Summary
Chapter 10
Two years have passed since the events at the Ilmorog Golden Heights and since the Devil visited Warĩĩnga at the Ilmorog golf course. The narrator puzzles over where to pick up his narrative, then decides to change up both the speed and manner of his narrative moving forward. He reiterates that his narrative is for instructional purposes—lest we pass hasty judgment on Warĩĩnga—then urges us forward to the continuation point of the story.
Warĩĩnga is a totally changed woman, living in a busy area in a full house in Nairobi. She has committed herself to self-reliance and daily struggle in order to realize the truth of her own humanity. She no longer alters her appearance to look more white, but instead revels in the Blackness of her appearance. As she gets ready in the morning, she thinks about the fact that tomorrow she will undertake a second journey—to go to Nakuru with Gatuĩria to meet his parents. Warĩĩnga is now an engineer, and every day she takes both her phase tester and Mũturi's pistol with her, as a type of talisman.
We then flash back briefly to Warĩĩnga's new education as a mechanical engineer, specializing in internal combustion engines. When she was in her early stages, taking classes at the Polytechnic in engineering, she had social difficulties, since the male students used to laugh at her. Quickly, however, she shut them up with her high ranking in the class. She also had financial issues, which Gatuĩria offered to help her with, but she refused, committing herself entirely to self-reliance and taking on odd jobs like hairdressing. In the time since she started school up again, also, we learn that Warĩĩnga has taken self-defense classes at a martial arts club.
In her second year at school, Warĩĩnga got a job working at an open-air garage, which helped ease her financial troubles. On the first day that she walked past the garage, she inquired about taking on a working role there, and the men laughed at her, telling her that she was only good for flirting and sex. One man even went so far as to challenge Warĩĩnga to diagnose what was wrong with the engine he was working on. Warĩĩnga, however, was courageous, picked up a wooden spoon with a long handle, and used it as a stethoscope to listen to the engine's interior. When she invited the man who challenged her to do the same and say what was wrong, he could not, but Warĩĩnga correctly identified the issue. This earned her then men's respect and caused a deep friendship to develop between her and the other mechanics. Another story is then recounted of a time a man brought his car in for work and got handsy with Warĩĩnga; in return, she beat this man up using her newfound self-defense skills. One final aspect of the garage that is mentioned is that each mechanic earns his own money, but each of them also contributes to a mutual aid fund every month to take care of both communal expenses and unexpected individual emergencies.
We are now back in the present, as Warĩĩnga heads to work the day before her journey to Nakuru. Her colleagues inform her that their garage has just been sold off by the City Council to Boss Kĩhara, in order to build a tourist hotel (which, in reality, functions more like a brothel for foreigners) on the site. This infuriates Warĩĩnga, who is stirred with anger to recall the events that happened two years before.
Later that day, Warĩĩnga and Gatuĩria are on their way to Ilmorog, where they will spend the night before heading to Nakuru the following day. Warĩĩnga is dressed is kitenge cloth now, embracing her local heritage while also bucking stereotypes as a mechanic who can fight to defend herself. Warĩĩnga and Gatuĩria are deeply in love, and Gatuĩria reflects on how lucky he is to have Warĩĩnga by his side. After seeing the events of the Devil's Feast, Gatuĩria decided that he could not procrastinate anymore, and he set to completing his national composition for two years. He has recently completed his task, and after doing so reached out to his father in Nakuru to receive his blessing for marriage to Warĩĩnga. Warĩĩnga jokes with Gatuĩria that she does not know whether his father will be happier to see her or hear his score, to which Gatuĩria replies that Warĩĩnga's beauty is immense and cannot be ignored. In saying this, however, he uses language identical to that of the Devil when he visited Warĩĩnga on the Ilmorog golf course two years prior. This scares Warĩĩnga, but in order to keep her vision hidden and set herself at ease, she begins to talk about Gatuĩria's piece with him.
