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The Betrothed -- Rudyard Kipling

Inspired by yesterday's poem...
(Poem #1922) The Betrothed
            "You must choose between me and your cigar."
            --BREACH OF PROMISE CASE, CIRCA 1885.

 Open the old cigar-box, get me a Cuba stout,
 For things are running crossways, and Maggie and I are out.

 We quarrelled about Havanas--we fought o'er a good cheroot,
 And I know she is exacting, and she says I am a brute.

 Open the old cigar-box--let me consider a space;
 In the soft blue veil of the vapour musing on Maggie's face.

 Maggie is pretty to look at--Maggie's a loving lass,
 But the prettiest cheeks must wrinkle, the truest of loves must pass.

 There's peace in a Laranaga, there's calm in a Henry Clay,
 But the best cigar in an hour is finished and thrown away--

 Thrown away for another as perfect and ripe and brown--
 But I could not throw away Maggie for fear o' the talk o' the town!

 Maggie, my wife at fifty--gray and dour and old--
 With never another Maggie to purchase for love or gold!

 And the light of Days that have Been the dark of the Days that Are,
 And Love's torch stinking and stale, like the butt of a dead cigar--

 The butt of a dead cigar you are bound to keep in your pocket--
 With never a new one to light tho' it's charred and black to the socket.

 Open the old cigar-box--let me consider awhile--
 Here is a mild Manilla--there is a wifely smile.

 Which is the better portion--bondage bought with a ring,
 Or a harem of dusky beauties fifty tied in a string?

 Counsellors cunning and silent--comforters true and tried,
 And never a one of the fifty to sneer at a rival bride.

 Thought in the early morning, solace in time of woes,
 Peace in the hush of the twilight, balm ere my eyelids close.

 This will the fifty give me, asking naught in return,
 With only a Suttee's passion--to do their duty and burn.

 This will the fifty give me. When they are spent and dead,
 Five times other fifties shall be my servants instead.

 The furrows of far-off Java, the isles of the Spanish Main,
 When they hear my harem is empty, will send me my brides again.

 I will take no heed to their raiment, nor food for their mouths withal,
 So long as the gulls are nesting, so long as the showers fall.

 I will scent 'em with best Vanilla, with tea will I temper their hides,
 And the Moor and the Mormon shall envy who read of the tale of my brides.

 For Maggie has written a letter that gives me my choice between
 The wee little whimpering Love and the great god Nick o' Teen.

 And I have been servant of Love for barely a twelve-month clear,
 But I have been Priest of Partagas a matter of seven year;

 And the gloom of my bachelor days is flecked with the cheery light
 Of stumps that I burned to Friendship and Pleasure and Work and Fight.

 And I turn my eyes to the future that Maggie and I must prove,
 But the only light on the marshes is the Will-o'-the-Wisp of Love.

 Will it see me safe through my journey or leave me bogged in the mire?
 Since a puff of tobacco can cloud it, shall I follow the fitful fire?

 Open the old cigar-box--let me consider anew--
 Old friends, and who is Maggie that I should abandon you?

 A million surplus Maggies are willing to bear the yoke;
 And a woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a Smoke.

 Light me another Cuba--I hold to my first-sworn vows,
 If Maggie will have no rival, I'll have no Maggie for spouse!
-- Rudyard Kipling
This is one of those poems that I remembered mostly because I liked a
fragment of it, in this case the wonderfully flowing line

 And a woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a Smoke.

In truth, when I went to read it again, I was rather disappointed - the
premise is clever enough, and there are some nice lines, but overall the
poem felt like it was trying to squeeze too much out of a single idea, and
ended up sounding rather dull in consequence.

I do have to wonder, considering my usual high regard of Kipling's poetry,
whether this is at least in part because, not being a smoker myself, I have
no emotional or visceral reaction to anything in the poem, and that makes
potentially moving, stirring or humorous lines fall flat. What say those of
you who do indulge? Is this actually one of Kipling's nail-on-the-head poems
that I simply lack the context to appreciate? Or is this indeed one of the
rare times when he has simply missed the mark?

martin

71 comments: ( or Leave a comment )

Tamsin Bacchus said...

