Country Lovers Analysis

Country lovers

It might seem as yet another innocent love story, but do not let the title fool you. Nadine Gordimer creates a story after the “and they lived happily ever after” showing that that might not always be the case.

As the story sets off, Gordimer presents us a friendship between Thebedi and Paulus, which blossoms into a little more than that. The development of the relationship is throughout several of years until they reach adolescence. Their secret flirtation steps into the forest where no one will discover them. It all seems like a hopeless love story. Their love, first love, is adorable and the excitement of keeping it a secret and sneaking around keeps it fun. Time destroys first love. Your first love is unforgettable, but

This creates an advantage of being white and superciliousness in a very young age. Racism isn’t an issue until school, family and society teach the children differently and indoctrinate them. Another difference between Paulus and Thebedi is, that Paulus flirts with a lot of girls from the sister school and farmer’s girls “had let him do with her in a locked storeroom what people did when they made love” [Page 62 line 15] while hiding his relationship with Thebedi, without being prejudiced like Thebedi is. Their relationship ends as childhood loves do - you grow a part. Thebedi and Njabulo’s marriage is arranged while Paulus is in college. Thebedi is pregnant with either Paulus’s or Njabulo’s child. As it is born, it is clearly Paulus’s daughter because of its lighter skin and her Hazel eyes. Thebedi does not tell Paulus this, which fills him with anger when discovering it is his, as it could ruin his reputation. We get a new picture of Paulus, this scene transforms him into a self-absorbed person, which he wasn’t as a child. Paulus went into Njabulo’s house to take care of the baby because it was not feeling well and the next day the baby is dead. This questions if Paulus has killed the baby and

[Page 70 line 5] This sentence abandons Paulus as a memory of her childhood. She leaves him in the past for good by saying this and moves on with her life like he clearly did as well. In conclusion, Paulus and Thebedi evolve their affair into a relationship that is based on both of them not carrying about each other anymore. However, they are still conflicting about the nostalgic mindset about one another. Your first love is always alive in your mind. There’s just something you can’t let go about that one special first