Gatuĩria explains that the piece was difficult to compose because one had to find a way to express utter unity between different pieces of instrumentation and different voices. He was only inspired to do so after looking upon Warĩĩnga's beauty, so in a way, the piece is like Warĩĩnga's engagement ring. In his mind, then, Gatuĩria recounts the various movements and cues of his composition: the first movement is dominated by unity of country, as well as by the sounds of Kenyan tradition; the second is a dissonant movement, rife with struggle and emblematic of the foreigners' arrival to seize local land and goods; the third movement is an oily movement symbolizing the deception of the foreigners as they rule colonially over Kenya and enslave the people; the fourth movement is a movement of this slavery, in which the people are all together, yet oppressed by their foreign masters; finally, the last movement is an ode to national rebirth and Mau Mau, as well as the potential for revolution.
Gatuĩria's talk of this symphony, meanwhile, has reminded Warĩĩnga of Mũturi, Wangarĩ, and the student leader, a group that she and Gatuĩria refer to as the Holy Trinity. They then recollect the trial of the Holy Trinity together, and another flashback ensues. Warĩĩnga and Gatuĩria were asked to be witnesses for the prosecution, but they refused. Mwaũra, however, testified against Mũturi and Wangarĩ, but just as he was in the middle of his testimony, a note came in directing the judge to immediately release the three defendants for unclear reasons. The workers and peasants shouted with joy, but shortly after their trial, the Holy Trinity was rearrested and detained to an unknown fate. Mwaũra, for his part, earned more money and started up a more "modern" transport business with the emcee from the Devil's Feast and Kĩmeendeeri wa Kanyuanjii.
In the present again, Warĩĩnga and Gatuĩria puzzle as they drive over the ultimate fate of the Holy Trinity. Gatuĩria hopes that they will be released with some other convicts on Jamhuri Day, and Warĩĩnga affirms this with an "Amen!" (265).
Chapter 11
Warĩĩnga and Gatuĩria are now back in Ilmorog, where much has stayed the same since their last visit. The Golden Heights have expanded and become even more opulent, but Njeruca has also expanded and become even more rundown, with the Golden Heights residents setting up exploitative shops in Njeruca and deploying the Devil's Angels in order to help them collect rent.
Warĩĩnga and Gatuĩria arrive at Warĩĩnga's parents' house in Ngaindeithia Village in Njeruca. Warĩĩnga's father and her daughter, Wambũi, are out for the day, so only Warĩĩnga's mother receives the two of them. She asks Warĩĩnga if she has told Gatuĩria that she has her own daughter, and Gatuĩria replies that he already knows, saying that it does not bother him in the slightest that he will take on a daughter to whom he has no blood relation. This pleases Warĩĩnga's mother immensely, and she comments that Gatuĩria even looks like Wambũi, so she can see that they will be a great family together. She also tells Warĩĩnga and Gatuĩria that money is not everything, and that true happiness in life comes from the deeds a person does during their time on Earth.
After receiving her mother's blessing, Warĩĩnga heads with Gatuĩria to the Golden Heights for a breath of fresh air. They sit together and reflect on the depth of their love for one another, and Warĩĩnga asks Gatuĩria what his parents are like. Gatuĩria is scared to answer her, since he knows that his parents are exactly the type of people Warĩĩnga would hate—kowtowing to foreigners, exploiting the local populations, and likely looking down on Warĩĩnga for already having a child. Gatuĩria then reflects to himself about what will happen when he goes to see his parents, since he has not told his bride that his parents are throwing a big feast in his honor. In their house at Ngorika, Gatuĩria's parents are throwing a big party for a wide variety of political and wealthy guests, during which men and women are both to dress fancily and gift the happy couple things from a variety of expensive foreign shops. Gatuĩria thinks about all this and feels a heavy burden on his heart, since he knows that his parents are pitiable and that Warĩĩnga may not approve of them. He gets her off of this topic of conversation, but Warĩĩnga seems to be hurting about something.
