Eurasians not European Enough, Ma Hla May not Burmese Enough

As Stoler notes, Eurasian children were required to fulfill a myriad of criteria in order to gain the advantageous 'legal access to European equivalent status' (Stoler 538). Some examples of these are 'fluency in spoken and written' language of their home country, 'training in European morals and ideas', and the necessity of the 'distanc[ing] of [oneself] from his native being' (Stoler 538). This judgement comes from an official body, the courts, with directives put into place to determine the Eurasian child's citizenship. What is important here is how these point to an obsession with not only whether one is European, but whether one is European enough.

What is interesting about this, for me, is how this may be applied in reverse to the character of Ma Hla May. A similarly liminal figure, she too is subject to scrutiny in order to determine if she is Burmese enough, although in her case, her verdict is declared by the Burmese community. Her question, 'how can I go back to my village after [having been a bo-kadaw]' (Orwell 158) indicates the impossibility of her reintegration into Burmese society fully as a respectful woman- she is instead 'ruined' and 'shame[d]' (Orwell 159). Perhaps an alternative to Shiva's reading could be that Ma Hla May's native identity has been altered forever (instead of 'relinquished'), due to her failed relationship (as opposed to her mere 'union with Flory') with a white man. Ma Hla May is still native, but not native enough.

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