Fiela se kind (Dalene Matthee) Chapter 3 Summary
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WHAT HAPPENED, IN 50 WORDS:
Chapter 3 unveils Fiela's anxiety as census officials question Benjamin's place in her family. Recollections about a lost boy provoke fears in Fiela, regarding Benjamin's origin. Despite Fiela's fierce defense and bold counterclaims, the officials depart unswayed, leaving the family tense over the unresolved issue of Benjamin's identity.
FULL SUMMARY:
Chapter 3 partially opens with signs of trouble disturbing the household: an encounter with a puff adder and the predation of a favorite chick by a hawk, which Fiela dismisses as ordinary occurrences. The family is preoccupied with the arrival of an ostrich, coming from the east, which promises future prosperity. Benjamin runs ahead, energetic as always, despite Fiela’s admonitions to keep behind the bird. Fiela converses with Selling about the ostrich and the increasing presence of traveling traders in the area. In anticipation, she readies pelts for potential sales. Despite intensifying heat, a horse cart of traders approaches them from the Kloof's west while her children and the ostrich raced into view from the east. As Fiela and Selling anticipate the horse cart heading their way, their indispensable ostrich is rushed ahead into the paddock. Fiela has grand ambitions for this ostrich to breed with the male they already own, potentially offering significant monetary gain. The horse cart finally arrives, and it isn’t a typical trader’s cart but two government officials collecting data for a census. This revelation alarms Fiela, sparking worry regarding her youngest son Benjamin’s security. The specific reasons for this fear are unrevealed in this section, leaving an air of mystery and concern hanging over the otherwise routine proceedings of Fiela’s household. In this continuation of Chapter 3, government officials carry out a census at Fiela's home. Fiela, apparently aware of the potential danger this could pose for her adopted child Benjamin, tries to outwit the officials. When asked about her children, she claims Benjamin as her own, intending to protect him as one of her five children. They query the records, with Fiela presenting her family data from the bible, stating that Benjamin, currently twelve, was born February 13, 1862. Uncertainty arises when the officials identified Benjamin as a white child in this otherwise brown family. Fiela, unflinching, stands her ground, fiercely insisting that she had cared for Benjamin like a foundling lamb from when he was left on her doorstep nine years prior, unclaimed. One of the officials recalls a significant event about a boy who got lost in 'Die Bos' when he was about three - almost aligning with Benjamin's adoption, casting an unsettling light on the circumstances of Benjamin's early childhood. Fiela, staunchly defiant, dismisses the plausibility of the three-year-old child traveling through the treacherous mountains to her house from 'Die Bos'. Despite her belligerent defense, the air of complexity around Benjamin's maternity and past is intensified as the section ends, leaving Fiela in suspense about the fate of Benjamin. As Fiela continues to stand her ground, she asserts that Benjamin had not wandered far. She argues that if Benjamin had ended up on the semi-constructed road that existed nine years ago, he would have been found by the numerous workers present there. She concludes her argument by insisting that Benjamin arrived clean and tidy; he couldn’t have traveled through treacherous lands. Despite her valiant defense, matters gradually escalate. One of the officers suggests the situation is beyond their authority and must be handled by higher officials—an alarming suggestion that instills further dread in Fiela. Fiela desperately pleads them to abandon this matter; however, their interest in Benjamin grows. To Fiela's dismay, they interact with Benjamin, questioning him about his past - a past Benjamin knows nothing about. The situation intensifies when one officer suggests taking Benjamin with them, to which Fiela responds fiercely, affirming that Benjamin is her child and that everyone in the Kloof accepts this. She reminds the officer that he had registered Benjamin as Komoetie in the government book, insisting that it remains so. The officer accuses Fiela of lying, but Fiela retorts, claiming neither of them knows the full truth. Enraged by their continued probing and the officer's attempts to lure Benjamin with offers, Fiela maintains her robust standoff, demanding that they leave her child alone. With no resolution, the officials decide to investigate further back in Knysna. The chapter ends with the family left in uncertainty, fearing for Benjamin’s future.
WHAT HAPPENED, IN 50 WORDS:
In Hoofstuk 3, berei Fiela en Selling hul plaas voor op 'n sensus deur regeringsamptenare. Benjamin kom in die spervuur en die amptenare vermoed hy's die vermiste wit seun, Lukas, wat nege jaar tevore in die Bos verdwyn het. Fiela verdedig heftiglik Benjamin se plek in hul gesin.
