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Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Fiela’s Child, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Race and Identity
Parenting
Justice
Humanity vs. Nature
Summary
Analysis
At Wolwekraal, the ostrich Kicker has red shins, meaning he is preparing to mate. Fiela rearranges the property to give the ostriches more privacy. Petrus has been away for a few days, delayed by rain, and no one knows for sure when he’ll be back with news of Benjamin. When Petrus finally does come back, it’s two days later than expected. Fiela has prepared a sugar-cake. But Benjamin isn’t with Petrus.
After the hopeful ending of the previous chapter, the rainy beginning to this chapter suggests a gloomier outlook. Fiela tries to stay positive by making a sugar-cake (which is Benjamin’s favorite), but ultimately Petrus ends up being little different than the white census-takers, failing to keep his promise to bring Benjamin back.
Themes
Petrus says he spent a long time talking with the magistrate and believes that the magistrate is a reasonable man. He says the magistrate sent a forester (Mr. Kapp) to check on Benjamin, and all was well. Petrus now believes that Elias and Barta are Benjamin’s rightful parents. Fiela tells him that’s nonsense. Petrus says Fiela should be patient and wait for Benjamin to come back to her when he’s grown up to visit. He leaves, and the next Monday, Fiela gets a message from the magistrate that if she doesn’t stop looking into the issue, she’ll face trouble herself.
Petrus trusts the racist legal system of his country, not realizing (or perhaps not wanting to realize) that bureaucrats like Mr. Kapp are more loyal to the institutions they represent than to seeking justice. Petrus’s desire to help Fiela and her family seems genuine, but he’s also not willing to do anything that might put himself at risk. The warning that Fiela receives to stop investigating Benjamin’s case reveals the consequences of her confronting the magistrate’s office earlier.
Themes
