A Forbidden Love
Interracial relationships make a huge impact on the lives of those who are ignorant. In the play, Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act, the community and the government of South Africa show their fear for situations they do not understand. Fear in this situation is ultimately turned into hatred. This in the hands of people who hold power is dangerous. In this play the main characters are a black man and a white woman who are forced to live in a society that punishes the citizens for engaging in relationships with people of different color.
The black man is well educated; he is a principal of a school. He illustrates his intelligence and vivid imagination through the stories he tells. The white woman is intelligent as well, though it is not as obvious to the reader. Her level of intelligence is more implied being that she seems more composed with her thoughts than he is. She is more reserved rather and absorbs everything the man has to say. She listens with great enthusiasm and offers feedback. She shows the reader that she truly enjoys his company.
They both have found themselves in a complex situation. Neither one of them ever thought their rendezvous would last this long and turn into a serious affair. The woman is at conflict with herself in this complex situation. She is very fond of the man and finds herself falling in love with him. However, she cannot allow herself to look at him or even allow him to look at her. She chooses to remain in the darkness of the room, where no one exists except for the two of them. In this dark room, no one else exists except for the two of them. There is no issue of color or of breaking any laws. This is illustrated when the man says, “Understand what? There is seeing, and being seen. Which one are you frightened of? Me or you?” (p.82). She believes that as long as she hides this situation from everyone, including them,