Isak Dinesen Analysis

    Isak portrayed a strong relationship with animals during her time living in Africa. She builds a connection with a particular antelope she named Lulu. Since Isak lost her husband and just had the company of her household works she treated Lulu like her daughter, a part of the family. As Lulu grew up, she started leaving Isak’s house for longer periods of time. As one of the household boys said to Isak when referring to Lulu, “‘But she has not forgotten the people; most mornings she is coming back to the house’” (p.225). It was hard for Isak when she found out Lulu was married to a male bushbuck and came back only a few times. She said that she knew deep down that Lulu was an independent and strong female. As Isak explained about Lulu, “It also seemed to me that the free union between my house and the antelope was rare, honourable thing” (p.227). She held on to that relationship because she rescued Lulu and raised her as her own daughter. 

    Another strong relationship she had was with her household Native boys. They had an understanding of respect and care. This was really shown at the end of the reading when she has left Africa and she is writing and reading letters from the Native boys. As she read from a letter, they had sent her, “‘Write and tell us if you turn. We think you turn. Because why? We think that you shall never forget us. Because why? We think that you still remembered still our face and our mother names’” (p. 231). The boys missed her being there because now they are part of the poor social class and have nothing to do for work. 

Word Count: 289

Comments

  1. Katie TaylorMarch 19, 2021 at 6:42 AM

    I think you did a great job of explaining the relationships in this excerpt. I think that Isak is seen as a mother figure for both Lulu and the native boy who work for her. She raised Lulu and treated her like her own kin and was sad to see her leave with a companion. While she may not have realized it at the time, the native boys were some of the only people that she had left since her husband was gone. She was obviously their boss but she also protected them from being in the poor social class and gave them a home. They were her servants but she also gave them a job which they would be much worse off without it.

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  2. livvcastroMarch 29, 2021 at 8:44 PM

    Emmy, I agree with the point you made that Dinesen treated the antelope, Lulu, like she was her daughter and was a part of her family. The part where Lulu left the house to live in the woods reminded me of when a son or daughter finally moves out of their parents house. She was sad that Lulu was leaving, but she knew that it meant that Lulu was becoming independent. The relationship between Dinesen and the native boys is interesting because even though they worked for her, they seemed more like family than servants to me.

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  3. Connor WillansMarch 30, 2021 at 1:49 PM

    You did a good job highlighting the two different relationships Isak had while in Africa. She treated Lulu just like she would her dogs, if not better. It was sad to hear she visited the house less and less, but that was also due to the industrialization of the area. As for the kids, it was clear they didn't have much else going on in their lives besides working for Isak. The fact that they still went out of their way to deliver a letter shows how much she meant to the kids.

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