You refer to yesterday's poem but I seem to have missed out on it and when I
have recently visited the website still seems to be stuck in last January.
Which is a pity because I would like to see the comments you have invited on
this. My father smoked and I first heard this one of Kipling's from him.

These though are mild quibbles. I am loving being a part of this process.
Keep up the good work!

lilibon said...

i'm curious that you speak only of the tobacco, and not the spouse,
the apparently beleagured Maggie! What of her, what becomes of her
when his ahses (rather the cigar's ashes!) are swept away?

lilibon

LAURA HARDING said...

All I know is I once had a very old chemist uncle who used to quote that
very line---"A woman is only a woman...." regularly and with relish. I never
even gave it a passing thought till I read it here. Thanks for sourcing it
for me, Martin, and for bringing back a great memory!!

Victoria (home) said...

Having been very fond of cigarettes for many years, and having given them up
for several months, I can appreciate Kiplings' passionate overture.
Smoking is so addictive, that for some, the threat of a gangrenous/cancerous
future is not enough for them to give it up.
However, being a woman, I found this poem a touch "Men's Club Only". I would
like to think that where scientific proof of hideous diseases fail, the
right woman would be worth quitting for. Quite obviously, Maggie did not
light Kipling's fire, or else he would not be predicting his future
affections as "Love's torch stinking and stale, like the butt of a dead
cigar"...Charming!!

As humorous as a few of the lines are, I think the poem is tedious,
charmless and ultimately, silly.

psisushi said...

I don't think the poem requires that much context - he does go on a
bit long, but only to show the rationalizations of the narrator. Of
course, I do have some context for the poem: my girlfriend smokes, and
there have been a few conversations (thankfully not as precipitous)
about whether or not she should quit.
Keeping in mind that there was little or no knowledge of lung cancer
in Kipling's day, the poem is just touching on a basic problem with
human relationships: if your mate is trying to change you, especially
your harmless habits or hobbies, is she really right for you? The same
(rather self-centered) question is at least partially responsible for
the high divorce rate in North America.
The reason Kipling's poem is fifty-two lines long, (rather than, say,
four) is that he is stressing the narrator's psychology: the
rationalizations being made to justify ending a marriage (which was
much more serious than it is today, of course) over such an
insignificant issue as cigars.
If you take the poem literally, it's a justification for divorce. If
you read between the lines, it's a study of psychological dependence.
It's a great deal more vague than most of what he wrote, but either
way, it's a good read, if you ask me.

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Anonymous said...

Hello Martin- I am 74 years-old and a life-long cigar smoker-And you are right! There is only that one good line in the poem and the rest is long and boring-Bob

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Sudeshna Hazra said...

I have loved this poem for its bipolarity. An ordinary man has been in love with a woman at a younger age and has managed to woo her for his wife. However, with passing time the bodily passion for the woman has quite naturally diminished from its beginning. However, he would not quite think of living with any other woman so naturally the harem of Spanish Kings do not interest him much, atleast not enough to let go of Maggi. There has been certain disagreements between them as well like most couples and during those times, his smoke has helped him through in ways. After so many years, he feels he would not be able to hold onto his relationship with Maggi, had the smoke not filled in the interludes.

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Anonymous said...

Maggie is the narrator's fiance - hence the opening description "Breach of Promise".

In the mid-1800's, English law provided for something called a "Breach of Promise" - in this case, the promise of marriage via engagement. If brought before the courts and sufficient evidence provided, the breacher would owe the breachee damages of some sort.

What's more interesting is the description describes this as a "BREACH OF PROMISE CASE" - meaning, this is currently on trial.

Maggie and the narrator are engaged, and Maggie has given the ultimatum that either the narrator choose her, or his cigars. It has come to the point where this is on trial, and I'm assuming this is either his defense of breaking his promise, or what could be running through his mind in court.

Ragin' Dave said...

I think the poem is a good one; the narrator is not just waxing poetic about cigars, he's wondering about the future of his life, with his betrothed, and contemplating what joys he will gain should he give up cigars, and vice versa, should he give in to her demands.

Given the modern proclivity to trade in one bride for a newer model, the sentiments he lays out are essentially the same, only with a different focus of the future.

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