The Road to Mecca - latest 2021 Study Guide Answers

SUMMARY: Plot/Theme This play is based on the facts of the life and work of Helen Martins of New Bethseda, South Africa. In Fugard’s foreword he describes the isolated bleakness of the area, which is offset by Mrs. Martins, who has filled her yard with heathen statues and sculptures, all facing toward Mecca. Helen receives an unexpected visit from her much younger friend, Elsa Barlow, who has driven eight hundred miles from Cape Town in response to a letter that seemed to her a cry for help. Helen’s depression has two causes: First, she realizes that her age is catching up with her, and second, she resents the pressure she feels to leave her Mecca and go into an old people’s home. A third character, the Calvinist pastor, Marius Byleveld, comes to Helen’s house, expecting that she has decided to sign the form that will finalize her move to the old people’s home; however, she resists and decides to continue living as she has. Elsa has some serious problems of her own, which she does not reveal until the end of the play. She speaks only of the African woman carrying a baby to whom she had given a lift, food, and money, a woman she left trudging patiently to some unknown destination. The stage setting for this play is pivotal to understanding the theme. Helen’s house is described as “an extraordinary room . . . the walls—mirrors on all of them—are all of different colors, while on the ceiling and floor are solid, multicolored geometric... ANOTHER VERSION: “The Road to Mecca” is the story of the elderly Miss Helen and the interventions of her friends Elsa Barlow and Marius Byleveld. In response to Miss Helen’s plea for help in a letter, Elsa visits with her in an attempt to renew her spirit and confidence. Marius, concerned for Miss Helen’s wellbeing, tries to convince her to move into his church’s care home. In the midst of trying to do what’s best for the elderly artist, beliefs and friendships are challenged. At the end, the love between friends overpowers the differences that placed barriers between them. ANOTHER VERSION: Since her husband's death, Miss Helen has lived alone and transformed her home into a work of art by creating a myriad of cement wise men, camels, owls, mermaids, and other figures around the house; and decorating the inside with dozens of candles and mirrors. She has created her own "Mecca" of beauty and freedom amid the harsh church-going Afrikaners and voiceless Colored of this desolate region of South Africa. She has befriended a young teacher from Cape Town, Elsa, who sees the light of humanity in Helen, while others view her as an old woman who went crazy after her husband's death. In response to Helen's letter of distress, Elsa drives from Cape Town to make a surprise visit on the same day the local pastor, Marius Byleveld, comes to Miss Helen's house to help with her application for a bed at the local Old Folks' Home. Marius is invested in Helen moving to the Home because he fears for her safety (she recently burned herself by accident). Beneath this concern, however, is his deeper fear of her "idolatry" and her self-imposed exile from the Church; yet deeper still, is his human love for Miss Helen. With Elsa's support, Helen takes a stand, deciding to remain alone in her Mecca, rather than going to the Home. THE PLAY The Road to Mecca takes place in the town of New Bethesda, in the heart of South Africa’s arid Karoo. The year is 1974, and the setting is the home of Miss Helen, an elderly widow whose work as an artist has led to her increasing estrangement from her neighbors. The play opens as Miss Helen’s young friend Elsa Barlow, a teacher from Cape Town, arrives unexpectedly for a visit. The older woman, her appearance unkempt and her small house in need of a thorough cleaning, is flustered by the surprise visit, and the two quarrel as Miss Helen fusses over her guest. Their initial unease dissipates, however, when Elsa delights her friend by playfully pretending to leave and arrive again. Elsa’s visit to Miss Helen was prompted by a disturbing letter she has received from the older woman, but Miss Helen refuses to discuss the topic. Miss Helen also brushes off Elsa’s inquiry regarding burns on her hands and a burn mark on the window near one of her lamps. The pair talk instead about village gossip and about Elsa, who has angered her superiors by teaching her nonwhite students to question South Africa’s repressive society. She is still troubled by her encounter with a black woman and her child to whom she gave a ride during her drive to New Bethesda. Elsa has also broken off her affair with her boyfriend, who is, she now confesses, a married man.