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Chapter 3
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Mother to Mother, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Legacy of Colonialism and Apartheid
Family, Tradition, and Obligation
Language, Storytelling, and History
Summary
Analysis
Mandisa arrives at home, and asks Siziwe where Mxolisi and Lunga are. Mandisa realizes that Siziwe, a girl, is more vulnerable than her sons, but now that Mandisa knows her daughter is safe, she is concerned for her boys. Still, she admits to herself that she is the most worried about Mxolisi. She doesn’t know why their bond is so strong, but she knows she feels differently about him than she does about her other children.
Although she acknowledges that her daughter is more vulnerable than her sons in the midst of a riot, Mandisa quickly snaps back to being disproportionately focused on her firstborn son and seems less concerned about her other son, Lunga, who has been largely absent from the narrative.
Themes
Lunga is home, but Mxolisi is still missing. Mandisa is upset that Siziwe is not more concerned by her brother’s absence. Mandisa acknowledges that her younger children accuse her of favoring Mxolisi.
This passage reveals that Mandisa isn’t far off when she says that she feels differently about Mxolisi than she does about her other children; even Lunga and Siziwe sense Mandisa’s favoritism and seem to resent both Mandisa and Mxolisi for it. Meanwhile, Mandisa seems to think that her other two kids have an obligation, as siblings, to care about their brother.
Themes
At 7:45 p.m., Mandisa’s neighbor, Skonana knocks on the door. Skonana is nosy and wants to know what is happening with Mandisa, but Mandisa hopes to get information from her neighbor. Skonana reveals that she’s heard a white woman was killed in Guguletu earlier in the day. Mandisa knows that “Guguletu is a violent place,” but violence against a white woman will have dangerous repercussions for the black community. Mandisa understands that the police “are not our friends,” and their involvement will only lead to more trouble and “pull this township apart.”
Against the backdrop of political instability and an unreliable government, the community provides people with a necessary sense of stability. Even though the township is already riddled with violence, Mandisa knows that they are at least currently left to their own devices, as the police and government care little if black South Africans kill other black South Africans. Now that a white woman is the victim of violence, however, the township is bound to receive more attention from the police, which is not a good thing.
Themes
Mandisa wonders aloud what is wrong with people, that they commit violence against their neighbors, and now against a white woman. Skonana reveals the crime was committed by “schoolchildren”; she is “gloating” because she is childless and therefore blameless. Annoyed, Mandisa says goodbye, but curious about what happened, opens her door again and reengages her neighbor in conversation. Skonana tells Mandisa the crime happened on their street, and was committed with a knife.
The rumored violence against a white woman is getting closer and closer to home for Mandisa—first she found out that something happened in her township, then that it was near her house, and now that it took place on her very street. On another note, Skonana’s “gloating” ties in to the idea that parents are responsible for their children’s actions; as she has no children, she doesn’t have to shoulder the worry and grief that a mother like Mandisa does.
Themes
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