his surrounding, but by his own wife in a country that he does not belong in.

According to the quote by Homi Bhabha above, it is understood then that identity is not inherent but rather, it is acquired. Although Bob is not Malaysian, he shows the initiative to want to be part of the society that he is currently visiting or he could be taking the initiative to be part of the family that his wife belongs to. He creates his new set of identities according to Tim Edensor. Tim Edansor in National Identity, Popular Culture & Everyday Life mentioned that common cultural identity is formed through a particular level of value, a particular way of life and a range of practical orientations. Bob showed all three of these in the story. Bob was seen to have respected his elders the moment he reached the kampong when he reached out his hand and used his left hand to embrace his mother-in-law. He lived up to the Asian way of life when he realized that he did not remove his shoes and quickly does so when he entered the house.

Despite the fact that he tried to shape his identity to assimilate to the culture of his surroundings, it is still apparent that he is treated differently from the rest and causes him to feel exiled. He was treated as someone of upmost importance although he wants only to be able to fit into the family. When he arrives at the house, the room in which Yati and Bob were to stay in was

“lavishly decorated with a deep red, crushed velvet bedspread, embellished with gold trim. Four matching pillows were arranged diagonally at the corners with two hand-held fans placed in the centre, resting on a bolster, a long, cylindrical pillow; a pink lace-like mosquito net was draped down from the top and pulled to the sides like curtains”. (Raymer 126)

It is most likely important to note that if this text is being read in a colonial view, it would be that Bob is imaged as the Self, as someone with more authority and more privileges than the Others who should be the family members who tries to make Bob feel as comfortable as possible.

Bob does his best in adapting to the Malay culture even though his eating methods. Here in Parit, he learns to eat without using forks ad spoons although it was offered to him. Bob said “ I am determined to be part of the family” in page 132 of the book. In addition to that, he also said ‘others just stared’ (Raymer 127) as his description of the people around him when he was wandering about the compound of the house. He feels foreign and sees himself as foreign, therefore making it easy for him to feel exiled. Yati also often said, “you don’t understand” to Bob who tries his best to understand the reasons and methods things were done in the village.

Exile, in this story is most apparent when Bob and Yati were asked to dine in ‘the better part of the house’ (Raymer 139). They did ot dine with the family but with themselves in another part of the house. The story takes a positive turn when Bob went through the marriage ceremony arranged by Yati’s family wearing a Baju Melayu with a sampin and at the end of the story, Yati said to Bob, “Now, you’re becoming a Malaysian”. The children also began to address him as ‘Uncle Bob’ instead of ‘Mat Salleh’.

However, Yati’s rare visit back home has made it difficult for herself to adapt to her family and her culture, let alone the questions that comes with her American husband. Her family treats her as though she is a ‘traitor’. This is seen in page 129 of the compilation. Yati’s father was also kept away from both Yati and Bob even on the day of their wedding ceremony. This further illustrates exile in a family as well as for a foreigner.

In Wong Ming Yook’s compilation of short stories called The Library of Sighs, is a story titled ‘A Beautiful Lady and the Fish’. Wong was a lecturer in Universiti Malaya and this compilation is her second collection of short stories. This story is also written in the first person point of view, that is in the view of a child to a mother who disappeared when he or she was eight years old and her recollection memories about a pond outside her house at which the child used to spend a lot of time with his or her mother. In this pond, there were a lot of fish, mainly carp. The child learns to embrace the fish and care for the nature when one day the child’s mother disappears and his or her father had the servants cover the pond and grew plants over it. Later, as the child grew up the workers in the house admitted to seeing the child’s mother outside again and the child tried to communicate with his or her mother that we do not know if is real.

Exile in this story is portrayed rather differently from ‘Mat Salleh’. It is also ore implicit than explicit. The pond in the story is given vivid descriptions suing words such as

“a rather big pond with lovely water lilies, and it was so full of fish swimming in it. By the edge, a willow grew, sad and melancholy. When the wind blew, its leaves sang sad love songs to the frogs that sat and croaked on the lily pads”. (Wong 15)

Benedict Anderson, as cited in Tay’s article stated that “One may go so far as to say that the assumptions we hold as human beings are the assumptions we hold as citizens of a particular nation. With these considerations in mind, Anderson describes the nation as an “imagined community” (Tay). The imagined community or an ideal nation would be the pond. It was built by the child’s father for his wife out of love, knowing that his wife loves to rare carp. It was also a place in which she could share with her child. The image of the pond was painted in vibrant hues and lively movements. Such is an ideal nation.

