Mrs. Plum (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Ezekiel Mphahlele
- First Published: 1967
- Type of Plot: Political
- Time of Work: The 1960's
- Setting: Greenside, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa
- Principal Characters: Mrs. Plum, Kate Plum, Karabo, Chimane, Dick
- Genres: Short fiction
- Subjects: 1960’s, Africa or Africans, Dogs, Class conflict, Blacks, Twentieth century, Interracial relationships, Class consciousness, Poverty or poor people, Upper classes, Lower classes, Domestic work or workers, Servants, Widows or widowers, South Africa or South Africans, Apartheid
- Locales: Johannesburg, South Africa
The Story
“Mrs Plum” is told in the first person by Karabo, a young black South African woman who works for the title character as a housemaid and cook. The time is the 1960's, and South Africa is still under the strict system of segregation and oppression known as apartheid.
As the story begins, Karabo has been working for Mrs. Plum only a short time and is bewildered by her new employer. Unlike other whites for whom she has worked, Mrs. Plum seems to take a personal interest in Karabo and encourages her to read the newspapers, to learn to sew and to cook from...
[The entire page is 1416 words long]
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