Burmese Days

by

George Orwell

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Burmese Days makes teaching easy.

Mrs. Lackersteen Character Analysis

Mrs. Lackersteen, an elegant woman in her mid-30s with a “sighing, discontented voice,” is wife to Mr. Lackersteen and aunt-by-marriage to Elizabeth Lackersteen. Aware of her husband’s alcoholism and infidelities, she is constantly trying to keep an eye on him and regulate his behavior. Interested in marrying off Elizabeth, she sabotages Elizabeth’s budding romance with John Flory by telling her that he had a Burmese mistress (Ma Hla May) when she learns that an eligible young aristocrat named Verrall is coming to Kyauktada. Though Mrs. Lackersteen tries hard to promote a relationship between Elizabeth and Verrall, Verrall leaves town without proposing to Elizabeth, and Mrs. Lackersteen begins to encourage the romance between Elizabeth and Flory.

Mrs. Lackersteen Quotes in Burmese Days

The Burmese Days quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Lackersteen or refer to Mrs. Lackersteen. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Imperialism and Hypocrisy Theme Icon
).
Chapter 17 Quotes

He had not even the heart to be angry any longer. For he had perceived, with the deadly self-knowledge and self-loathing that come to one at such a time, that what had happened served him perfectly right. For a moment it seemed to him that an endless procession of Burmese women, a regiment of ghosts, were marching past him in the moonlight […]. He had dirtied himself beyond redemption, and this was his just punishment.

Related Characters: John Flory, Elizabeth Lackersteen, Ma Hla May , Mrs. Lackersteen
Page Number: 196
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18 Quotes

They would all have fallen at the feet of a lieutenant the Honourable if he had shown the smallest courtesy; as it was, everyone except the two women detested him from the start. It is always so with titled people, they are either adored or hated. If they accept one it is charming simplicity, if they ignore one it is loathsome snobbishness; there are no half-measures.

Related Characters: Elizabeth Lackersteen, Mrs. Lackersteen, Verrall
Page Number: 201
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Burmese Days LitChart as a printable PDF.
Burmese Days PDF

Mrs. Lackersteen Quotes in Burmese Days

The Burmese Days quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Lackersteen or refer to Mrs. Lackersteen. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Imperialism and Hypocrisy Theme Icon
).
Chapter 17 Quotes

He had not even the heart to be angry any longer. For he had perceived, with the deadly self-knowledge and self-loathing that come to one at such a time, that what had happened served him perfectly right. For a moment it seemed to him that an endless procession of Burmese women, a regiment of ghosts, were marching past him in the moonlight […]. He had dirtied himself beyond redemption, and this was his just punishment.

Related Characters: John Flory, Elizabeth Lackersteen, Ma Hla May , Mrs. Lackersteen
Page Number: 196
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18 Quotes

They would all have fallen at the feet of a lieutenant the Honourable if he had shown the smallest courtesy; as it was, everyone except the two women detested him from the start. It is always so with titled people, they are either adored or hated. If they accept one it is charming simplicity, if they ignore one it is loathsome snobbishness; there are no half-measures.

Related Characters: Elizabeth Lackersteen, Mrs. Lackersteen, Verrall
Page Number: 201
Explanation and Analysis: