Maru: Analysis of Major Characters

Author: Bessie Head

First published: 1971

Genre: Novel

Locale: Botswana

Plot: Social

Time: The mid-twentieth century

Maru (MAH-rew), an African tribal leader soon to be installed as hereditary Paramount chief in the village of Dilepe, Botswana. Adhering to the gods within him rather than to any external source of personal feeling, he is prompted to marry a woman of Bushman origin, an “untouchable” in the eyes of his fellow tribespeople. To do so, however, he must renounce his chieftainship, even though he is more just and wise a ruler than the brother who will take his place. With three trusted companions and his bride, the younger Margaret Cadmore, he travels a thousand miles away to start a new life as a subsistence farmer.

Moleka (moh-LAY-kah), the second most powerful man in Dilepe. He and Maru are close friends but then become bitter enemies and rivals for the love of the younger Margaret Cadmore. With the help of his spies, Maru maneuvers Moleka into a marriage with Dikeledi, even though Moleka loves Margaret.

Margaret Cadmore (younger), an orphan and a light-skinned woman of the Masarwa tribe, reared by and named for a missionary. She becomes a schoolteacher in the village of Dilepe. When she first arrives in Dilepe, she is subjected to the same racial humiliation and ridicule as she was in her childhood. Treated as an outcast, she once again becomes a victim of racial oppression. Margaret is also an artist and chooses themes from ordinary events in the village. She initially falls in love with Moleka, but as a result of Maru's powers of persuasion, she marries Maru and begins to learn to love him.

Margaret Cadmore (older), a white missionary to Africa. She finds the dead body of a woman and a live baby girl on the side of the road. After giving orders to bury the mother, she takes in the baby, gives the girl her own name, and provides for her education. She is described as a woman who lived without love. Because she felt that she had missed something in life, she was often irritable and impatient. She also learned to draw on her own inner resources.

Dikeledi (dee-kay-LAY-dee), Maru's sister and a teacher at the school where the younger Margaret Cadmore teaches. Margaret's openness about her tribal heritage, despite the ridicule it engenders, wins the respect, admiration, and friendship of Dikeledi. When she learns that Margaret is a painter, Dikeledi brings Margaret a parcel full of artist's supplies and encourages her to experiment with all the materials. Dikeledi is involved in a painful love affair with the womanizer Moleka and becomes pregnant with his child. She marries him after Maru's forceful interventions.