Chapter 39 Summary

Now, eight days after the incident, Jakob van Vlaanderen is dead. His wife returns to Buitenverwagting to organize the funeral, and with her, she takes the book that Pieter left for Nella. The funeral, which would have otherwise been attended by the whole town, and people from Johannesburg and Pretoria and the Members of Parliament, is a small, private affair.

Therefore, on her and Nella's return, the door of the house in van Onselen Street is opened and the blinds rolled up, for it is Pieter's mother's will that they go on living. They attend the court hearing when Pieter is sentenced.

Chapter 39 Analysis

In the act of her returning, Nella, has no doubt forgiven Pieter; an act of considerable magnitude given her reluctance to forgive Dick at the beginning of the book when he had simply contemplated the act and not actually...