When Rain Clouds Gather

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1968

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-12

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Chapters 7-9

Chapter 7 Summary

The women of Golema Mmidi have gathered on Mma-Millipede’s property to prepare the wedding feast. As they peel potatoes, they gossip about the handsome foreigner, Makhaya. Unlike the other women, Paulina does not have a husband or a lover; she feels estranged from their easygoing way of life, in part because of her tragic experience of life and relationships outside Golema Mmidi. Gilbert and Maria, who have been married at the office of George Appleby-Smith, arrive, followed by Dinorego and Makhaya. Dinorego asks the younger man about his plans in life, and Makhaya responds that he wants mostly to settle down and get married—a plan that, as Dinorego explains, Mma-Millipede might be able to help along.

For her part, Mma-Millipede has been observing Makhaya (for Paulina’s sake) but has difficulty forming an assessment of his character. Gilbert then has a talk with the old woman; he informs her that Makhaya is going to take on the important task of lecturing the local women on the best agricultural practices. When Mma-Millipede asks about Makhaya’s character, Gilbert informs her that Makhaya is a truthful, loyal man.

Afterwards, Gilbert finds Maria in a self-absorbed mood. She is mulling over the possibility that she will have to go to England with Gilbert, should he find it necessary to return. She tells him that she would not want to see the country because she would not feel free there. This admission brings Gilbert’s unpleasant memories of his affluent upbringing and his neurotic mother rushing back, yet he asserts to Maria that, as his wife, she would be obliged to go with him. Maria submits to Gilbert’s ideas about her duties; the two of them join hands and walk off into the Botswana landscape.

Chapter 8 Summary

Soon after the wedding, Paulina gathers the women of Golema Mmidi for a tobacco-growing project, which will be overseen by Makhaya. When Makhaya appears, he instructs the women and directs them in the building of a tobacco-curing shed. He inquires after Paulina’s young daughter, Lorato. Paulina and Makhaya get to know one another better during a meal break and joke about the local diet, to which Makhaya has not fully adapted. Although she finds Makhaya somewhat aloof, Paulina is impressed by his calm demeanor and by his ability to adapt to a provincial village, such as Golema Mmidi, after his life in another country.

The work continues, but Makhaya also spends time helping Lorato make a model village. Eventually, Gilbert appears; he describes to Makhaya his belief that Golema Mmidi will one day become a modern paradise, then looks around and appreciatively considers the people who are working to improve the village step-by-step.

After the day’s work has been completed, Paulina returns home with Lorato. Lorato wants her to weave a cap; this garment is intended for Paulina’s son, Isaac, who according to Paulina’s daughter has fallen sick during his time at the cattle post. Paulina does not consider that her son might have a serious ailment, but, as the narrator reveals before the chapter closes, her son is in fact afflicted with tuberculosis.

Chapter 9 Summary

Makhaya reflects on the fulfilling new life he has found in Botswana. Being surrounded by nature and working in harmony with Gilbert are elevating experiences for him, though he still dwells on the unsavory aspects of his earlier life (frequenting prostitutes, spending two years in jail) and holds to the belief that some of the potential for African progress is being undermined by black men themselves. Soon, he finds another redemptive influence in the presence of Mma-Millipede. One night, when he is with Dinorego, Maria, and Gilbert, Makhaya receives a note from the old woman. She wants to talk with him; he sets out immediately to see her.

Mma-Millipede is reading the bible, which she sees as a source of wisdom and and as a text that calls to mind her own life. She is contemplating the story of Jacob and Joseph in exile, and is about to weep with sympathy for these personages when Makhaya appears. After accepting her hospitality, he asks her about her religious devotions. Mma-Millipede explains that she is searching for goodness in her own life; Makhaya responds with very different sentiments: he calls himself the Black Dog and professes life has become tainted and corrupted for him. Mma-Millipede holds fast to her own philosophy of fellowship and optimism, warning Makhaya against the bitterness and degradation that may result from his cynical outlook on life.

Makhaya leaves on good terms with Mma-Millipede, although he does not entirely accept her outlook. Though much preoccupied with the violence inflicted on African life, and with the seeming triumph of violence over love in human affairs, he is soon diverted by a new project. Gilbert is building sheds for a tobacco-growing project; the entire village is a flurry of activity, and in the process, Makhaya becomes closer to Paulina Sebeso and her daughter. Though the two adults jest with one another over the work performed by men and women, they also discuss a more serious topic, the fate of Paulina’s son. Makhaya urges Paulina to sell her family’s cattle, live off the proceeds, and send the boy to school. Paulina resists this plan, as Makhaya tries to convince her that accepting change is the only way to move towards wealth and comfort.

Chapters 7-9 Analysis

In these chapters, the work of building up Golema Mmidi and integrating Makhaya into the community truly gets underway. As Gilbert’s projects intensify, aspects of the central characters mentioned earlier are explored in greater detail. Gilbert, for instance, has previously voiced contempt for England. Only now does the narrator reveal Gilbert’s memories of his mother and his childhood, showing how specific recollections fill Gilbert with “a sudden, deep loneliness” (98) that is very different from the energy of his agricultural work and the welcoming spirit of his wedding celebration.

Much of the intensity of these chapters relates to the characters’ intellectual and inner lives; after all, this stage of the narrative is driven not by conflict with Matenge, who has been hospitalized, but by differences between characters that are otherwise allies. The most dramatic difference is between Mma-Millipede, who is “searching for a faith” and emphasizes human goodness, and Makhaya, who professes that his life is only “torture and torment” (123). Their debate over principles does not reach a clear or easy resolution, though it is possible to see Mma-Millipede’s ideology as winning out—and to see Makhaya as backing away from his own misanthropy. If life is really “torture and torment” to Makhaya, what is the point of his work lifting up the people of Golema Mmidi?

The other point of tension in the narrative—Makhaya’s relationship with Paulina—seems to be resolving itself naturally. They have moved from being uncomfortably distant to talking with one another about matters that range from the passing (making food), to the momentous (the fate of Paulina’s son). Yet, possible sources of hardship and strife reemerge as When Rain Clouds Gather nears its climax. Paulina’s son, Isaac, is mentioned briefly and ominously at the end of Chapter 8, and suspense regarding his fate only builds when Head refrains from further portrayals of the boy in Chapter 9. And Matenge, of course, will eventually return.