The Promise by Damon Galgut details a promise which takes four decades to be fulfilled. The book was set in South Africa and reflects change over a period of forty changes. The family’s Matriarch, Rachel, is terminally ill. Salome, the housemaid, has been taking care of Rachel. Rachel is thrilled by Salome’s hard work. Therefore, before she dies, Rachel requests her husband, Manie, to give Salome a house on the farm. Manie promises his wife that he will honor his dying wish. The conversation between the two occurs inside the room and Manie believes that nobody has heard it. However, their youngest daughter, Amor, has overheard the promise.
Following the death of Rachel, her husband refuses to honor the promise. In fact, he insists that he never made such a promise. The promise turns out to be a curse because family members who are objected to it die mysteriously. The deaths occur at the interval of ten years. The only person who survives in the family is Amor. The survival of Amor could be attributed to her insistence that Salome should be given ownership of the house.
Amor gives Salome the ownership of the house when she (Salome) is old and exhausted. Salome is a black person while her bosses are whites. The whole saga reflects the distressing situations of black people triggered by systemic racism. The handover of ownership of the house to Salome represents a sigh of relief to the nation. Salome is old and may not live long to enjoy the ownership of the house. Similarly, people who fought for good governance in South Africa won’t live long to enjoy the fruits of their work.
