AASVOELKRANS ALBERT CAMUS


BAAS BALZAC BIGOT


BLUE-STOCKING BUDDHA CRADOCK DOEK EASTER ISLAND HEAD GAMTOOS VALLEY MINARET


MOSQUE POPLARS REGMAKER


RENEGADE


SPITSKOP STAGNATE


18 ROUNDABOUTTHEATRECOMPANY


A mountain in the Western Cape of South Africa. Marius says that this mountain made him in awe of South Africa.


French author, journalist, and important philosopher of the 20th century.


Elsa quotes Albert Camus to Miss Helen when she is trying to get a point across that Miss Helen needs to fi nd the strength to say “no.”


Master; a term of address used in South Africa for a white man. The woman that Elsa helps by giving her a lift was thrown out of her town by the Baas.


French journalist and writer, he is one of the creators of realism in literature. Elsa uses one of Balzac’s quotes to describe the Karoo: “God without Mankind.”


A person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially one who treats the members of a group with hatred and intolerance.


Elsa refers to the people of Nieu Bethesda as bigots because of their beliefs and the way they treat black people. An intellectual or literary woman.


Elsa refers to herself as a blue-stocking because she believes everyone sees her as a “serious young woman.”


Indian mystic and founder of Buddhism. He began teaching after achieving supreme enlightenment at the age of 35. One of the statues Miss Helen is particularly proud of is of Buddha. A town just east of Nieu Bethesda.


Elsa says that gave a ride to a black woman headed to Cradock. A head scarf worn to protect a woman’s hair.


Elsa describes the woman she gave a ride to as wearing a doek as part of her everyday dress.


Massive human fi gures carved from rock on the Chilean Polynesian island of Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500. Miss Helen recreates an Easter Island head to go in her Mecca.


South of Nieu Bethesda, located on the coast: a fertile valley rich with plant and animal life. Marius talks about a farmer who visited Nieu Bethesda from the Gamtoos Valley.


A distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. Helen says that in the Mecca she dreams of there are “glittering minarets” in the city.


A building used for public worship by Muslims. Included in Miss Helen’s Mecca is a mosque among the statues of owls and camels.


A tall, fast-growing tree (genus Populus) of the willow family, widely grown for timber and pulp. Marius likens the colors of the poplar trees to the candle burning in the room with him and Miss Helen.


A South African drink taken to relieve the symptoms of a hangover; a pick-me-up. Elsa tells Miss Helen that when they go into the town of Graaff-Reinet they will make sure to pick up a regmaker to help Miss Helen with her depression.


One who rejects a religion, cause, allegiance, or group for another.


Elsa calls Miss Helen a renegade because she no longer attends church while everyone else in her town is very strict about going every Sunday.


A town located in the Drakensberg mountains, a few hours away from Nieu Bethesda. A part of South Africa that Marius likes and gives as a reason for his love for Nieu Bethesda.


To cease fl ow or movement; to stop developing or progressing. Elsa feels that Nieu Bethesda will stagnate because its people will not grow out of 19th century beliefs and customs.


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