Shades

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He knew it now and he had known it then for he had written in his journal on his first night at the mission listening to the secret dark beyond his window: "January 27th, 1898: At St Matthias Mission there is an odd sense of predestination. It is strange how strongly I feel it . . . what it is I do not know but I shall leave before it takes me in. I shall leave before I am its victim."

And yet, despite the clarity of his perceptions, despite some instinct shouting in his head, he had not left. He had written those words and then he had put them away. For two and a half years they had lain in his journal unrecalled. And now he was leaving — fighting a rising desolation: not a victim eager for escape, but an exile sent from home.

The catastrophic game had ended as he knew it must. It had claimed them all. Tom, Reuben and Sonwabo gone. Crispin gone — dragging himself out into some remote and hostile darkness. And if Benedict Matiwane was still there, he had ensured a distance more divisive and complete than death. Tomorrow, when the funeral was over, when Crispin had been buried beneath the oak at the east side of the church, then he himself would go, a passenger in Klaus Otto's transport wagon. No inducements and no remembrances would keep him back.

No inducements.

No remembrances.

He stood and walked towards the corner of the curate's lodge. He looked across the drive and yard towards the mission house. The last time he had stood like this, he had watched the moon's reflection in the panes of Frances Farborough's window, the night she'd gone away. Then, he'd felt a primal cry, rising like a flame in his throat. Now he stood in quietness, hearing only the breathing of the trees, the shadows grey and still across the shutters of her empty room.

Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?

Read the passage in the left column before answering the questions below:

Was Walter Brownley's sense of predestination justified? Explain, using examples from the novel to justify your answer. (6)

[Need help?]

Walter's sense of predestination was certainly justified. It seems that the shades or ancestors surrounded the St Matthias mission station, causing mischief to all who lived there. One can refer to so many incidents which could be connected to these shades or to fate: the rinderpest; the drought; Walter's falling in love with Frances but the many interventions which prevented their becoming really close; Frances's manipulation by Victor; the fate of the Pumani brothers; Crispin's suicide; etc. Can you name anything else? There are many examples. Indeed, this is the reason for the novel being called Shades.

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"I shall leave before I am its victim."

• Why had Walter not left? (4)



• Had he become a victim? Support you answer by reference to the novel. (6)

[Need help?]

Walter's commitment to his church was what initially prevented his leaving. He even accepted to go to Mbokothwe, the place he feared most. It was only when his love for Frances became totally unbearable that he eventually decided to leave but even then he was prevented from doing so, first by Crispin's suicide and then of course by his meeting with Frances at the Grahamstown railway station. One could certainly argue that Walter had become a victim to fate: his falling in love with Frances but the many incidents which prevented them coming really close; her sexual act which should have caused her to marry Victor; Walter's being sent to Mbokothwe; etc. Can you think of anything else?

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"And now he was leaving — fighting a rising desolation: not a victim eager for escape, but an exile sent from home."

• What does the author means by this? Explain carefully. (6)

[Need help?]

The rising sense of desolation was caused by Walter's having to leave Frances once he had realised that she meant everything to him but that she could never be his. He felt that his real home was St Matthias and Mbokothwe but he needed to leave so as not to get in the way of Frances and her marriage to Victor. Walter was therefore going into voluntary exile — away from Frances and the place he called home.

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What was the "catastrophic game"? Explain carefully. (4)

[Need help?]

The catastrophic game was Victor's empire building; his seduction of Frances; his creation of a recruitment agency which enlisted the Pumani brothers; his leading Crispin to join him and reducing him to such a sense of guilt and helplessness that he eventually committed suicide. Can you think of any other examples?

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Why had Benedict Matiwane left the mission station? (4)

[Need help?]

Benedict needed to find himself. He was neither Xhosa nor Christian, had forsaken Black tradition and culture but was not fully welcomed into an English one. Eventually he decided to leave so that he could seek his true identity — and seek out Dorcas whom he loved and who needed him for her well-being.

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"Then, he'd felt a primal cry, rising like a flame in his throat."

• Comment on the significance of this statement. (5)

[Need help?]

Walter's love for Frances was so intense it was an almost primitive pain from deep within his soul because he could not have her. He believed he had already lost her to Victor. His decision to leave St Matthias and Mbokothwe was an exile from everything that he held dear — and it caused a pain deep inside him, welling up from within his primeval being.

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