Previous
The Little Boy / The Son
The housemaid works for the man and the woman at their upscale house in the suburbs where only white people are allowed to live. It’s implied that she’s a black woman, as the story notes that the only black people allowed in the suburb are “trusted housemaids and gardeners.” Indeed, the housemaid is often referred to as “the trusted housemaid” throughout the story, which, by extension, implies that the husband and wife view black people as untrustworthy by default—the housemaid is an exception. Like her employers, though, the housemaid is anxious and fearful of outsiders—she assumes that the unemployed black people hanging around the family’s suburb are “loafers and tsotsis” (lazy people and criminals) who will tie her up when she’s home alone and burglarize the place. In the story, wealth inequality breeds fear, and the housemaid is often made to shoulder that burden—even though her employers’ wealth doesn’t belong to her.
The Housemaid Quotes in Once Upon a Time
The Once Upon a Time quotes below are all either spoken by The Housemaid or refer to The Housemaid. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Once Upon a Time
Quotes
In a house, in a suburb, in a city, there were a man and his wife who loved each other very much and were living happily ever after. They had a little boy, and they loved him very much. They had a cat and a dog that the little boy loved very much. They had a car and a caravan trailer for holidays, and a swimming pool which was fenced so that the little boy and his playmates would not fall in and drown. They had a housemaid who was absolutely trustworthy and an itinerant gardener who was highly recommended by the neighbours.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
[…] [The housemaid] implored her employers to have burglar bars attached to the doors and windows of the house, and an alarm system installed. The wife said, She is right, let us take heed of her advice. So from every window and door in the house where they were living happily ever after they now saw the trees and sky through bars, and when the little boy’s pet cat tried to climb in by the fanlight to keep him company in his little bed at night, as it customarily had done, it set off the alarm keening through the house.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
The wife could never see anyone go hungry. She sent the trusted housemaid out with bread and tea, but the trusted housemaid said these were loafers and tsotsis, who would come and tie her up and shut her in a cupboard. The husband said, She’s right. Take heed of her advice. You only encourage them with your bread and tea. They are looking for their chance…
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
[…] the alarm set up wailing against the screams while the bleeding mass of the little boy was hacked out of the security coil with saws, wire-cutters, choppers, and they carried it—the man, the wife, the hysterical trusted housemaid and the weeping gardener—into the house.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Once Upon a Time LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Housemaid Quotes in Once Upon a Time
The Once Upon a Time quotes below are all either spoken by The Housemaid or refer to The Housemaid. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Once Upon a Time
Quotes
In a house, in a suburb, in a city, there were a man and his wife who loved each other very much and were living happily ever after. They had a little boy, and they loved him very much. They had a cat and a dog that the little boy loved very much. They had a car and a caravan trailer for holidays, and a swimming pool which was fenced so that the little boy and his playmates would not fall in and drown. They had a housemaid who was absolutely trustworthy and an itinerant gardener who was highly recommended by the neighbours.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
[…] [The housemaid] implored her employers to have burglar bars attached to the doors and windows of the house, and an alarm system installed. The wife said, She is right, let us take heed of her advice. So from every window and door in the house where they were living happily ever after they now saw the trees and sky through bars, and when the little boy’s pet cat tried to climb in by the fanlight to keep him company in his little bed at night, as it customarily had done, it set off the alarm keening through the house.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
The wife could never see anyone go hungry. She sent the trusted housemaid out with bread and tea, but the trusted housemaid said these were loafers and tsotsis, who would come and tie her up and shut her in a cupboard. The husband said, She’s right. Take heed of her advice. You only encourage them with your bread and tea. They are looking for their chance…
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
[…] the alarm set up wailing against the screams while the bleeding mass of the little boy was hacked out of the security coil with saws, wire-cutters, choppers, and they carried it—the man, the wife, the hysterical trusted housemaid and the weeping gardener—into the house.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
