Untouchable

by

Mulk Raj Anand

The Colonel’s Wife Character Analysis

The Colonel’s wife is one of the few white women (“mem-sahibs”) in Bulashah. She is frustrated with Colonel Hutchinson for his willingness to spend so much time with the outcastes, and she resents her husband for his drooping mustache and sagging body. When she spies the Colonel with Bakha, she erupts, frightening Bakha; as he leaves the Colonel’s home, dejected, Bakha wonders if “the anger of a white person mattered more.”
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The Colonel’s Wife Character Timeline in Untouchable

The timeline below shows where the character The Colonel’s Wife appears in Untouchable. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Pages 105–139
Coming of Age and Inherited Prejudice Theme Icon
...now, he is balding and his mustache is drooping. Everyone in town knows that his wife has grown to resent him. (full context)
Inequality, Harm, and Internalization Theme Icon
...that he bought and converted five years ago. While Hutchinson starts singing another hymn, his wife yells out that their afternoon tea is ready. When Hutchinson does not come inside right... (full context)
Inequality, Harm, and Internalization Theme Icon
Coming of Age and Inherited Prejudice Theme Icon
...events. Bakha cannot stop seeing the angry glares of the touched man and the Colonel’s wife, though the latter is the most terrifying to him of all, because he feels that... (full context)