Fiela se Kind - First Act Review

Act 1, Scene 1: Exposition and the Disappearance of Lukas van Rooyen

• Exposition Context: This scene provides essential information regarding the time, place, atmosphere, and the primary conflicts facing the characters. It outlines the specific circumstances under which Lukas van Rooyen disappeared.
• Setting: The drama begins in a forest. The Van Rooyen house (a "boshuis") is described as looking poor and dilapidated, which contributes to a dejected and gloomy atmosphere.
• Environmental Factors:     * The mist is thick, and the environment is damp and wet.     * Elias's house has a leaking roof, and due to the persistent mist, everything inside remains damp.     * Health Impact: The children are permanently sick with sniffles and coughs due to these living conditions.     * Domestic Struggles: They struggle with the fire to cook food because of the dampness.
• Characterization: Elias van Rooyen:     * Described as very lazy.     * He believes in "sparing his strength" and his body whenever possible.     * He favors "good plans" and luck over hard work.     * He earns money by selling beams (balke).     * He desires extra help to deliver more beams because Barta needs shoes and he needs iron sheets (sinkplate) to repair the leaking roof.     * Plan for Help: He wants to recruit the oldest son of Krisjan Smal from Lelievleibos, but he lacks housing for the boy due to his small, leaking home.     * His own children are too young to provide significant help.
• Elias's Ambition with Ivory:     * He wants a gun to shoot elephants ("grootvoete") for their tusks/ivory.     * Obstacles: He lacks money for a gun and bullets ($koeëls$). He is also unsure how to bypass the wood buyers in town to sell the ivory directly to ships.     * Regulation: Only authorized wood buyers have a license ("liksens") to sell to ships, but the ships pay the best price for ivory.
• The Disappearance:     * Elias pretends to work when Barta arrives with coffee, grabbing his hand axe.     * Barta is restless as she cannot find Lukas, who is $3$ years old.     * Family ages: Willem ($6$ years), Kristoffel ($5$ years), Nina (a baby).     * Last sightings: Willem last saw Lukas at the corner of the house eating a sweet potato ("patat"). Kristoffel last saw him inside the house playing with his stones.
• Neighbors and Local Missing Persons:     * Neighbors present: Tant Malie, Gertjie, and Sofie.     * Missing person history:         * Lukas (Gouna River).         * Tant Gertjie's deceased aunt's child (Karatara). This child was thought to be with men chopping firewood but was found frozen to death more than a week later.         * Flip Lourens: Disappeared in thick mist; his body was never found, though it was suspected he was trampled by elephants.     * Tant Malie's Role: Described as a "prophet of doom" who sees the worst in every situation, which increases tension in the scene.
• The Search Party:     * Elias refuses to leave Barta, so Anna (who knows the footpaths and how to handle elephants) goes to call the men.     * Search Protocol: Martiens orders the men to call out every $100$ steps. On the $10th$ call, they must turn back to avoid getting lost in the mist.     * Dawid notes the elephants are in Goena’s Bush, suggesting the search area is relatively safe from them at that moment.
• The Outcome (8 Days and 7 Months Later):     * Eight days later: The constable suggests they accept Lukas is dead.     * Seven months later: After the great rains, the forester ("boswagter") informs the Van Rooyens that a small skeleton was found among the debris ("opdrifsels") of the Gouna River.     * Uncertainty: They are not $100\%$ sure it is Lukas; it could be a baboon skeleton.     * Impact on Barta: She has aged significantly, is "cried out" (unable to cry more), and wears black mourning clothes ("lanfer").