However, the child who is now at an older age understood that she was, in exile of her own family. In the current state of Malaysia, individuals find it difficult to relate to one another through different belief systems and cultures. This form of cultural exile can also be seen in families such as the one shown in this story. The child, as the main character did not notice this earlier as she did not understand the significance of the pond, nor the fish. The carp in the pond was ‘excitedly swishing its tail in the water, opening and closing its mouth animatedly, as if in response and reply…’. This shows an ideal Malaysia, a happy and proud nation but there is no real or proper communication between a nation and its people. This is a form of an exile. A child normally seems to live in their very own little bubble of life and can be easily shocked. This is also represented in the life of the carp, as a nation that is still young and fragile to new adventures. When the child jumped into the pond to scare the carp out of mere curiosity and the feeling of excitement, the carp was ‘…dazed but recovered after some minutes, and swam tentatively up…” Although the carp managed to turn itself over, it can be drawn to understanding that a nation needs a lot of strength to be able to recover from shock or events from the outside world.

The main character faces complete exile when his or her father had the pond covered after the disappearance of his wife. Although there were plants growing above the pond, making it a colourful sight, the child sees is as a ‘grave’. A grave signifies death and ultimately expresses complete disconnection; exile. Many years after the incident, when the child’s father had gone to Russia for business, there was a thunderstorm that dug a hole into the ground and fish came back. Efforts were taken to cover the pond with earth but ‘the pond decided to be a pond again’. This shows that a nation will never stop being a nation despite the fact that it may not be very troublesome to understand. When the pond went back to being a pond, the child said ‘it felt right’ in page 20 of the compilation. This shows the emphasis of the quote from Anderson. There is a dire need for an ideal vision of a nation for people to work towards.

Not forgetting the child’s mother who came back to visit the pond, the child was able to embrace his or her mother but there was no verbal communication from her. She went to the pond, made the water ripple and the beautiful orange carp reappeared. The child may never be able to comprehend but it is possible that the child’s mother has been able to live in her ‘imagined community’, to be able to live her life in a place she wants to be at. This would cause her to be exiled from her life she previously left, that is, the child and her husband.

With these analyses done, it is crucial not to forget the character of the father who was not mentioned much but exile is seen very vividly. He was exiled through betrayal from his wife who decided to leave them for another man. His exile is seen to have taken a step further as he distanced himself from his child and also the garden with the pond that was once very beautiful. He imposed this exile upon himself to always be travelling, probably to avoid the scene of his own house and the memories he wants to forget.

Therefore, exile is seen in very different representations in both stories although the issue is seen in the light of a nation and a family. In Wong’s ‘The Beautiful Lady and the Fish’, the symbols and metaphors used were vastly different from that which has been used by Robert Raymer in ‘Mat Salleh’. As much as they are represented differently, it is important to fall back to Homi Bhabha’s quote:
“…the question of identification is never the affirmation of a pre given identity, never a self-fulfilling prophecy - it is always the production of an image of identity and the transformation of the subject in assuming that image.” (Bhabha)

An identity is not inherent but acquired and linking this to Anderson’s words of an ‘imagined community’. I would believe then, that and with an identity formed in our hearts in regards to our nation or to our community, no one would face the difficulty of culturally or socially being exiled. This is because our surroundings evolve and nations grow. As long as our hearts grow with our nation, there would be no gap or distance left for exile to exist.

Works Cited
Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. Routledge, 1994.

Tay, E. Hegemony National Allegory, Exile: The Poetry of Shirley Lim. University of Hong Kong, 2005.

Raymer, Robert. Lovers and Strangers Revisited. Vol. 3. MPH Group Printing, 2008.

Yook, Wong Ming. Library of Sighs. Akitiara Publications, 2015.