It was in the year of 1933
and Grace and her father were heading southward with their army of gangsters
After Ieaving Dogville they had returned to Denver
only to find that the mice had been well and truly playing while the cat was away
and new forces had taken over their former possessions
The result was a particularly unappealing retreat
that had brought them through the state ofAlabama this spring
in search of new hunting grounds
No, they will not admit it! But it's a fact!
Deep down inside there isn't a woman alive who doesn't nurture these fantasies
whether they involve harems
or being hunted through the jungle by torch-bearing natives
however much they go on and on about civilization and democracy sexy it ain't!
Grace and her father had resumed their Iegendary discord
even as they pulled out of Dogville
and although Grace had been employing the technique
of Ietting things go in one ear and out the other for a pretty Iong time now
she was, to be frank, somewhat weary of her unbearably overweening daddy
who still believed any nagging woman could be pacified with the good old bouquet of carnations
I bet you wouldn't have had the guts to talk Iike that if mother had been alive
No, you are right, my girl, I would not!
we're going, boss
Miss, Lady, can I talk to you? Can I talk to you?
Yes?
They going whip him! I knew they would! Itjust ain't true! He ain't stole nothing!
They put that Rhenish wine from Mam's bedside table in his cabin
just to give 'em somethin' to whip him for! That's the Iaw
One bottle and it's a whippin', that's "Mam's Law!"
what are you talking about? who... who are they going to whip?
- Timothy! - why?
That's how they do us slaves...
- SIaves? - Yes, Ma'am
Surely you've heard of slaves?
That's what we is at Manderlay
this godforsaken place!
That's how I got out, when a whippin's in the offin' they take out a section of the fence
Listen, Grace! It's a Iocal matter and it's not for us to poke our noses in
why should we not "poke our noses in", just because it's a Iocal matter?
It's certainly not our responsibility
You think the Negroes wanted to Ieave their homes in Africa?!
wasn't it us who brought them to America?
we have done them a great wrong, it's our abuse that has made them what they are
Untie him!
Stop!
'Fraid not, Iady! SIavery was abolished seventy years ago
Ifyou won't obey that Iaw ofyour own accord, we will compel you to do so!
Mam! Help me get her inside!
water for Mam! Quickly
Spare me your hypocrisy, you dumb old slave!
Get out, Ieave us alone!
Ifyou're Iooking for sympathy, don't expect any from me
Listen, I'm very old
and unfortunately, dying
I should Iike to ask you for a favor
If it involves allowing you to go on exploiting these people Iike slaves
I'm sorry, I'II just have to say no
- No matter how "dying" you are - SIavery is over now, I can see that
It had to come one day
All right, I'II probably refuse you, but you might as well ask
There's a book, it's under my mattress
I should Iike you to retrieve it and burn it for me
- It would be best for everyone - I'm sure you think so!
But it's my view that anything no matter what, is best served by being brought out into the open
I beg you, one woman to another
woman to woman, makes no difference to me
the sins of the past are sins I cannot and do not wish to help you erase
And now I must Ieave you, I believe my father's men have unlocked the gate
so now everybody can come and go as they please
PIease Iet everyone else know on the plantation
that from now on they can all enjoy the same freedoms as any other citizen of this country
And the Constitution can be found at any courthouse
And here's a tip for when you sue the family
there's a weighty written evidence concealed in this very room
She's dead
The old devil!
Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, Missy!
No, no, if any of us deserves an apology it's not me!
I'm afraid
There's nothing to be afraid of! we've taken all the family's weapons!
No
I'm afraid ofwhat will happen now
I fear we ain't ready for a completely new way of Iife
At Manderlay, we slaves took supper at 7
when do people take supper when they are free?
we don't know these things
Free men eat when they're hungry
free women, as welI
Considering the times and the situation
Grace's words in the dead woman's room on meal times for free citizens
might have seemed a trifle over-spirited
we should not believe that there Iay any contempt in these words
for the wretched and starving people ofAmerica
Grace rejoined the gangsters
who had indeed concluded their disarmament of the plantation's powers-that-had-been
though their findings were meager: the shot gun, and an old toy pistoI
All right, we can go
No, Iet's just wait a moment!
what are you waiting for?
For them to come and thank you?
Or for them to burn the whole place down
and dance some tribal dance on the ruins by the glow of the torchlight?
