HistoryModern India: Rebels and the Raj

How does the British image of Miss Wheeler in Kanpur represent the En…

How does the British image of Miss Wheeler in Kanpur represent the English woman at its centre?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → Heroic, single-handedly killing the rebels who attack her

Option (1) Helpless and innocent, waiting with her children for rescue — Incorrect. Helpless, innocent women and children waiting for their fate are shown in "In Memoriam" by Joseph Noel Paton. Miss Wheeler stands and fights.

Option (2) Heroic, single-handedly killing the rebels who attack her — Correct. This set of sketches shows women in a different light: heroic, defending themselves. Miss Wheeler stands firmly at the centre, single-handedly killing the attacking rebels.

Option (3) Captive, being led away by the sepoys to their camp — Incorrect. She stands firm at the centre and fights back against four armed men.

Option (4) Kneeling in prayer as the rebels break into the room — Incorrect. The Bible lies on the floor and gives her fight a religious meaning. She herself is shown killing the attackers.

NCERT (2026-27): “5.2 English women and the honour of Britain …
In another set of sketches and paintings we see women in a different light. They appear heroic, defending themselves against the attack of rebels. Miss Wheeler in Figure 10.12 stands firmly at the centre, defending her honour, single-handedly killing the attacking rebels. As in all such British representations, the rebels are demonised. Here, four burly males with swords and guns are shown attacking a woman. The woman’s struggle to save her honour and her life, in fact, is represented as having a deeper religious connotation: it is a battle to save the honour of Christianity. The book lying on the floor is the Bible.”