Once Upon a Time

Mines symbolize secrets, fear, and a past that some would like to remain hidden. The mine under the narrator’s house is a metaphor for the shaky foundations of a country built on a system of inequality, and on the fears that support that system.

Mines also symbolize greed. Mined materials are precious: the prospect of finding gold, silver, and diamonds motivates companies to take enormous investment risks and exploit their workforces to ensure they make the largest possible profits. Mining in South Africa, which began in the late 19th century, predated apartheid. The progressively stricter laws enacted to limit the wealth and mobility of Indigenous miners were the primary motivators for formalizing apartheid in 1948.

The narrator refers to the husband’s mother as the wise old witch. In fairy tales, the witch is usually the villain or someone who casts a spell on the protagonist. Witches symbolize occult knowledge and possess powers that ordinary people lack. Western culture often portrays witches as older women.

In this story, after the family has established its “happily ever after” life, the husband’s mother is the first person to warn them not to take in strangers (68).