When Gatuĩria asks Warĩĩnga what is wrong, she tells him about the plan to sell off her garage. They then discuss the fact that Warĩĩnga has once again had her recurring dream about the Devil being crucified—only, this time, it was slightly different. Instead of waiting three days to rescue the Devil from the cross, this time his acolytes showed up immediately with armored vehicles, dispersing into the woods and singing songs Warĩĩnga had not heard before. Gatuĩria then rationally interprets Warĩĩnga's dream in order to put her at ease, and the two laugh it off together.
The chapter then closes with a meditation on the love that Warĩĩnga and Gatuĩria share. When Warĩĩnga reflects that Nakuru is the place she last tried to kill herself, and that she has not been back since, Gatuĩria reminds her of the happiness she will feel at getting married, and he urges her to let this wash away her pain as a kind of miracle. Warĩĩnga and Gatuĩria then begin to sing to each other and kiss, and the chapter ends.
Chapter 12
The following day, when Gatuĩria comes to gather Warĩĩnga for their journey, he finds her dressed from head to toe in the traditional Gĩkũyũ way. He is utterly struck by her beauty and praises her profusely, but Warĩĩnga jokingly urges him to focus on driving instead. Whenever they stop at places along the way, people comment on Warĩĩnga's beauty and comment on the fact that there is no national tradition that cannot be cultivated and developed to a high and beautiful place. Back in the car, Gatuĩria comments to Warĩĩnga that what they said is true, and that the people should never bow to foreign impulses or trends, instead embracing their own traditions and building them up. He says that Warĩĩnga is a shining example of this principle, having been educated as a local woman in the ways of mechanical engineering, a field that local women traditionally do not enter. This sends Warĩĩnga into a fit of recollection where she recalls her instructor teaching her how an internal combustion engine works. She stirs from this recollection when Gatuĩria decries local women, saying that they should be doing more with their lives than serving at the feet of foreign men. Warĩĩnga retorts that the Kenyan men are just as much to blame for the women's state as the women are. They agree on this, then agree to build a better future together. Meanwhile, Gatuĩria thinks to himself about his parents will react to seeing Warĩĩnga dressed in her traditional clothing.
Warĩĩnga and Gatuĩria have a pleasant journey to Ngorika, Nakuru, and the narrator tells us that their journey was pleasant even as they arrived and saw the faces of almost every tycoon from the Devil's Feast two years prior. Warĩĩnga even sees her aunt and uncle in attendance. The narrator then cuts the story off, begging for the courage and strength to continue his story, which he eventually does. Warĩĩnga and Gatuĩria enter into an incredibly lavish scene, where Warĩĩnga's aunt and uncle are shading their eyes in shame for how she is dressed. They then enter into a room laid with exquisite carpet and chandeliers, where Gatuĩria's father is to be the first to receive Warĩĩnga. He is seated on a high cushion above his guests, and as Warĩĩnga walks into the room and sees Gatuĩria's father, she is shocked to see that he is, in fact, the Rich Old Man from Ngorika. Warĩĩnga is disgusted upon this revelation to think that Wambũi and Gatuĩria have the same father.
The Rich Old Man keeps a straight face, and he dismisses everyone from the room but Warĩĩnga, in keeping with tradition. Once alone, he begins to tremble and lays his hands on a Bible that is sitting before him. Warĩĩnga is fearless as she meets his gaze, and the Rich Old Man is, conversely, very nervous. He asks her to pray with him, but she is silent and fiery in her steadfast courage. He begs her to ease his suffering by leaving his son and shacking up with him again, becoming a sugar girl to whom he would virtually give everything. He speaks like Boss Kĩhara as he makes this proposition. Warĩĩnga directly accuses the Rich Old Man, telling him that he is also the father of her own child and that he does not really care for her or this child. In response, he tells her that, if she refuses to do as he says, he will have her killed by the Devil's Angels, just like Mwĩreri wa Mũkiraaĩ.