Act 1, Scene 2: The Lange Kloof and the Arrival of Sensusopnemers

• Setting: Fiela's farm, Wolwekraal, in the Lange Kloof. The atmosphere is lighter, and the children are cheerful.
• Comparison of Landscapes:     * Lange Kloof: Dry, very hot, full of stones and dust, characterized by renosterbos and aloes.     * The Side by the Sea (Forest): Very wet, frequent rain, lush vegetation.
• Fiela Komoetie's Household:     * Fiela is the "boss"—strong, positive, optimistic, and deeply religious. She believes God was merciful for giving them the ostrich.     * Selling: Fiela's husband, who is weak and can no longer perform hard labor. He tans skins, makes whips ("karwatse"), and shoes. He was previously in prison.     * Children: Kittie ($14$), Dawid ($13$), Tollie ($11$), Emma ($9$), and Benjamin ($12$, though he arrived $9$ years ago at age $3$).
• Ostrich Farming:     * Fiela bought a female ostrich, Pollie, for the male, Skopper, from Koos Wehmeyer.     * The trade: Six whips and two sweeps.     * Skopper initially ignores Pollie, which frustrates Fiela.
• The Census Takers (Sensusopnemers):     * Identified as "Die Lange" (The Tall One) and "Die Dikke" (The Fat One).     * Selling initially thinks they are preachers due to their official clothing.     * Characterization: They are racist and condescending, addressing Fiela simply as "woman" and mocking her birth date.     * Legal Status: Fiela inherited Wolwekraal ($12$ morgen) from her father. The papers are with Mr. Caircross in Uniondale.
• The Discovery of Benjamin:     * The men are shocked to find a white child (Benjamin) living with a colored family.     * Fiela's story: She found him at her back door $9$ years ago at night. He was clean and neat. She estimated his age as $3$.     * Attempts to report: She tried to see Petrus Zondagh and the field cornet ("veldkornet"), but they were unavailable (one was chasing sheep thieves, the other at a funeral). She stopped trying as Benjamin became attached to her.     * The Connection: The men recall a child who went missing in Kom-se-Bos $9$ years ago. Fiela argues Benjamin cannot be him because a $3$-year-old could not cross the mountains alone.
• Three Months Later:     * By late April, life has returned to normal. Pollie is dancing, indicating she is ready to breed.     * Fiela is protective of Benjamin, making excuses to keep him near her (claiming the ostriches will kick him) to prevent the officials from taking him.

Act 1, Scene 3: Elias's Failed Elephant Trap

• Elias's Plan: He attempted to trap an elephant by partially cutting a tree near a cliff, hoping the elephant would push against it and fall. He wanted the ivory to sell for a high price.
• Failure: The plan failed, and the elephants chased him. He had to abandon his axe, saw, leather thongs ("osrieme"), and a blanket.
• Economic Strain: Barta is upset about the lost blanket because they cannot afford more.
• News of Lukas: The forester arrives with news that a child matching Lukas's description might be alive in the Lange Kloof, raised by colored people. Elias finds this hard to believe.

Act 1, Scene 4: Preparation for the Magistrate

• Household Chores: Fiela manages the household strictly. Tasks include tapping aloes (delayed by the North-West wind), cleaning the chicken coop, and making soap.
• Domestic Conflict: Kittie is accused of being lazy. Benjamin is accused of paddling in the soap pot instead of stirring it.
• The Return of the Census Takers:     * They inform Fiela that the new magistrate in Knysna, Mister Goldsbury, wants Benjamin at the court on Friday for identification by the Van Rooyens.     * Fiela is agitated, noting the hypocrisy: if a child is too young to walk over the mountain at age $3$, why is it now supposedly "too far" for her to walk to Knysna ($2$ days' journey)?     * The men refuse to take Fiela on the cart, claiming there is no room.
• Benjamin's Preparation:     * Fiela is forced to let him go but makes him promise to be brave and clean.     * She gives him $5$ shillings tied in a rag for emergencies.     * Dress: Dawid's jacket, new shoes, a new shirt, and a bath in a zinc tub.     * Instructions: He must address the magistrate as "Heer" or "Weledele heer." He must say he was entrusted by God to his mother. He must NOT mention Selling was in prison.     * Academics: Benjamin is literate (taught by his siblings and Miss Baby Stewart) but is terrified the magistrate will ask him about the $9 \times$ table, which he has forgotten.
• Themes of Fear and Responsibility: Fiela considers hiding Benjamin in the "fonteinkloof" but decides against it due to the danger of leopards ("tier"). She trusts the magistrate's word that Benjamin will be back by Saturday. The scene ends with a sense of impending doom regarding Benjamin's future.