You Can't Get Lost in Cape Town by Zoë Wicomb
"You Can't Get Lost in Cape Town" by Zoë Wicomb is a poignant exploration of identity, race, and personal agency through the intense inner monologue of a young Coloured woman navigating a critical moment in her life. Set against the backdrop of Cape Town, the story delves into her decision to terminate her pregnancy, the result of a relationship with a white boyfriend. As she rides a bus into the city, the narrator grapples with anxiety and contemplation about her circumstances, including her identity and societal expectations.
The narrative is punctuated by her interactions with two women who work for white families, whose candid discussions provide a stark contrast to the narrator's internal turmoil. Through her thoughts and memories, particularly of her boyfriend Michael’s reaction to her pregnancy, the narrator grapples with feelings of love, betrayal, and the weight of societal judgment.
The story culminates in her visit to an abortionist, where race and class dynamics further complicate her experience. Ultimately, the narrator's journey reflects broader themes of displacement, emotional conflict, and the search for self-definition within the complexities of post-apartheid South Africa. This work invites readers to engage with profound questions about morality, choice, and the implications of one’s heritage in the face of personal crisis.
On this Page
You Can't Get Lost in Cape Town by Zoë Wicomb
First published: 1987
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: Probably the 1960's
Locale: Cape Town, South Africa
Principal Characters:
The narrator , a young woman, a college student who is designated "Coloured" in the South African racial systemMichael , her blond loverTiena , a large woman who cooks and cleans for a white familyMrs. Coetzee , the abortionist
The Story
"You Can't Get Lost in Cape Town" is an intense personal interior monologue of a young Coloured woman who aborts her unborn child, the offspring of a two-year relationship with her white boyfriend.
The story begins with the nameless narrator sitting on the bus into Cape Town, South Africa, clutching her purse and worrying about how much the fare is, if she will need change, what the lining of her handbag is made of, and where she should get off the bus. The entrance of two women who cook and clean for white women, on their way home from their jobs, offers her a welcome distraction. The narrator feels a flutter in her womb and thinks that God will never forgive her. She chooses to anchor her mind in the women's conversation, mostly a monologue by the larger and more aggressive of the two who refers to herself as Tiena. The woman is discussing her white mistress, the stupidity and laxness of the white people, and how she manages to outwit them. She shares some chicken she has taken from the house with her friend, while she explains how her exploitative mistress tried to keep her from having any of it for herself. She also discusses the mistress's daughter, who has been having sex with her fiancé but has been using birth control pills, which she assumes the servant is too ignorant to recognize. This girl will be married in white and seen as a blushing innocent by her family, though Tiena sees through her.
As she listens, the narrator becomes anxious again. She thinks of asking for directions, but when the fetus inside her flutters again she feels it is bullying her and decides to leave the bus. She doubts if she will be alive the next day. Having made an arbitrary decision to get off, the narrator is anxious about meeting Michael, who has told her that "you can't get lost in Cape Town." This memory leads her to other memories of their time together, including his response to her pregnancy, which was to ask her to marry him and move to England. However, she feels that he no longer really loves her, and so she has chosen to have the abortion.
The narrator then finds her way to the post office in the city where she is to meet Michael. They go to another part of Cape Town where Mrs. Coetzee is to perform the abortion. The woman questions the narrator about her race, but when the narrator denies that she is Coloured, the abortionist is quite ready to believe her despite the evidence of her own eyes, because the narrator has developed an educated tone and manner. Like the woman on the bus who recognized the birth control pills, the abortionist's Coloured assistant is not fooled and winks at the narrator. Mrs. Coetzee does what is necessary to bring about a miscarriage, and the narrator returns to her home, acting blithe and assured as she tells Michael that it will all be over in the morning.
In the morning, the narrator places the aborted fetus in a garbage can. Simultaneously, she describes God as being absent, having absconded forever as she prepares to discard the newspaper-wrapped package.