The Promise

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Pages 1-44

Part 1, Pages 45-89

Part 2, Pages 93-130

Part 2, Pages 130-151

Part 3, Pages 155-176

Part 3, Pages 177-192

Part 3, Pages 192-215

Part 4, Pages 219-232

Part 4, Pages 232-257

Part 4, Pages 257-269

Background

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Symbols & Motifs

Broken Promises

The most prominent broken promise in the novel—and the one that the title refers to most obviously—is Manie’s promise to Rachel that he will give Salome ownership of the house she lives in. However, this is far from the only broken or unfulfilled promise that the story features. In Part 1, Manie promises to Amor that he will not make her return to the boarding school she so strongly dislikes, but he breaks his word days later. At Manie’s funeral, the reader learns that he had a mistress he spent many years promising to make an “honest woman” out of but never did. Astrid learns this family trait and applies it to her own life, promising Father Batty in confession that she will stop her affair with Jake Moody’s business partner but never making any serious attempt to do so. Anton is described on multiple occasions as being a young man who had a great deal of promise but wasted it. With the multiplication of these broken or unfulfilled promises, some more serious than others, readers can see a pattern in the Swart family of believing that promises need not mean anything serious.

Lightning

Early in the novel, the reader learns that Amor was struck by lightning as a six-year-old. This traumatic event leaves her with lasting scars on her feet. She is marked, literally and figuratively, as distinct from her family from a young age. Other people notice this distinction even in her childhood, as she interacts with people in a quieter, more contemplative way than the rest of the Swarts. As she matures, this difference manifests most prominently in her desire to advocate for Salome whenever her family discusses Manie’s promise.

The lightning incident is also significant in another way: It damages the tree Amor was sitting near at the time, leaving it dead and dark in color. This foreshadows the decay that is coming not just to the Swart property on which the tree sits, but to the family itself as they let decades stretch on without honoring Manie’s promise.

Death

Because each of the four parts in The Promise revolves around a character’s death, death becomes a motif that leads to frequent occurrences of things like funerals or post-funeral home gatherings. The cycle of death, mourning, and the gradual return to normalcy symbolizes the country’s struggle for rebirth as it undergoes the transition from apartheid to a democratic, racially inclusive society.

Beyond the basic circumstances surrounding death, many character types, events, and thought processes repeat as well. In three out of the four parts, the narrator spends a short time with the funeral home officials in charge of preparing the body for burial. On three separate occasions, characters initially feel annoyed to have to interact with Amor, only to end up finding they want to confide in her. On three occasions, women in the Swart home—first Marina and then Desirée—treat Salome condescendingly at post-funeral gatherings. Three speakers at funeral services—Reverend Simmers, Father Batty, and Moti—lead or facilitate awkward funeral services that have more to do with their own personal distractions than the deceased person.

These deaths contrast with the changes happening on South Africa’s national political stage. First, apartheid ends and Nelson Mandela becomes president. Then President Mbeki takes over, and various characters notice crime rates creeping back up. Lastly, President Zuma takes office and oversees huge infrastructural problems but unexpectedly resigns on Valentine’s Day 2018. These cycles of national highs and lows appear dramatic, but the repetition that permeates the novel underlines the idea that throughout all this change many constants remain.

Moreover, even seemingly dramatic political shifts can be deceiving; President Mandela’s presidency looks like a historic step forward for the nation, and in many ways it is. However, the country experiences some regression as new leaders allow corruption to seep into their administrations. The most momentous of changes can only be sustained with continuous attention; in the absence of this work, cycles of national highs and lows continue to proliferate.