You are a bigot, daddy and you always have been
we owe these people we brought them here, we abused them
- we made them what they are! - I admit, I don't do deals with the Japs
You can't trust them when there's big money at stake, but a bigot?
- why don't they come out? - That's exactly what you said Iast time!
- Last time? - Remember when you were six
you thought it was so sad that your beloved Tweety was all shut up in a cage
and nobody could persuade you not to Iet him out
Tweety was a proud Iittle bird
well, his dignified exit didn't do Tweety a hell of a Iot of good
we found him the next morning underneath your window
- Frozen to death - I know
he'd been bred as an indoor bird, he really didn't have a chance
And what do you think those Negroes in there are?
How many generations do you think those families made their homes behind that fence?
I bet you most of them have taken up employment in their former jobs with the family
contracts and alI
Of course now they'II get a few dollars for their efforts, but they'II soon drink that up
and maybe they'II borrow a bit more from their employers
who have, no doubt, opened a Iittle store full of colorful wares just for them
And of course they'II never be able to pay back the money and they'II be trapped yet again
what you did was all very noble, my girl, but...
when push comes to shove you've just made everything far worse, just as you did with Tweety
So all we can do is hope there's no frost
what you said about contracts and Ioans
- That's fraud! - Fraud?
- See, I've read that freed slaves - Yes
- Are given a mule and a plot of Iand - Yes
- So that they can establish themselves - Yes
Yep, that's true, but when it came down to it
the fellow who owned the mule and the Iand had rather keep it all for himself
so nothing really ever happened with it
Anyhow, it may take them a while to gather the evidence against the plantation
for when the family goes on trial...
Trial?
There are times when you seem even Iess with it than your dear mother!
No, I seem to have underestimated 'em
we've at Ieast one man with a genuine thirst for freedom
And he's gettin' out, and he's in a hurry
Yeah, he's high tailin' it, all right
Yeah, it's Gramps!
Pardon me
Not a Iot of dignity there... he's scared out of his wits!
would it be possible to have a word with the young Iady?
Yes, yes
Don't mean to inconvenience you
That's exactly what you're doing
You're not inconveniencing anyone, this is a grave day for everyone, I know that!
I just thought we must have seemed a might bit ungratefuI
we should Iike to thank you properly for what you've done
- It'II only take a moment - Yes of course
Ten minutes and then I'm going, not a second Ionger!
Grace was conducted through the wretched Iiving quarters bestowed upon the slaves
with their pitiful, Ieaky cabins
Her actions would comprise an unconditional enrichment of these people's Iives
There was no doubt about that...
or was there?
Actually, Grace did not see so much of the glow she had hoped for
The glow that could have convinced her that no one would end up Iike the Iittle pale yellow canary
These were human beings but of the kind on whom pain had been inflicted, Grace thought
as she was suddenly interrupted by a strangely exotic accent
when we were slaves we were not required to offer thanks for our supper
and for the water we drank and the air we breathed
Nobody needs to say thank-you, but...
But what?
You mean there's somethin' we ought to be thankful for?
I didn't mean "but" I meant "and"!
And, there's no reason to be grateful for anything as natural as your freedom
I'm the first to apologize for everything you and your people have been subjected to...
See, those gates should have been unlocked seventy years ago
Only seventy years ago
but before that, of course, they were completely justified?
No
no, no, you misunderstand me
what can I say?
You need to say nothing at alI
we've heard ofyour kind
A society Iady, who spends her time rescuin' wretched nigras
I should Iike to say thank you! Missy done give her time and effort to helpin' us
time I bet she could've spent on all kinds of different things
'Cause, t'was perfectjustice when God made some of us slaves and not others
A nigra is vile by nature
Oh, I know it ain't popular to say so!
And it ain't 'cause of Burt that I say so
No, Victoria did not base her perception exclusively on her experience of her husband
though God knows it weighed heavily
Burt was a useless eejit whose character Victoria, regrettably so far in vain
had done her best to improve by hitting him with any implement to hand on any given occasion
no matter how much he had threatened to take his own Iife
by throwing himself into Manderlay's deep welI
Grace Iooked at wilhelm the old house slave and understood:
He had not brought her here for anybody to thank her
he just wanted her to see them all!
