The Man Who Would Be King Themes

Written during Britain’s imperial rule of India, Kipling’s “The Man Who Would Be King” is essentially a parable about the moral authority of the British Empire. Daniel Dravot and Peachey Carnehan, two British men living in India, have signed a contract stating that they will abide by a strict moral code: they will not touch women or alcohol until they have become kings of the land of Kafiristan. Yet soon after becoming a king…

Throughout “The Man Who Would Be King,” Daniel Dravot’s ambition is boundless. As soon as he achieves his lofty goal of becoming king of Kafiristan, he decides it’s not enough: he must build an empire as well, and ultimately pronounces himself both an emperor and a god. Ambition and hubris are what drive Dravot to break his contract with Carnehan (the two men had agreed to abstain from women and alcohol until they were…

At the beginning of the story, the narrator’s description of an intermediate-class train journey provides a succinct account of India’s racially stratified society under British governance. The British of Kipling’s world believe themselves to be racially superior to the people they have colonized, and they use this prejudiced ideology to justify their rule. Initially, Carnehan and Dravot’s insistence on the whiteness of the Kafirs appears to complicate this notion of the colonizer’s racial…

Carnehan and Dravot’s “Contrack” (contract) prohibits either man from interacting with women, which implies that women are inherently immoral. Furthermore, they believe relationships with women could distract them from achieving their goal of becoming kings of Kafiristan. Similarly, the narrator complains that the women who visit the newspaper office distract him with frivolous concerns and prevent him from doing his duty. It is also Dravot’s desire for a wife that leads to…