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READ THIS
Walter, still trying to avoid contact with Frances, is trapped into teaching her a certain piece of piano
music.
Victor catches them together, realises that Walter is a threat to his claim on Frances, and so formulates
a cunning plan to claim her permanently for himself.
In the meantime, word reaches St Matthias that Reverend Hubert Brompton of Mbokothwe has gone mad,
and Walter sets off to rescue him.
READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE:
Victor scanned her. This time the game was hers. She was playing with him, pretending not to care. But
he knew her. He knew she was afraid he'd go and leave her there at St Matthias. Not come back. There
was an escape for him. But not for her. Not without him. "Tell Uncle Charles not to expect me before
tomorrow afternoon, if at all. I'll send a message."
She continued to feed the chickens, ignoring him.
"Goodbye then," he said carelessly as he swung Hector round and sat back in the saddle as the horse
sprang forward.
She would watch him go, fighting not to call him back: an equal challenge. He would not turn, goaded
though he felt to see if she still stood there. That would vex her!
Or would it?
He could not be sure any more. Suddenly, the certainties evaded him. He had achieved, with ease, all
that was expected of him, and yet some obscure disquiet remained. Success had always been assumed
for him by others; his ability to impress far beyond his triumphs on cricket pitch and rugby field, far
beyond his elegant essays and competent Mathematics and the open admiration of the young ladies of
Grahamstown, the hero-worship of new boys, competing to fag for him, to carry his boots, fold his rugger
jersey, make his tea in the prefects' study. And on leaving school, the universal predictions of his "brilliant
future" hung like a sword above his head as did his mother's vanity and her fond incomprehension of his
needs, as did Aunt Emily's aspirations, thrust on him because Crispin was unable to fulfil her hopes.
In compensation for usurping Crispin's place he had protected him, both at school and at home. In
consequence, Crispin would die for him -- a word, a gesture would suffice. It was another burden,
heaped on all the other fulsome presumptions.
Only Frances knew the truth. She understood his fears too well -- Victor, the hero, had cracks in his
armour -- and if, subconsciously, he had relied on her to shield him from discovery, such knowledge still
remained a powerful weapon in her hand. It hadn't mattered until now. She was his. Devoted since he
had first come to the mission. And yet, despite this, he had always known that Frances could match him,
could lead as well as follow. And could also go. But the possibility of a usurper had not occurred to him
before and the unlikeliness of his competitor left him suddenly exposed. The game must end. Swiftly.
Before she changed her mind and slipped beyond his reach. He would not relinquish her -- she was the
constant, the only insurance against his own vulnerability: the memory of a cold nursery, empty of real
affection, of the imaginary ghost of his father, blood-stained, bearing the body of O'Flaherty up the stairs
at night, shouldering his way into his childhood room, listening for his hidden cry in the dead ear of his
pillow. The spectre of that father followed him -- deified by his mother -- virtues entombed: ribbons,
medals, ornamental swords.
It was imperative that he should be a hero too.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
As children, Victor and Frances had played many games.
- What was Victor's favourite? Why? (6)
[Need help?]
The War Game was definitely Victor's favourite, where he tried to rescue O'Flaherty and ended up kissing
Frances.
In Victorian times, a male was never really supposed to be up close with a girl, and certainly was not
allowed to kiss her.
The war game always ended with O'Flaherty dying and Victor had to bring O'Flaherty's widow (Frances)
on horseback to the body. Not only did this mean that Frances had to ride close to Victor on the horse,
but it always ended with Victor giving her a kiss.
The story mentions that Victor became angry if the game did not end properly and O'Flaherty was not
killed. Why should he get angry? Unless such an ending denied his getting close to Frances and kissing
her?
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Why did Victor think that his present actions would vex Frances? (4)
[Need help?]
Victor and Frances were playing one of their emotional games with each other. She was angry with him,
partly for his kissing her down at the river and partly for his prattish behaviour resulting from her friendship
with Walter.
At this moment Frances was giving the appearance that she cared nothing for Victor whereas he believed
that he was her salvation from the mission station. Without his marrying her, she was doomed to spend
the rest of her life as a spinster.
