Khru Liam's Khwam Mai Phayabat (1915) and the Problematics of Thai Modernity

Abstract

Luang Wilat Pariwat's Khwam mai phayabat [The Non-Vendetta] published in 1915 under the pseudonym ‘Khru Liam’ has been acknowledged as the first full-length novel written by a Thai author in the Thai language. However, literary scholars have been ambivalent about its place in the Thai literary canon because it appears to have been written as a parody of Marie Corelli's Vendetta (1886), which was translated into the Thai language in 1901 with the title Khwam phayabat. Apparently, Khru Liam's Khwam mai phayabat was not a market success because it disappeared from the public eye until 1997 when a copy was found and reprinted in 2001. This article contends that Khwam mai phayabat is more than a parody or an imitation of a Western novel, that it is authentically Thai and is significant on several registers. First, the novel is part of a larger survival strategy to prevent Siam's colonization. Second, it warns against the negative influences of modernity and urbanization, especially on Thai women. Third, the novel celebrates Buddhist values, especially the teaching that forgiveness is the only way to stop the cycle of revenge. Khwam mai phayabat was written before its time. It criticized a Bangkok society that was rapidly modernizing with imported material goods and values from the West. Apparently, this was not attractive to the Thai readership, which preferred instead to read about adventures in Europe and in Africa. Khwam mai phayabat was followed by another novel, Nang Neramid [Divine Nymphs] by the same author, which was about the adventures of some Englishmen in Africa. Nang Neramid appeared in 1916, allowing the author to make up for his earlier financial losses.