Previous
Chapter 25
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Long Walk to Freedom, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Racism and Division
Negotiation, Democracy, and Progress
Nonviolent Protest vs. Violent Protest
The Value of Optimism
Summary
Analysis
One day when he’s out driving, Mandela sees a beautiful woman. A couple weeks later, he is surprised to see the same woman in his office with her brother. Her name is Nomzamo Winifred Madikizela, and she goes by Winnie. Mandela falls in love almost immediately. He finds a pretext to invite her to lunch and takes her to get Indian curry, which she’s never had before. She starts to visit him frequently, even coming to political meetings and his gym.
Mandela’s quick romance with Winnie suggests that, although Mandela is patient on some matters, he also knows when to be decisive. Winnie’s trips to political meetings and the gym seem to reflect a desire on her part to get to better know the things Mandela values, offering a contrast to the end of his previous marriage when he and Evelyn realized they held different (and irreconcilable) values.
Themes
Mandela and Winnie marry on June 14, 1958. He gets a six-day hold on his travel ban for the wedding and to go visit Winnie’s relatives. There’s no time for a honeymoon because Mandela’s ban takes effect again, and he becomes busy with his trial.
This passage shows how the government’s restrictions on Mandela make it difficult for him to celebrate typical life events like a marriage. Although Mandela’s activism is a self-imposed burden, passages like argue that in many ways the government left him with no choice but to continue fighting these types of injustices.
Themes
