Age of Iron: Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis

Florence, Mrs. Curren’s housekeeper, returns to Mrs. Curren’s residence with her two young daughters and her teenage son, Bheki. This is the first time Bheki has come with Florence, and Mrs. Curren asks if he will be staying for an extended period of time. Florence explains that her sister cannot look after Bheki anymore because it has become too dangerous in Guguletu, the nearby township where Florence’s sister lives.

Because Florence has a lot going on, Mrs. Curren promises to help with the housework. However, she quickly falls behind and Florence has to do most of the work anyway. Mrs. Curren thinks about how much Bheki has grown since she first met him. She asks Florence about why he is not in school. Florence explains that the schools in Guguletu have all closed down.

Florence asks Mrs. Curren about the homeless man living outside her house. Mrs. Curren introduces him as Mr. Vercueil and says he is staying with them for the time being. She promises Florence that Vercueil will not be any trouble. However, Florence is not so sure. That afternoon, Vercueil works on the lawnmower while Hope and Beauty, Florence’s daughters, play nearby. Beauty repeatedly walks up to Vercueil to try and engage him, but each time he shoos her away. Eventually, Vercueil gives in and plays with Beauty by taking her hands and spinning her around. Excited, Hope runs over to Vercueil, and he spins her too. However, Florence sees what is going on and takes the girls away from Vercueil, who promptly returns to working on the lawnmower.

Mrs. Curren asks Florence more about what is going on with the children in Guguletu since they are no longer in school. Florence explains that many of the children and teenagers behave wildly because they are not in school and have no mothers or fathers to look after them. That evening, Mrs. Curren lays in bed and thinks about how much she envies Florence’s life. Florence is still healthy and has her children by her side, while Mrs. Curren is lonely and dying.

Mrs. Curren recalls a time from the previous year when she drove Florence to meet William, Florence’s husband. William’s job was to slaughter chickens. Mrs. Curren recalls watching William pounce on a chicken and tie a wire around its feet before sending it down an assembly line to another man, who promptly decapitated it. Mrs. Curren was not prepared for what she saw, and she wonders about the effects such a job would have on someone’s psyche. The chickens remind Mrs. Curren of how killing and dying can be easy and sudden.

In a new letter to her daughter, Mrs. Curren writes about how Vercueil spends all the money he gets from her on booze. He drank plenty before she began giving him money, and now he takes advantage of the fact that he has money to get drunk all the time. Meanwhile, Bheki has begun bringing one of his friends from school around Mrs. Curren’s residence. One day, Vercueil asks Bheki’s friend to get him some water. Instead, Bheki’s friend grabs one of Vercueil’s bottles of alcohol and dumps it on him. The incident enrages Vercueil. However, Bheki’s friend continues to mock him, proclaiming, “‘They are making you into a dog! […] ‘Do you want to be a dog?’” Mrs. Curren witnesses the incident and immediately dislikes Bheki’s friend.

The incident ends with Vercueil and Bheki’s friend hitting each other. Mrs. Curren sees what is going on and goes to complain to Florence. She asks Florence about Bheki’s friend and says she does not want him hanging around. Florence simply shrugs; she does not care about Vercueil and does not want him around. Mrs. Curren refers to the alley as Vercueil’s home and says the boys should not mistreat him.

In response, Florence calls Vercueil a “rubbish person” and suggests that Mrs. Curren get rid of him. Mrs. Curren says that no one is a “rubbish person,” and Vercueil will not be going anywhere because he is her “messenger.” Her comments cause Florence to raise an eyebrow; she does not understand why Mrs. Curren has such a soft spot for Vercueil.

Vercueil leaves his spot in the alley for some time, which causes Mrs. Curren to argue further with Florence about what occurred. She tells Florence that she should set a better example for the boys and not allow them to treat Vercueil so barbarically. Mrs. Curren is particularly annoyed because the boys have no respect for their elders. Florence responds that the boys do not misbehave because of how they were raised. Rather, they are cruel because they were raised in a cruel world created and governed by white people who treat them poorly.

The conversation causes Mrs. Curren to reflect upon how intolerably cruel South Africa has become. She refers to the present as “the age of iron” because of how hard everyone has become. She is happy that her daughter left South Africa when she did, even though she misses her dearly.

One day—it is not clear how much time has passed—Mrs. Curren wakes up and hears Florence fighting with someone, though she cannot make out who. When she asks Florence about the incident, Florence refuses to say who she was talking to. Mrs. Curren asks if Bheki’s friend stayed in the house last night. Florence admits that Bheki and his friend both slept in Mrs. Curren’s garage. Mrs. Curren chastises Florence because no one asked her permission.

While looking around her property, Mrs. Curren notices that a police car has been parked out front and seems to be keeping an eye on her place. The police spot Mrs. Curren and come up to her. They ask her about Bheki and his friend, and whether or not she gave them permission to be on her property. Mrs. Curren assures the policemen that the boys are allowed to be there.

When Mrs. Curren returns inside, she tells Florence to get rid of Bheki’s friend because he has brought police surveillance to her house. She worries his presence and behavior will get Bheki in trouble with the law. Florence understands Mrs. Curren’s concerns but says she won’t send Bheki’s friend back to Guguletu because of the persistent violence. Mrs. Curren gives up and runs herself a bath. While bathing, she calls out to her dead mother, desperately in need of her mother’s support.

