Fleming is not a villain but a realist. He shows how even “well-intentioned” colonials are complicit in systemic injustice. His character complicates any simple colonizer/colonized binary.
: Mortimer plays the daughter of the Bullards. Her arrival complicates the narrative as she is positioned as a socially acceptable match for John Truscott. Supporting Cast and Native Representation
: A key local figure within the village. cast of the sleeping dictionary
: Part of the Iban ensemble. Behind the Scenes: The Creative Team
Unwitting rival. Background: A British woman married to Thorne, unable to have children. Fleming is not a villain but a realist
Pom begins as a village girl from a tribal community in the Sundarbans, orphaned after a flood. She is sold into servitude and then into a brothel in Calcutta. Her intelligence and resilience allow her to escape, first to a missionary school, then into the world of publishing. She eventually becomes a secretary for a British publisher and later a novelist herself.
The Sleeping Dictionary is a romantic drama film set in the 1930s, directed by Guy Jenkin. The story follows a young British officer stationed in Sarawak, Borneo, who falls in love with a local woman assigned to teach him the language and local customs. : Mortimer plays the daughter of the Bullards
Fleming hires Pom (as Pamela) as his secretary. He encourages her writing and offers her intellectual respect. However, when her past is revealed, he fails to support her publicly, choosing instead to protect his reputation.