Structure

Title

The title of Rosemund J. Handler's story, “An Act of Vengeance”, suggests that the plot might involve something violent and that one of the themes the story explores is revenge. However, it does not reveal anything explicit about the plot.

As the story unfolds, the plot focuses on Pauline’s conflict with her patronising employer, suggesting Pauline might be looking for revenge because of the way Miss C. Bester overworks her as a maid. This is first suggested when Pauline thinks about vandalising the dishwasher: “Today Pauline is overcome by an impulse to smear the blank surface of the dishwasher with something nasty. Its rectangular metallic presence, a monument to idleness, at once repels and fascinates her.” (p. 88, ll. 8-10)

However, Pauline does nothing to the dishwasher. Revenge comes in the form of two intruders who break into the house and rape and rob Miss C. Bester. Pauline witnesses this scene hidden behind a door without saying anything, possibly also getting revenge for how Miss C. Bester treated her. At the end, Pauline is also able to get her revenge by acting as if nothing happened after she releases Miss C. Bester: “Finally she removes the gag, which is Madam's sweet-smelling facecloth. Madam begins to splutter and choke and sob. (…) ‘Mrs Bester,’ she says, ‘the baby is crying. I will vacuum later.’ ” (p. 91, ll. 31-34)

The story and its title are meant to represent the social setting in South Africa after the apartheid regime, when black people felt a lot of anger for be...