One morning, Mrs. Curren looks outside her window and sees that Vercueil is back. It is raining hard outside, so she asks Vercueil if he would like to come in. Vercueil steps inside and a woman who Mrs. Curren does not recognize steps in behind him. Mrs. Curren is annoyed that Vercueil did not mention he had a companion and asks who she is. Neither Vercueil nor the woman answer her question.

Angrily, Mrs. Curren tells them that they are allowed to stay until the rain stops, but then she wants them out. Vercueil falls asleep on Mrs. Curren’s couch, making sounds that remind Mrs. Curren of her daughter. When Mrs. Curren wakes up the following morning, both Vercueil and the mysterious woman are still in her house.

Determined to take control of her house, Mrs. Curren begins working on the issue of Bheki’s friend, who is still staying on her property. She tells Bheki that she does not want him and his friend sleeping in her car. Bheki does not say anything in response. Bheki’s silence is the final straw for Mrs. Curren. She is angry that everyone else is using her property like it belongs to them without showing her any respect or appreciation. It makes her feel like she is dead before she has actually died.

Mrs. Curren finds Florence and asks her to get rid of Vercueil’s female friend. Florence finds the woman lying down on a bed of cushions, asleep and unresponsive. Florence grabs the woman by the arm, gets her to stand up, and takes her outside of the house. As this is going on, Mrs. Curren sees Vercueil and warns him that he has gone too far this time.

In the meantime, Bheki and his friend ride together on a bicycle, with Bheki sitting on the handlebars. Mrs. Curren sees that the police from the other day are chasing after them. Bheki’s friend pedals as fast as he can to get away, but the police van quickly catches up to them. The police swing their door open and knock the teenagers off the bike. Mrs. Curren witnesses the entire incident and begins calling for people to come help. A crowd forms around the boys as Mrs. Curren does her best to tend to them. She sees that the boys are hurt and promises them that the ambulance will arrive soon. She also tells everyone that the police hurt the boys intentionally.

Florence arrives on the scene and tells Mrs. Curren that she does not want the help of an ambulance. However, Bheki’s friend is in a rough state. He has a bad cut on his forehead and is bleeding a lot. One of the nearby men tries to stop the bleeding, but Bheki’s friend still loses a significant amount of blood. Mrs. Curren steps in to try and stop Bheki’s friend from losing blood, and though she is partially successful, she knows that professional medical help is required. Eventually, an ambulance arrives and takes Bheki’s friend away.

Once Bheki’s friend has left with the ambulance, Mrs. Curren goes looking for Florence. When she finds Florence, she chastises her for fleeing the scene. Florence explains that she wanted to avoid the police. Mrs. Curren says that she plans to file a formal complaint of police misconduct. She knows the police acted maliciously and wants to see justice served. However, Florence warns her to leave the issue alone because she thinks involving the police will only make matters worse.

Later the same day, Bheki’s friend’s grandmother calls Mrs. Curren’s house asking about her grandson. She says that she could not find any record of him arriving at the hospital. Mrs. Curren calls around and also cannot find any official sign that Bheki’s friend arrived where he was supposed to. Mrs. Curren, along with Florence, Vercueil, and Bheki, get in the car and head to the nearest hospital.

Mrs. Curren questions a receptionist, who insists there is no record of Bheki’s friend at the hospital. The receptionist suggests that she go to Groote Schuur, a different hospital. The group heads to Groote Schuur as the receptionist suggests. When they arrive, Mrs. Curren sends Bheki and Florence inside to look for Bheki’s friend because she is in too much pain.

While sitting in the car with Vercueil, Mrs. Curren thinks about the state of her cancer and the current condition of South Africa. She wonders whether it would be better to give herself over to the nurses at a hospital like Groote Schuur, so she no longer has to worry about caring for herself. After thinking about her illness for a while, Mrs. Curren tells Vercueil that she has not informed her daughter that she is about to die. Her daughter knows she is sick but thinks she will soon be better.

Vercueil advises Mrs. Curren to tell her daughter the truth and ask her to return to South Africa. Mrs. Curren explains that her daughter left South Africa on principle and will not return until the social conditions improve. Moments later, Florence and Bheki return. They tell Mrs. Curren that they found Bheki’s friend in a room with several old people who are close to death. Florence is upset that they would do such a thing to a young boy.

The following day, Mrs. Curren and Vercueil go back to the hospital so Mrs. Curren can check on Bheki’s friend. Bheki’s friend does not like that Mrs. Curren has come to see him and jerks his hand away when Mrs. Curren touches it. Mrs. Curren asks him to give her a chance. Then, she tells Bheki’s friend—as well as Vercueil, who is standing nearby—that she was once a classics professor at a South African university. Then, she briefly discusses Thucydides’ writings on war and the hypocrisy of people who make rules but do not follow them.

After the visit, Mrs. Curren and Vercueil return home. There, they watch television together and page through one of Mrs. Curren’s old books. Vercueil starts to open up to Mrs. Curren, telling her that he was once a sailor. That night, Mrs. Curren suggests that Vercueil sleep inside. She also asks him to move in permanently to help take care of her in exchange for a roof over his head.

Mrs. Curren also spends some time talking to local law enforcement to try and get justice for Bheki’s friend. However, she does not get very far. The authorities tell her that she cannot file a complaint unless she was the one affected by the incident. Frustrated, Mrs. Curren hangs up the phone and expresses her anger to Vercueil. Vercueil barely registers Mrs. Curren’s mood. Rather than respond to her complaints, he asks her if he can have some money.