The unfortunate flock that he very rightly feared would have few chances
beyond the perimeter fence
Iiving proof of the devastating power of oppression
Listen up, it's all been put on paper
we just needed to check the wordin' first, bein' as these things are Iegal and bindin'!
Bingo!
what are these?
They're the contracts, Ma'am!
The family has been so considerate to offer us all employment
Grace was not a Iawyer and unqualified to assess the validity of the contract she held in her hand
But she feared that unfortunately any judge in the county would deem it fair and proper
it appeared to Grace that instead of "employee"
they mightjust as well have retained the old term of "slave"
A body would only sign it if he or she was utterly ignorant of Iife in a Iiberal society
or if he or she really had no choice!
Folks, I suppose that you're in urgent need of cash, Mark?
Cash?
I once knew this fella' from a Iittle township nobody'd know the name of
so there ain't no grounds to mention what t'was called
he had cash, not piles of it
we are prepared to Iend you some money as covered by this other piece of paper
and we also can set up a Iittle store here, ifyou Iike
after all, it's a Iong way to town
And ifyou buy enough for all of us, I betcha Iiable to get a real nice bulk discount
and the goods'II be cheaper than in town!
Ain't that right, Miss Grace?
I have no idea
PIease sign, everybody!
Sign here
All right, Iet's go!
- No, turn it off - Damn it!
Daddy! You said that I didn't have the power to help Tweety and you were right
I was a child then...
So, what is it this time?!
This time I have the power to act!
You said so back in Dogville
That your power would be mine, too!
And that I could use it in my own way!
That power was to carry on the family firm
that I was open to new ideas
The power you ask for now will undoubtedly be applied to something that's foolish at best and...
Daddy! You promised!
You were a bastard to mother, but when you promised her something, she got it!
Ok, you've been given what I promised you
Maybe things haven't been split right down the middle
but this is as far as I am prepared to go!
I want nothing to do with your plans
And you won't be able to get in touch with me if anything goes wrong and you need me
as usual, to get you out of trouble, because fortunately, my dear
you'II have no idea where I am
- Daddy, I'd Iike to take Joseph, as well - No
I need a Iawyer to sort out some paperwork!
No, no, never, never
I'd never Iet Joseph go
He's the only man I know who can draw up a contract so there's only one possible interpretation
and though I haven't needed that talent as ofyet
I still might need it one day!
I'II give you Viggo and Bruno for him!
Never!
I've given you my best associates and you know it!
Daddy! I was meant to have been given half!
- If mother had been alive - Oh, damn it, Grace!
So, that very day and into the early hours Joseph employed
the celebrated unambiguous phrases his previous employer and given him
so wretchedly Iittle opportunity to practice
New contracts needed drawing up and old ones needed nullifying
all with the astonishing goodwill that parties always evince in the company
of rapid-firing machine pistols
These are the deeds of gift, you transfer the property to the former slaves in joint ownership
The Iast document is your contract of employment by this community
Employment? I don't quite get what you mean by that...
It'II be without pay and the right of termination is rather one-sidedly
in the hands of the employer, but nevertheless
Manual Iabor... for you and your family and Mr. Mays!
Hard Iabor
Say something, Bingo!
My father's back ain't so strong, he climbed up to reach the chandelier, one Christmas day
And he fell off the banister and struck a table
well, that's what happens when you've got chandeliers
when I consider that your understanding of the worth of other human beings
has reached the desirable stage
you and Mr. Mays and your family will be allowed to go
Go? And Ieave our home?
Yes
and I assure you that even starting from scratch your prospects will be a Iot better
than your former Iabor's would have been!
with regards to the presence of me and my men
we'II only act as your counselors
The guns are merely a precaution in case of any threats to the new community
we intend to stay here, but only until the first harvest is home
after which any of the new shareholders who wishes to do so
may cash in his or her deed of gift and receive a dividend
All right, will you collect your deeds, Mark...?
Nobody was particularly enthusiastic or confident about these Iate night Iegal formalities
But Grace could see beyond this
And if she saw Iittle else than fear and disquiet in all these eyes
at Ieast she saw gratitude in one single pair
namely in wilhelm's mild, old gaze
Burt! I got a deed of gift here that ain't been accepted
will Mr. Burt approach forthwith and take delivery of his deed of gift?
Mr. Burt? Mr. Burt?
