The Collector of Treasures - Bessie Head : Summary and analysis

 

The short story ‘The Collector of Treasures’ appears in Bessie Head’s short story collection titled The Collector of Treasures: and other Botswana Village Tales. It tells the story of a woman named Dikeledi Mokopi who is accused of murdering her husband, Garesego, and is sent to prison. The story begins with her journey to prison and her conversations with the other women prisoners. Then the story moves into a flashback that shows her life before the crime and the reasons that led her to commit it. Though the story covers dark subjects and a violent crime, the main character chooses to focus on the “gold amidst the ash”—the small acts of friendship and kindness, which she sees as her “treasures.”

 

Dikeledi had a hard life from a young age. Her name, “Dikeledi,” means tears. After being orphaned as a child, she was brought up by her uncle, a selfish man who treated her like a servant and stopped her schooling after six years. He was the one who arranged her marriage to his friend Garesego after Garesego showed interest. Dikeledi accepted because she wanted to leave her uncle’s house and Garesego “was the only man who proposed for me.” The marriage quickly became unhappy, though it was never happy to begin with. Garesego was violent and had many affairs. Finally, he abandoned Dikeledi and their three small sons. Still, Dikeledi worked hard to raise her children and used her skills in sewing, knitting, thatching, and more to earn enough to live.

 

A good change came into her life when new neighbors, the Theobolos, moved in. Paul Theobolo became the principal of the local school and came with his wife, Kenalepe, and their children to live next door. A warm and strong friendship developed between Dikeledi and the Theobolos. They were always ready to help one another. Dikeledi and Kenalepe shared a deep friendship based on care and trust—“one of those deep, affectionate, sharing-everything kind of friendships that only women know how to have.” Dikeledi made clothes for Kenalepe and her daughters, and since she refused money, Paul made sure she was “paid in household goods” so that her basic needs were always met. For Dikeledi, this friendship was priceless, “like a nugget of gold.” It gave her happiness and she “took it and stored another treasure in her heart.”

 

But this peaceful life did not last long. Dikeledi’s oldest son passed the primary school exam with a ‘Grade A’. Dikeledi was very proud and wanted him to join secondary school. But even after all her hard work, she could not save enough money to pay the full fees. So she decided to ask Garesego for help and remind him of his duty as a father. But he refused and, worse, accused her of having an affair with Paul Theobolo. Feeling jealous and possessive, Garesego sent a message to Dikeledi, saying he would return home for sexually abuse her. She thought about how to protect the “treasures of kindness and love she had gathered from others” from being ruined by a cruel man. At last, she made up her mind and wrote back, saying everything would be ready for his arrival.

 

When Garesego arrived, he ignored the children and was only interested in “claiming” Dikeledi. This confirmed her decision. If he had shown any love for his children, she might have changed her mind. But he didn’t, and this made her more sure of what to do. That night, “Garesego lay sprawled across the bed in such a manner that indicated he only thought of himself and did not intend sharing the bed with anyone else. Satiated with food and drink, he had fallen into a deep, heavy sleep the moment his head touched the pillow.” Dikeledi looked at him and, “with the precision and skill of her hardworking hands, she grasped hold of his genitals and cut them off with one stroke.”

 

This act was Dikeledi’s way of resisting the unfair treatment and abuse she had suffered, with no way to escape it. Because of this, she was sent to prison. Her trip to prison is shown as lonely and quiet. But once there, she finds support among the other women, especially Kebonye. Like Dikeledi, many women had ended up in jail for killing their husbands. This becomes clear in this conversation between Dikeledi and Kebonye:

 

“‘And what may your crime be?’

 

‘I have killed my husband.’

 

‘We are all here for the same crime,’ Kebonye said, then … asked: ‘Do you feel any sorrow about the crime?’

 

‘Not really,’ the other woman replied.

 

‘How did you kill him?’

 

‘I cut off all his special parts with a knife,’ Dikeledi said.

 

‘I did it with a razor,’ Kebonye said.”

 

Kebonye also shares her own story: “Our men do not think that we need tenderness and care. You know, my husband used to kick me between the legs when he wanted that. I once aborted with a child, due to this treatment. I could see that there was no way to appeal to him if I felt ill … Well, he was an education-officer and each year he used to suspend about seventeen male teachers for making school girls pregnant, but he used to do the same. The last time it happened the parents of the girl were very angry and came to report the matter to me. I told them: “You leave it to me. I have seen enough.” And so I killed him.”

 

Dikeledi’s experiences are not hers alone—many women like her go through similar abuse. Their stories show how these violent and unfair marriages, controlled by deep-rooted patriarchy, are part of a larger problem. The legal system fails to protect women from abuse but acts quickly when it comes to punishing them, showing a clear bias in the system.

 

Even in the face of such deep-rooted problems and a legal system that is either uncaring or part of the problem, Dikeledi continues to find hope in life, valuing the friendships and support she receives: “she had always found gold amidst the ash, deep loves that had joined her heart to the hearts of others. … She was the collector of such treasures.” Through these treasures, Dikeledi celebrates the strength of kindness and unity even in times of great hardship