The Collector of Treasures Writing Response

In Bessie Head’s, The Collector of Treasures, it is interesting how the main character, Dikeledi Mokopi sacrifices a lot for the well being of her children despite all of the tragedy she has endured.  From the very beginning of her life she has been associated with sadness and death of her father, due to her name meaning tears. Several years after her birth, her mother also died, leaving her an orphan.  Though she moved in with her wealthy uncle, she was treated as a servant.  Her marriage to Garesego Mokopi was her escape from her uncle.  However, she did not escape a lot because Garesego was a cruel man.  Through their marriage Dikeledi had three sons, and eventually Garesego left, leaving Dikeledi to raise their children alone.  She was able to well care for her children.  When it came to be time for secondary school for her eldest son, Dikeledi was left no choice but to ask Garesego for money to help pay for tuition.  Her son had worked extremely hard and she felt that she owed it to him to do everything in her power to help him further expand his studies.  Asking Garesego was a big thing for her because she feels like a failure asking for money.  By approaching Garesego she basically openly admits that she is not capable of completely caring for her children and this forces her to show weakness.  She sacrifices her reputation of parenting by doing this.  By killing Garesego, she sacrifices her children’s mother.  Much like herself as a child, her children will grow up orphans and will be forced to live with someone else.   Though this time, they will be living with a person who cares for them and does not treat them as outsiders and servants.  She sacrifices her freedom for the well being of her children.  When in jail, she doesn’t show any regret for killing Garesego because though the short term effect on her children will be bad, in the long run, her children will have access to higher education, thus opening doors to many opportunities later in life, which Dikeledi herself, didn’t have the opportunity to have.  All in all, Dikeledi’s actions were all carefully planned out with her children as the main focus.