Burt had actually prepared his escape from his ferocious wife
Despite her Iack offaith in his abilities
Burt had succeeded in meeting a woman through the fence
and she had agreed to help him to abscond
and there he was waiting at the agreed place at the agreed time
"A helping hand", the woman had said
what a peculiar coincidence that two women should come to the aid
of the Manderlay slaves at the same time:
Grace; and Burt's "helping hand"
and the similarities between them were also peculiar:
young; beautiful; white in male company
actually male company in alarming numbers
where's the nigger?
Grace had moved into the freed plantation: among its new shareholders
She was there as a guard, no more
But no one could stop her from using this beautiful spring
to make her own Iittle observations on the people of Manderlay
In the hope of spotting the burgeoning change in character that freedom ought to bring
But unfortunately she saw Iittle ofjust that:
She saw Victoria for the third time, Iooking down the well in hope of a glimpse of the body of Burt
She saw FIora and EIizabeth swooning for Timothy as ever
She saw the men spending their time on card games
playing for tufts of blue cotton under their Ieaking roof
And she saw how everybody would ignore the eager Mark whenever he opened his mouth
not knowing that he was notorious for never being able to give an intelligible answer to anything
we called him Putting head, but his real name wasn't Putting head
Grace saw Victoria beating her eldest son, for stealing a moldy cookie
And she saw the unstoppable, irrevocable hierarchy of the beatings
Victoria beating Ed, Ed beating Milton, and Milton, willie
who finally vented his frustration further down the food chain on CIaire
who far too rarely managed to make use of the window with the outside handle
that her Ioving father Jack had installed as an emergency entrance
which also allowed her to fall asleep every night to her favorite view of the twinkling stars
Every noontide Grace witnessed with pity how the former slaves
were arrayed on the parade ground with its mysterious numbers
and marks beneath Mam's balcony
as if nothing at Manderlay had changed
However, one of them did not submit to this all-too-soothing power of habit
Timothy of course
In a flash his exotic pride almost took Grace's breath away
This day Grace walked on past the old "Peach House" where the whites were now detained
put to work on sundry more or Iess needless Iittle repairs
on her way to the barn housing her gangsters
So, how's everyone doing?
I'm afraid the men got nothing to do
And it's not so good for the moraI
In situations Iike that your father always came up with something!
I bet he did! But it's patience that's required
But not this much patience, Niels says, Niels's grandpa was a cotton grower
And he says the cotton should've been sown ages ago!
The soil doesn't Iook ready
Might be because nobody's ploughed it!
Maybe things are different here from where your grandpa Iives?
No ma'am, don't reckon so
well, if it should've been sown, surely the people here would be the first to know
As she did not want to impose
Grace's intercourse with the former slaves had been Iimited to brief greetings and the Iike
But now it was time for a talk with some meat to it
Excuse me, sir? Mark? May I ask you something?
It's about planting the cotton
I've been around for sowin' and harvestin' and birth and death
Right, so when should the cotton be planted?
There're strict rules for that...
you can't mess around with that sort of thing
Manderlay's always been renowned for the precision of its harvest
the swallows always migrate right afterwards
they settle here for the night on their way across the marshes
But the planting?
It's a science, my dear Iady
And the weather, what you might've expected, plays a fear-some role
Yes, yes, and when will it be time this year?
Not too soon and not too Iate
Yes, but when? Should the cotton have already been planted?
I'm not the sorta fella' to pass on information unless I'm damn sure of it
Iess the facts of the matter are one hundred percent, in other words...
the facts need be beyond dispute
Do you know when to plant?
No
I'd better ask wilhelm, is he in his cabin?
This morning he went down to the bath house
he'd gotten a Iittle frayed around the edges, as they say, it's a funny thing
I'm sorry... I'II go find him myself
Excuse me wilhelm, I've come about the fields
The fields should've been ploughed and harrowed three weeks ago
and the cotton planted two weeks ago
But does everybody know that?
Oh yes, but I reckon they thinkin' somebody else oughta go out into the fields first
In the old days Overseer Mays would've driven us out there
Maybe it's because nobody really trust you, Missy
Yeah, but wilhelm, they could be doing something else instead
repairs to their homes
they badly need it
The cabins have always been a sore spot
But Mam said we ain't got no material to fix 'em up
But we're going to need what we make on the cotton, how else will people survive on their own?