Suddenly, a miracle happens. The Rich Old Man falls to his knees before Warĩĩnga, pleading with her to save his honor. In return, Warĩĩnga delivers a fiery rebuff, telling the Old Man that he is a snatcher of other people's lives, and that he is now the hunted, and she the hunter (referencing the game they used to play as lovers). She says that she will not save him, but that she will save many other people. The Old Man then mistakes this for an agreement to his terms, and as he profusely thanks her, Warĩĩnga takes out the pistol from her handbag and kills the Rich Old Man.
Outside, people hear the shots, so Gatuĩria comes in and asks what has happened, to which Warĩĩnga points out the Rich Old Man's body and calls him a parasite on other people's lives. Without looking back, she then leaves the room, encounters the other tycoons, and shoots them right in the kneecaps. People who try to arrest Warĩĩnga are felled by her new self-defense techniques, and she leaves the compound as the other tycoons flee. For his part, Gatuĩria does not know who to turn to or comfort, so he instead sits stagnantly. As the novel closes, Warĩĩnga thinks to herself that the hardest days of her struggle still lay ahead of her.
Analysis
These last three chapters of the novel bring the story to a dramatic and shocking close. And, while much of these last three chapters is devoted to showing how much Warĩĩnga and Gatuĩria have changed in the intervening two years, Ngũgĩ here also skillfully and purposefully reminds us of everything that has stayed the same for our characters. It is not just our characters that we are able to reflect on here, however: in these chapters, we are also given ample opportunity to reflect on what changes and stays the same in commerce, politics, and the geography of the cities we have been introduced to throughout the novel. Thus, in telling the story of Warĩĩnga's redemption and in showing us the consequences of what we have already seen, here Ngũgĩ at once cashes in on earlier foreshadowings, reiterates earlier thematic concerns, and shows us the potential for a way forward—though it is uneasy and violent—from neocolonial exploitation.
First, we will examine the trajectory of Gatuĩria from his state at the beginning of the novel to his state at the end. When we first meet Gatuĩria, he is a reticent character who mixes his Gĩkũyũ and English haphazardly. Moreover, he is unsure where he fits as an intellectual in the worker's struggle and fails to see the urgency or reality in the traditional tales of the Gĩkũyũ. Throughout the text, he remains a fundamentally ambivalent character, remaining a mere observer/witness at the Devil's Feast, hiding the truth of his parentage from Warĩĩnga, and joining in the workers' struggle only after both Warĩĩnga and Mũturi enjoin him to. After the fateful events of the Devil's Feast, however, Gatuĩria seems to have redeemed himself and set himself completely on a righteous and productive path. He has finished his composition, which he hopes will cause a revolution in Kenyan music, has shacked up with and kept Warĩĩnga as his girlfriend, and denounces the tycoons and compradores with full force when prompted to by Warĩĩnga. He even mentions that he is unbothered by Warĩĩnga's child from her relationship with the Rich Old Man, something that earns him the love and respect of Warĩĩnga's mother. What is so shocking about Gatuĩria's ultimate fate, then, is that everything is taken away from him in an instant on account of one indiscretion—hiding the truth about his lineage and wealth from Warĩĩnga, despite her repeated questions to him on this topic. In showing readers that even those who are sympathetic with the workers' plight cannot be the workers' allies if they fail to denounce the evil or exploitation in their own backgrounds, Ngũgĩ uses the character of Gatuĩria to send us a stern warning. In the struggle for justice and truth, all will be revealed, so deception can only produce negative results if deployed in an effort to maintain peace.
Laid out in contrast to Gatuĩria's trajectory is that of our heroine, Warĩĩnga. Warĩĩnga begins the novel as a victim of the Rich Old Man from Ngorika, someone who has attempted suicide multiple times and attempts nonstop to suppress her Blackness in an effort to appear more palatable or refined to tycoons and foreigners. When she witnesses the events of the Devil's Feast—and specifically, once she is visited by and rejects the Devil on the golf course—she resolves to never follow the false paths out of neocolonial oppression. Rather, she commits herself to follow the example set for her by Mũturi, working with her own hands and earning an honest living, defending herself and being dependent on no one else for her livelihood and well-being. She is radically transformed in ideas, as well as in appearance, opting for the rest of the novel to embrace local cultural garb and wearing her hair in a more natural way. Finally, it goes without saying that Warĩĩnga's commitment to her new ideals far surpasses her commitment to anything else in life—in service of her newfound Marxism and anti-cronyism, she sacrifices everything she has ever wanted (by killing the Rich Old Man) and putting herself in jeopardy. Even so, she looks back not even once as she does so in the text, realizing that such struggle is necessary if she is really to free herself from the systems that oppress her.
