Tippex dit uit
by
Anne-Marie Conradie
English summary
Chapter 1: Rensche
This is a first-person narrator (eerstepersoonsverteller). It is fitting
(gepas) because it makes the story more personal (persoonlik) and
believable (geloofwaardig). The reader has more empathy (empatie)
with the characters.
Rensche, one of the main characters, mentions that it has been the
“umpteenth (hoeveelst) time (keer) that day, the past (afgelope) week,
the last month” that she has closed the door behind her to the “clinical
(kliniese) white room (vertrek).” She is talking about the bathroom
(badkamer). And she has been visiting the bathroom very often the past
EIGHT (AGT) WEEKS because she is constantly (heeltyd feeling
nauseous (naar). She mentions how everything is white in the
bathroom: white is a clinical color, yes, but it is also representative
(verteenwoordigend) of purity (reinheid) and cleanliness (iets wat
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, skoon is).
Rensche is extra careful when cleaning the bathroom to make sure that
every little dirty (vuil) spot (kolletjie) is wiped away: literally speaking
(gesproke), she has to make sure that there is no trace (geen spoor) left
behind for her mother’s observant (oplettende) eye to see, but
figuratively speaking it is as if she is trying to wipe away her guilt
(skuldgevoel), as if she is trying to become “pure (rein)” again, which,
at this point, is impossible (onmoontlik). No amount of scrubbing is
going to make her “un” pregnant.
She thinks about the red splashes (spatsels) that Elle’s sister, Vasti,
buys to hide the rust (roeskolle) on her Volkswagen (Volla). This
shows the reader that Vasti is not wealthy (nie ryk nie/ nie welgesteld
nie/ het nie baie geld nie). Elle is one of Rensche’s best friends.
Rensche thinks how she would paste (plak) one of those stickers on:
1. the bottom (bodem) of the bath
2. the toilet bowl (toiletbak)
3. the toilet lid (toiletdeksel)
4. and the bathroom mirror (badkamerspieël)
Why the bathroom mirror? The other places make sense because that is
where there might be traces of the vomit. Rensche feels so guilty
(skuldig) that she cannot look herself in the eye and therefore she
doesn’t want to look in the mirror (spieël).
Another interesting fact: note the stark (sterk) contrast (kontras)
between (tussen) the white and the red. It is almost (amper) as if she
wants to attract (kry) her mother’s attention (aandag) with these
stickers.
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, She thinks that her mom would have a quiet fit (stilstuipe) and probably
give her one of her infamous “masked expressions
(maskeruitdrukkings)”, but Rensche would welcome (verwelkom) this
because it would be like a liberation (bevryding) to her. It is evident
that Rensche and her mother do not have a good relationship (goeie
verhouding): Rensche, however (egter), would still like her mother’s
attention (aandag). Any (enige) attention is still attention and she feels
like she needs (het dit nodig) it from her mom. Especially (veral) now.
Rensche thinks that she needs to get to Jana: she is the strong (sterk)
one, the one who will know what to do. There used to be a TV-
program called Party of Five which was about a group of five close
friends. Jana adapted this to their own little Party of Three which
consists of Jana, Rensche and Elle. Rensche admits that, in her eyes, Jana
is the beginning and the end of that Party, therefore (dus) basically
telling the reader that Elle is not as important to Rensche than what
Jana is, which is actually a little sad because when we get to Elle’s
chapter, the reader will notice how much Elle loves Rensche and would
do anything for her.
Rensche thinks gratefully (dankbaar) that her mom is busy at the Koskas
and her father is busy preparing a sermon (preek) for the next day. He
is a preacher (predikant). This explains (verduidelik) the Koskas: her
mother is involved (betrokke) in helping give food to the poor (arm).
Also notice (let op) the difference (verskil) in how Rensche addresses
her parents: she calls her mother “Ma” and her father, she lovingly
calls “Paps.” This term of endearment (troetelnaam) shows the reader
that Rensche is much fonder of her father than her mother. She also
mentions how she hates lying (bedrieg) to him. The good relationship
between father and daughter is clear when Rensche mentions (noem)
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, how her visit (kuiertjie) in his study (studeerkamer) after supper
(aandete) has always been the highlight (hoogtepunt) of her daily
(daaglikse) existence (bestaan). She misses these visits because she
has been avoiding (vermy) him on purpose (opsetlik) since he knows
her very well (ken haar goed) and will realize (agterkom) something is
wrong. She keeps using the excuse (verskoning) of finals
(matriekeindeksamen) that she has to study for. This also tells the
reader how (hoe) old Rensche is: her being in grade 12 means she is
eighteen (agtien) or turning (word) eighteen.
Rensche thinks how easy (maklik) it is to fool (rat voor die oë draai)
her mother: she only (net) sees what she wants (wil). Rensche thinks her
mother just cares (omgee) about the keeping their “holy (heilige)
preacher-family image (pastoriebeeld)” untarnished (onaangetas).
This is one of the reasons (redes) why Rensche’s mom does not like
Jana at all. If it wasn’t for her father, her mother would have forced
(gedwing) Rensche long ago to cut (sny) all ties (bande) with Jana.
Jana (#) doesn’t pretend (voorgee) to be someone she is not: she even
swears (vloek) in front of Rensche’s father, but he doesn’t mind (gee
nie om nie): he laughs about her vivid (ryk) imagination
(verbeelding) and sees the world in a new light after a visit (kuier) from
Jana. (Refer to #-note on p38.)
Then Rensche gives a description (beskrywing) of her mother: she
always has a frown (frons) on her forehead (voorkop) and a sternness
(botheid) in her voice (stem) that make her seem unapproachable
(ontoeganklik). She thrives (geniet) on caring for the hungry
(hongeres), the sick and lonely (eensame) old people. Rensche wishes
her mother knew that she has been dying of loneliness (eensaamheid)
these past 2 months and thinks that if her mother just gave her a hug
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