Are you looking for a public quote or two from Rudyard Kipling but coming up short? Well, there’s a reason or two, and I’m here to explain them to you. While Kipling was well-known across Britain and the world during his rise to fame in the early 1900s, he remained mostly silent in the press. But why did Rudyard Kipling refuse to be interviewed? As you’ll see, his sense of privacy, aversion to self-promotion, and desire to control his self-image were a few main reasons for his choice.
Rudyard Kipling: Famous British Author
Let’s start with a brief overlook of this covert author. Kipling was one of the most famous British writers of his time. Remember The Jungle Book or Kim? Kipling wrote both of those popular works. Other notable works include Gunga Din, If, The Light That Failed, and The Man Who Would Be King. He’s considered one of the greatest writers of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Bombay, India, was his birthplace. His parents were involved in the British colonial administration there, and Kipling held their colonialist sentiments throughout his life. After his schooling in England, his career as a journalist took off. Then came the poems, short story collections, and novels.
So, what made his work so captivating? Maybe his mysterious, private nature enchanted his fans. But there’s no doubt that he used compelling literary elements and highly relatable themes. Those themes include the human condition, power, cultural differences, and self-belief. And even though some events, like his daughter’s death, were reported by the press, we just don’t know much about his personal life because he shrugged off interviews.
Kipling Valued Privacy
As a Victorian stoic, Kipling appreciated independence and solitude. He didn’t want the spotlight. And he he didn’t like journalists. In fact, his wife Caroline wrote about his reaction to reporters in her diary. She said that he felt that interviews were criminal and offensive. Apparently, Kipling thought interviews were disrespectful. He even dubbed them “cowardly.”
With that in mind, I’m sure you’ll be interested to hear that he wrote an autobiography. Well, it was unfinished when he passed away, but his wife helped get it published. But it was no tell-all. His autobiography, “Something of Myself,” focused only on his work. He discussed how his work was inspired but didn’t disclose too much of his private life.
Aversion to Self-Promotion
Kipling had traditional stoic views of success. So, he believed that you must work hard to succeed. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t like self-promotion or overnight success. Fame came knocking on his door, but he minded his own business for the most part.
If you want proof of this point, it exists! Just look at how Kipling refused British honors over the course of his career. In 1899 and 1903, he turned down being knighted by the British monarch. As allegedly stated by his wife, he claimed he could work better without it. Then, in 1921 and 1924, Kipling declined the honorable Order of Merit. At the rate he was churning out written work throughout those years, it does seem that refusing such public honors helped him stay focused.
Desire for Control Over His Image
Now, Kipling was a careful and deliberate person. He didn’t want his image to be tarnished with false assumptions or statements. Consider this excerpt from Kipling’s poem, “If:”
“If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools”
We may assume he’s had some experience with his words getting misrepresented or misinterpreted after reading that advice. Somehow, he knows the pain of having words put in his mouth or twisted around. Perhaps he knew that the more he spoke publicly, the more his words would be warped.
Distrust of the Press
At one point or another, most of us have felt uneasy or at least a bit cautious about what we read in the news. If you’ve felt that way, you’re in good company! Kipling was likely distrustful of the press, along with much of the British public, in the early 1900s. This skepticism was especially widespread during WWI. In those chaotic years, the British press was largely viewed as sensationalist or unreliable.
Maybe if Kipling had journalists in his network who he could trust, he would’ve given them interviews. Or perhaps it wouldn’t have mattered. If he felt the press was inherently untrustworthy, he wouldn’t have given any journalist the time of day.
Impact of Kipling’s Refusal to Be Interviewed
Do you think it’s ironic that in Kipling’s efforts to stay private, avoid self-promotion, and control his image, his lack of interviews leads us to assume his viewpoints? Of course, we have a fair amount of his publications to put the puzzle pieces of his life together. We can analyze his published work to help answer our questions about his beliefs. One example is his 1902 poem, The Rowers.
In The Rowers, Kipling makes his anti-German sentiments clear. However, he did actually make comments that reaffirmed his stance to the Le Figaro newspaper in September 1905. It’s unclear what his thought process behind this interview was. No matter his reason for agreeing to this interview, now we know exactly how he felt about Germany at the time. For his other worldviews, we’ll just have to keep reading his stories and poems.
Conclusion
To sum it up, Kipling was a famous figure who largely held back from public comment. Instead, he expressed himself through his phenomenal poems, short stories, and novels. Of course, his fans and critics today would love more insight into his beliefs and feelings. However, some questions about Rudyard Kipling will simply never be answered.