This trajectory of Warĩĩnga's character is so sharp and clear that, in looking at the Old Warĩĩnga and the New Warĩĩnga, several pointed contrasts—as well as some interesting continuities—emerge. Warĩĩnga begins the novel victimized by the Rich Old Man, but she ends it by victimizing him. She begins the novel beset with the burden of the Rich Old Man's child, but she ends it by burdening his child with his own death. She begins the novel with a foreshadowing look into how empowered she feels once armed with a gun, and she ends it with the same, steely confidence that comes with being armed and willing to defend one's self at all costs. These are just a few contrasts that specifically pertain to the dynamic between her and the Rich Old Man—others abound, as well as many interesting continuities that Ngũgĩ chooses to foreshadow earlier in the text. When Warĩĩnga rejects the Devil's proposition in Ngorika, Nakuru, for example, it is hardly known that he is referring to her future engagement party—at once a foreshadowing of her future and an echo of her past. When Warĩĩnga's mother points out a familiar resemblance between Warĩĩnga's daughter and Gatuĩria, readers take it to be a jocular and endearing joke; we do not yet know that Ngũgĩ is clearly and pointedly foreshadowing the true identity of Gatuĩria's father. Finally, there is a continuity and contrast between the Warĩĩnga of old and the new Warĩĩnga where the engagement party's guests are concerned. Many of these guests come from Warĩĩnga's past and have traumatized her (a continuity), but instead of cowering before them or turning the other cheek, Warĩĩnga chooses to accuse and aggress against these guests (shooting several of them in the kneecaps). Through such contrasts and continuities in Warĩĩnga's character, then, Ngũgĩ emphasizes the transformative nature of her growth into a radical martyr figure, just like Mũturi.
Finally, in light of the changes and continuities seen in Warĩĩnga and Gatuĩria, it does readers well to look at how these individual-level dynamics map to greater changes and continuities in the wider cities, communities, and world in which the novel is set. Given the events that took place after the Devil's Feast (i.e., the peasant/worker's revolt), one might expect that certain things may have changed as a result. Perhaps the thieves would no longer meet as brazenly in public, or perhaps the law might take notice of the peasants' aggravation. Regarding the former point, it is clear from what we see in these chapters that the action taken by the people that day did not change anything, with the Devil's Angels branching out into Ilmorog, the Golden Heights expanding, and Njeruca also growing while falling into even deeper disrepair. Note also Boss Kĩhara's continued, shameless profiteering and expansion of his business within Nairobi, this time at the cost of Warĩĩnga's workplace community. Regarding the latter point about the government noticing the pain of its people, it is possible that such a change actually does take place, although briefly and only in service of further deceiving the people. For evidence of this, one need only look at the trial of the Holy Trinity, where three such martyrs of the peasant class were spared nominally in the courts, then detained and taken to an unknown place shortly afterwards. Such action on the government's part possibly shows that they recognize the people's partial awakening, but it also shows that, if they do, they know exactly how to resolve these emotions and keep tensions at a low simmer.
Thus, by the end of the novel, where are we left? One woman has seen a fundamental and radicalizing series of changes in herself, but what is the point? The world around her is just as cruel, and even those who are close to her have deceived her with their failure to live an examined and self-critical life. Rather than be depressed about the lack of changes in the world, however, one does best to think like Warĩĩnga does. There is much hardship and many trials in the world, but one must always work hard and struggle against them, working in solidarity with others who recognize this fact, if we are to have any chance at easing these hardships for all people.
