Re: School stories

Janet <[email protected]> posted:

> In article <[email protected]>, 
> [email protected] says...
> > 
> > On 2 Apr 2026 19:33:18 GMT, rbowman <[email protected]> wrote:
> > 
> > >On Thu, 02 Apr 2026 05:33:56 +0200, Steve Hayes wrote:
> > >
> > >> Both Kipling and Lewis wrote about Edwardian English public schools.
> > >> 
> > >> Lewis also mentioned schools in his fiction, most notably in "The Silver
> > >> Chair", where he describes authoritarianism in what was ostensibly a
> > >> libertarian school.
> > >
> > >Kipling wrote about the hazing of the younger students by the older ones. 
> > >In 'Surprised by Joy' Lewis strongly hints there was a sexual element.
> > 
> > Lewis doesn't merely hint. He says quite clearly that there was sexual
> > exploitation at the school he attended. There were not merely
> > adolescent crushes, but there was systemic exploitation as well. 
> 
> 
>    I'd be surprised if Kilpling used the term hazing,  or was referring 
> to that American activity.  He was probably talking about  the  
> different British custom fagging 
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fagging 
> 
I agree. The British term for hazing was ragging. It didn't happen at Oxford
in my time (1961–1967), not at Wadham, anyway; at least, I never heard that
it did. My sister never reported anything of that sort at St. Andrews. However,
it did occur in some other universities. 

-- 
athel

Living in Marseilles for 39 years; mainly in England before that,
with long periods in Singapore, California, Chile and Canada