Athol Fugard's The Road To Mecca

In Athol Fugard’s play, The Road to Mecca, it can be said that “the confinement of time and space enables the audience or the reader to see more deeply into the nature of Elsa’s character during her visit to Miss Helen.” By looking at Elsa’s perceptions of Nieu Bethesda, her different attitudes and disclosures within Miss Helen’s home, and the effects the confinement of time have on the dramatic tension between Elsa and Helen one can prove the above statement to be quite accurate.

Elsa reveals in small fragments her perceptions about Nieu Bethesda. The small village, rooted in Afrikaans culture is worlds away from her home town in The Cape, where she resides. The reader is quickly made aware that Elsa has been to Nieu Bethesda before, to

Both women are facing a crisis in their lives. They are each confined to the social norms of the world around them but have very different personalities and because of this choose to rebel against social conventions in their own way. Their differences spark a healthy conflict of opinion between the two, which ultimately lead to them helping one another address both the literal and figurative confinements around them. Miss Helen comes from a strictly Afrikaans background. She is a strong woman who does not rely on men. She confesses that when her husband passed away she finally felt free, admitting she never loved him. She is labeled ‘mad’ by the community and is struggling with depression, which has been caused by an aging process she cannot control. Her health and eyesight are deteriorating and she feels pressured to leave her beloved home for an old age retirement home. She embodies independence and the thought of having that taken away terrifies her. Elsa is of English background and seen to be more literate and educated. She believes in human rights and freedom of speech. However, she struggles with quite the opposite of that of Helen 's battle. After having an affair with a married man and always believing he would leave his wife for her, she’s relied on the affirmation of men and is now burdened with being “the victim of the situation”. Both women are able to assist one another and by uncovering both women’s struggles the reader is able to capture a rounded understanding of Elsa’s character. Elsa stands up for Miss Helen and helps her gain confidence, she is convinced she knows what is best for Helen. Elsa empowers Helen with her way of thinking, such as the conversation where Elsa asks Helen why Katrina does not leave her husband and Helen responds with the typical norm of the culture she grew up in, “She can’t do that, they’re married.” Elsa challenges Helen by stating, “There’s the