“Four Reigns” by Kukrit Pramoj (translated by Tulachandra)

This novel is a Siamese classic. It follows the life of a minor royal courtier, Phloi, from her birth to her death, through the reigns of the four monarchs she lives under. A reoccurring theme of the novel is the nature of life’s impermanence. As a child, Phloi was assigned to one of the minor Princesses in Rama V’s court. ““I am not all that fond of jewelry,” Sadet said with a plaintive sigh. “But you can imagine how tongues would wag if I went about unornamented. So I wear them, without much enjoyment, which doesn’t prevent me from fussing and fuming when they get lost or broken. Aren’t we funny creatures, Phloi? How we cling to our possessions! And be it a precious gem or worthless pebble, if we let ourselves become too attached to it we suffer when it’s gone.”” Years later, in the reign of Rama VI, speaking to her husband, Prem, Phloi maintains her reverence and respect for the monarchy. “It’s only because I don’t like flatterers and fawners that I don’t want to become one myself. You and I, Khun Prem, will always be loyal to the throne, as were our grandfathers and grandmothers before us. We are Nai Luang’s loyal subjects and it follows that we’re going to be loyal subjects to his wives and children.”

In Rama VII’s reign, her youngest son, Ot, explains to his uncle, Phoem, what he appreciates about Siam after returning from his studies in England, “The muang nok rich are many times richer; that’s the difference. The very rich over there are so monumentally, colossally rich that they would consider what we call a very large fortune here somewhat laughable. On the other hand, our poor people are much more fortunate than theirs. Life in a cold climate can be brutal when you don’t have money. Here food is easy to come by—fish in the water everywhere, fruit and vegetables growing wild, a bowl of rice-and-curry costing practically nothing. Here with the sun shining a poor man in a loin cloth sitting under a shady tree is cool and comfortable. His wealthier neighbor may even be dressed the same way, for rich or poor, we all like our cool comfort, don’t we?” However, Ot’s older brother, An, upon his return from studying law in France, has a slightly different view, “There are enough men with ability and expert knowledge in this country, but they don’t rise to where that can exercise effective leadership because they haven’t got the push and pull needed in our society. So what have we got? We’ve got men with little competence but lots of family influence together with old men with obsolete ideas running the country for us.” Perhaps Phloi’s brother, Phoem, puts living through the ups and downs of life’s challenges the best, “The world turns and turns, Mae Phloi. The pendulum swings. Let us enjoy our roast duck.”