Yeah
iffolks felt they was given something
Something brought out by this, these new times
That made their Iives better in a convincing way, right here and now
I don't know what that might be, but...
But we don't have time for that
we've been forced to sow Iate before
The harvest might be improved ifwe planted it a bit Iate, even says that in Mam's Law
Mam's Law?
Oh, yes, Mam's Iaw
It's all the rules for running the plantation
But we weren't allowed to read it, it was just for Mam and the family
Only for Mam and the family, Grace thought...
Certainly no more...
And there on Mam's bed skimming through the old book well filled with bizarre and vicious regulations
she came upon a page that Iooked strangely familiar!
A table with numbers from one to seven
Somewhere Grace had seen something similar, for sure
Mam's Iaw revealed it alI
The Manderlay plantation with its glamorous front mansion
and pitiful rear where the slaves had their quarters had been kept in an iron grip
by these very numbers!
They represented the psychological division of the Manderlay slaves
Sammy was a Group 5: a CIownin' nigger
The formidable Victoria was of course a Number Four: a Hittin' nigger
No wonder her husband Burt had found it necessary to accept "a helping hand"
even if it was another color from his own
wilma and Mark were Losin' niggers
wilhelm was a Two: a Talkin' nigger
FIora was a weepin' nigger, et cetera et cetera
there were pleasin' niggers and crazy niggers by the dozen
The final category, Number One proudy niggers consisted nowadays ofTimothy as expected
who was of course not there, and EIizabeth?
No, it said seven, not one
she was a pleasin' nigger, also known as a chameleon
A person of the kind who could transform herself into exactly the type the beholder wanted to see
This was how the slave system had been kept alive for so Iong at Manderlay
Bondage even through psychology!
As Grace in deep thoughts gazed across the fields of Manderlay
she recalled another page in Mam's Iaw
dealing exclusively with the weeding of the paths in the romantic "OId Lady's Garden"
The name of the narrow band ofwoodland that skirted the plantation
"Trees and tree trunks!" Grace thought
So there were materials at Manderlay after all!
Excuse me, may I ask you all something?
Isn't it true that somebody who's even poor and colored
can still take the trouble to maintain their home?
How dare you?
Do you think colored folks prefer holes in their roofs and wallowing in mud?
well then, all you need to do is to mend those holes!
But I told you, there ain't never been the materials for that kind of thing at Manderlay
No materials? That's not true
when I'm in the fields I see timber wherever I Iook
just waiting to be turned into boards for a roof
or an extension or maybe even a whole new cabin!
That be Mam's Garden, you can't cut that down
And why can't we cut down the OId Lady's Garden?
Have you really spent that many happy hours up there on your knees weeding her romantic paths?
That's true, there's Ioads of timber
we ain't seen it as anything but the OId Lady's Garden
I don't know what you think, but to me it sounds Iike a splendid idea
And at a stroke these seated, reclining, resting people had turned into people going full tilt
walking, running, working people
without anyone having to threaten them in the slightest with "The Lady's hand"
as Grace had been told the great whip was called
And Grace had won a kind of victory
a small beginning of something that would one day erase
all the negative inherited behavior patterns at Manderlay
But, as Grace had suspected, the appetite for improving the Iiving quarters
unfortunately exceeded that for preparing the fields
But a few of the former slaves had volunteered
And with the white family and Grace herself
they made up a sort of gang to prepare the soil for the seeds
Under the gaze of a demonstratively hostile Timothy with his mysterious white handkerchief
He wasn't born here?
He's a Munsi
It's a Iine ofAfrican royalty, it's a very proud Iine
He don't drink, either, or gamble Iike the others be doing
with their Iittle blue tufts of cotton money?
T'was Mam's Law
we weren't allowed no real money
Grace knew about the clever system of currency in Mam's Law
Not real money you could use in the outside world
The Munsi don't gamble 'cause don't believe in winnings
They believe you have to be humble to your crops and only take what's absolutely necessary
I've never heard of these Munsi before, but I do believe I once heard of the Mansi?
They different, they was slaves ofAfrican kings, they gamble
they is true mischief, Timothy say
- So Timothy has prejudices as well? - what?
Oh, nothing, I was just thinking aloud
Oh, so you've find company, FIora?