He was therefore also playing a game, pretending to ignore Frances, pretending that he cared little for her,
believing that he would thereby hurt her feelings and make her come back to him.
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Why was Frances ignoring him? (4)
[Need help?]
Frances was angry with Victor, partly for his kissing her down at the river and partly for his prattish
behaviour resulting from her friendship with Walter. At that moment Frances was giving the appearance
that she cared nothing for Victor.
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Why had "success always been assumed" for Victor? (5)
[Need help?]
Victor had strong leadership qualities. Everywhere he went, he showed these qualities.
- On the mission, it was always he who initiated games.
- At school he had been an excellent sportsman, was a prefect, had young women flocking to get close
to him, and junior boys eager to fag for him.
With such a reputation, it is natural that there would be pressure on him to succeed in whatever he did.
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Why did "the universal predictions" of his "brilliant future" hang "like a sword" above
his head? (5)
[Need help?]
With such a reputation, it is natural that there would be pressure on Victor to succeed in whatever he did.
There was, however, a negative side to such expectations. It hung over him like the proverbial sword of
Damocles.
Victor had to succeed in everything! Yet he knew he had weaknesses -- weaknesses that no-one other
than Frances knew about.
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The author states that "Victor, the hero, had cracks in his armour".
- What is meant by this? Why did this make Frances so important to him? (8)
[Need help?]
This has much to do with the fact that everyone expected so much from Victor. Victor, on the other hand,
had distinct weaknesses.
He appears to have been haunted by the ghost of his dead father, to have been living in the shadow of
a hero.
Later we will see that even his aunt's house in Grahamstown was a tomb, a cold memorial to Victor's
father. He needed support and this could only be provided by Frances.
He was therefore dependent upon her to marry him so she could be a support for him for the rest of his
life.
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Whom does Victor see as the "usurper"? Do you think Victor is correct in viewing this person as
a possible usurper? (4)
[Need help?]
Walter is the usurper. One needs only to look at all the ways in which Walter was good for Frances --
emotionally, intellectually, spiritually. You need to be able to spell this out.
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"The game must end. Swiftly. Before she changed her mind and slipped beyond his reach."
- What does Victor do to end the game "swiftly" so as to prevent Frances slipping beyond his
reach? (5)
[Need help?]
Victor deliberately arrives home late to fuel Frances's anxieties, knowing that she will worry about him.
When he finds her waiting for him in his bedroom as expected, he forces himself upon her and has sex
with her, knowing that Frances will thereupon be morally obliged to marry him.
Victor knew very well that Frances, in true Victorian style, would believe that the sexual act was a
consummation of marriage and that she would therefore be his forever.
In such a way he would both claim her as his own and rid himself of the threat posed by Walter.
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"The memory of a cold nursery, empty of real affection, of the imaginary ghost of his father,
blood-stained, bearing the body of O'Flaherty up the stairs at night, shouldering his way into his childhood
room, listening for his hidden cry in the dead ear of his pillow. The spectre of that father followed him --
deified by his mother -- virtues entombed: ribbons, medals, ornamental swords."
- How many words in the above passage can be linked to death? (6)
[Need help?]
"The memory of a cold nursery, empty of real affection, of the imaginary ghost
of his father, blood-stained and bearing the body of O'Flaherty up the stairs at night,
shouldering his way into his childhood room, listening for his hidden cry in the dead ear of his
pillow. The spectre of that father followed him -- deified by his mother -- virtues
entombed: ribbons, medals, ornamental swords."
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- Bearing that in mind, comment on the image contained in the above words. (6)
[Need help?]
With so many words linked to death, one sees the image of the tomb. Victor is haunted by the ghost of
his father. Indeed, he is living in a tomb.
Later, when Frances is forced to live in Grahamstown with Victor's mother, she comes to realise that the
house is a mausoleum to Victor's father -- and that this mausoleum will accompany them to
Johannesburg once they are married.
Not only that, but the custodian of the mausoleum would be Aunt Alice herself -- and she would come
to live with them.
Marriage to Victor would therefore be an entry into her own tomb.
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