Mr. Westfield Character Analysis in Burmese Days

Mr. Westfield, a blond, gray-eyed Englishman with a moustache and skinny calves, is the District Superintendent of Police in Kyauktada, Burma. He speaks in a “clipped” fashion, and while he is usually joking, he always sounds “hollow and melancholy.” Like most of the British members of Kyauktada’s European Club, he is against allowing a non-white members and sometimes joins Ellis in criticizing John Flory for his friendship with Dr. Veraswami.

Mr. Westfield Character Timeline in Burmese Days

The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Westfield appears in Burmese Days. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...town, Kyauktada, as a “bloody hole.” On the steps outside the club, he encounters Mr. Westfield, the District Superintendent of Police. After complaining of the heat, the two men go inside. (full context)

In the shabby club lounge, Flory and Westfield encounter Mr. Lackersteen, who manages a timber firm’s affairs in the area; Ellis, manager of... (full context)

...drink, Ellis criticizes all his fellows for treating non-whites “as equals” and socializing with them: Westfield likes his native police subordinates, Maxwell has affairs with “Eurasian tarts,” and Macgregor wants to... (full context)

Westfield asks Flory whether he’s returning to the jungle. Flory says yes: he only came to... (full context)

Freedom of Speech, Self-Expression, and Loneliness Theme Icon

Ellis, Westfield, and Mrs. Lackersteen complain that the Empire has gone soft and that the native people... (full context)

In a flashback to earlier that evening, Westfield brings to the club a copy of the Burmese Patriot with the article insulting Macgregor.... (full context)

The following morning, while Flory shaves and bathes, Macgregor does calisthenic exercises, and Westfield oversees the jailing of a man suspected (but not convicted) of theft. Later, Macgregor and... (full context)

...waiting to meet Elizabeth. Macgregor introduces her to everyone, after which Ellis pulls Flory and Westfield into the card-room and insinuates that Mrs. Lackersteen plans to marry Elizabeth off to Flory... (full context)

...jail, and nebulous rumors arise about a possible native uprising in a village called Thongwa. Westfield rushes to Thongwa immediately—he longs to violently quell an insurrection and make an example of... (full context)

...other Europeans have also been successful: he has scared off Flory. He has also convinced Westfield (who dislikes U Po Kyin) that Veraswami is conspiring with U Po Kyin, and he’s... (full context)

Flory goes to the Club after dinner, hoping to see Elizabeth. Instead he runs into Westfield and Ellis, who are furious because they’ve learned the editor of the Burmese Patriot, which... (full context)

...1, the day of the club’s general meeting, Flory enters the club lounge and finds Westfield. Westfield mentions that Maxwell won’t come to the meeting because he can’t leave camp but... (full context)

...that if the club votes unanimously against it, the Commissioner won’t press the issue. Ellis, Westfield, and Mr. Lackersteen claim to be unanimously against it. (full context)

...the cold shoulder because Maxwell’s death makes them even angrier at Flory’s “disloyalty.” Ellis and Westfield talk in bloodthirsty fashion about executing Maxwell’s murderers—or at least some Burmese men, even if... (full context)

That evening, all the Europeans except Westfield and Verrall come to the club. Everyone is fuming about the “unprovoked attack on Ellis,”... (full context)

No houses are looted and no one else is killed. The next morning, Westfield and Verrall return with two men who will be executed for Maxwell’s murder. Meanwhile, Flory... (full context)