Said to be an allegory of power relations between individuals in a colonial setting, the major themes of this story by Sheila Kohler are oppression and betrayal. An Afrikaner betrays his family through a combination of physical assaults, homosexual encounters, and inappropriate touching of his son’s classmates. His wife betrays him with an overseas affair, and her son and his classmates by not reporting his paedophilic tendencies to the police. Lastly, the wife’s “loyal” African servant since childhood betrays her in a moment of need. Other themes include family, gender roles, sexuality, domestic violence, fear, loyalty vs. duty. More…