FULL SUMMARY:
In Hoofstuk 3 blyk Fiela, 'n harde werkende en pragtige moederfiguur, onderwys dat sy bekommerd is oor verskeie ongunstige tekens en voortekens. Dan kyk sy uit vir die aankoms van 'n perdekar uit die weste, terwyl haar kinders 'n volstruis van die ooste lei. Haar seun, Benjamin, blyk die voorloper van die kinders te wees. Die kinders bereik die draaipad voor die perdekar, hul moedertaalgebaar wys die opwinding in Fiela. Wanneer die perdekar naderkom, bespreek Fiela hoe toenemend meer handelaars (smouse) in hul streek opdaag. Selling, haar man, maak 'n opmerking oor 'n vreemde perdekar wat al etlike dae in die Kloof op en af ry. Fiela is opgewonde oor die nuwe volstruiswyfie wat hulle bekom het, en is hoopvol dat die volstruis vet sal word onder hul sorg. Daar is 'n oomblik van angs en vrees wanneer Fiela die twee manne, gekleed in kispakke en swart hoede, opmerk. Na 'n kort gesprek erken hulle dat hulle van die regering is, daar om 'n sensus uit te voer. Die inligting laat Fiela skrik, voortgespook deur vrese en vooruitsigtinge van besoedeling en verstoring in haar huishouding. Dwarsdeur die hoofstuk, beleef ons die intense somerhitte, die skrikwekkende droogte, volstruisopbrengs en die rou, ongenaakbare natuurskoon van die Langkloof. Terselfdertyd word die gehardheid van Fiela en haar familie uitgelig, beide in hulle toewyding aan werk, hulle liefde vir die natuur, en hulle intense beskerming van hulle eie. In hierdie deel van Fiela se Kind, Hoofstuk 3, woon Fiela en Selling 'n sensus af wat deur twee regeringsamptenare uitgevoer word. Wanneer gevra word of hulle kan lees en skryf, antwoord Fiela dat sy kon lees en skryf, geskool by mister Hood by Avontuur. Besonderhede oor die familie se name, geboortedatums en beroepe word aangebied, maar die atmosfeer word snerpend wanneer die amptenare Benjamin opmerk. Ondanks Fiela se pogings om Benjamin weg te hou van die huis, kom hy met 'n gesig vol verwondering op die toneel. Fiela stel hom voor as haar seun, alhoewel die amptenare spoedig twyfels uitspreek, opmerkend dat Benjamin 'n wit kind is. In antwoord op beskuldigings dat sy 'n wit kind skelm gehou het, verdedig Fiela haarself en Benjamin deur te verduidelik dat sy hom as 'n klein kind gevind het en opgepas het soos haar eie. Die amptenare maak 'n verband tussen Benjamin se verskyning en die verdwyning van 'n kind in die Bos nege jaar tevore, alhoewel Fiela heftig ontken dat die kind die moeilike reis oor die bergreeks kon gemaak het. In die laaste gedeelte van Hoofstuk 3 van "Fiela se kind" sien ons dat Fiela en Selling se geduld met die regeringsamptenare verder getoets word. Die amptenare bly aandring dat Fiela se seun, Benjamin, heel moontlik die vermiste kind uit die Bos is. Wanneer hulle voorstel dat hy dalk onthou hoe hy daar gekom het, stel Fiela stellig dat Benjamin dit nie sou onthou nie. Fiela bly heftig beskermend oor Benjamin in die gesig van die amptenare se deurvrae, en dreig selfs fisiese geweld wanneer die een man voorstel om Benjamin saam te neem. Om haar punt te bewys, bring Fiela na vore dat almal in die Kloof weet dat Benjamin haar seun is. Sy argumenteer dat die amptenare haar blameer vir lieg, maar sy rekordstel dat sy net so min as hulle die waarheid van die situasie ken. In 'n besonder verhewe oomblik, kom Fiela op vir haar seun deur te sê dat sy hom nie eers vir sy biologiese ma sou soek nie, want 'n ooi wat haar lam verloor het, draai nie om nie. Hierdie gedeelte wys ook op die wyse waarop die amptenare kindermishandeling lasleg deur Benjamin te ondervra. Ondanks Selling se pogings om die situasie te suss, kondig die amptenare aan dat hulle die volgende dag na Knysna sal terugkeer om meer te leer van die vermiste kind. Hierdie besluit laat Fiela en haar gesin met angs en onsekerheid terwyl hulle wag om te sien wat volgende sal gebeur.