No, no, I was on my way out anyway
Timothy, Iet me tell you one thing
I know you don't Iike me and don't trust me, and I can see why
Although our ideals differ, you have a pride within you
that I believe will one day be the salvation of everybody at Manderlay
Let me tell you one thing, too!
You got fine words, a posse of gangsters and your white skin, somethin' folks here seem fall for
But I ain't fooled
You're not interested in us
Not as human beings
After all, it's tough telling people apart when they're from another race
we whites have committed an irreparable crime against an entire people
Manderlay is a moral obligation because we made you!
Luckily, I'm just a nigger who don't understand such words
and now, ifyou'II excuse me, I've come here for the company of my girI
and that ain't nothing for you to see
black hides meetin'
and if I were you I'd Ieave now before things get too nasty
Grace regarded Timothy's hostility as a challenge
And the very next day she took a step to dispel his claim
that as a white she was incapable of caring for blacks as individuals
She had had a chat to Venus, about her somewhat maladjusted son Jim
And Venus had revealed that Jim's behaviour was merely that of a budding but frustrated artist
Tell me, have you seen Venus?
Nobody here wants your charity!
I have something for Jim!
I've had a really good Iook at his face, since our Iittle chat
And you're right, it does possess an artist's sensitivity
This is far too much
No, no, no, go on, call him! This is for him
Jim, come on out here with me and Miss Grace, baby
These are for you, because we believe in you
Now run along, and paint your fantastic pictures
and never mind those closed minded folks who think they know what art is meant to Iook Iike
give them hell from me Jim!
Excuse me, but I ain't Jim, I'm Jack, that's Jim!
It is tricky, as a matter offact I've never been able to tell them apart either
They're both colored and they both got curly hair
why Iook any deeper than that?
To be honest Grace had never been quite sure which was Jim and which was Jack
A blunder that would, in her former Iife among her fellow whites
merely have occasioned a Iittle Iaughter
in her Iife at Manderlay it was disastrous
But Iike her father, she did not take Iong to transform a defeat into anger
energy and a counterattack
This is what has created all this resistance
Even you regard it as almost sacred, don't you?
I must admit it's played a right important part of my Iife
And that will be my next move! They should be allowed to see it
and to understand that it can't do them any more harm
I wouldn't advise it, Missy
Presenting it to them would be Iike showing a child the rod with which it's been beaten
I agree, it must be made public, but we ain't all ripe for it
All right, then we shall have to see about ripening you, and quickly!
And I'm not talking about the couple of cozy meetings I've organized
to which hardly anybody turned up
I mean teaching with a timetable, old fashioned hands on schooling
All right, I've got something for you to do at Iast, and it even involves bossing people about...
At noon tomorrow I'm going to give my first Iesson to all of the former slaves of Manderlay
And it'II be your job to make sure that they're there
No excuse for not showing up!
And the family?
No, they're pretty well teaching themselves
Are you Iistening to me?
It's 'cause Niels just got a great hand!
what?
who are you?
My name is Doctor Hector
Do excuse me a moment, I'II have to pay my way out of this round
God knows, I don't believe you possess any cards of real significance
You have a poker player's face
You see here my entire enterprise
I'd never gained access to Manderlay before
so when I drove by today, I saw the gates were open
I took it as a sign of new times
what exactly do you do?
I entertain, party games, card games and the Iike
well, nowadays mainly the Iatter
You play for money?
Oh, but I do more than play
I cheat!
And you have no objections to revealing this business secret ofyours?
Oh, to some people, but not to you
No, you see, ifyou and I establish the business relationship I am anticipating
you'II be happen to know exactly what to expect
And what can I expect?
Eighty per cent
Now, you certainly know all the problems that arose
when our beloved new deal was imposed in '65
the plantation owners had plenty of Iand but nobody to work it
So they contracted with their former slaves
But they just didn't have the same hold on the rascals as they had in the old days
Of course, they Iend them money
Then quite a few of the nigras actually saved up and paid off their debts
so the plantation owners got worried
- I bet they did! - Oh, yes
See, that is where my idea came in
I went from plantation to plantation with the full backing of the plantation owners
to entertain their employees, and they were sorely in need of diversion, Iet me tell you
we just had a Iittle game of cards
And if anyone was close to repaying his debt
I would take their shirt off their back!
And I'm prepared to offer you that very same service today, Mam!
You are not convinced
Let me give you another token of my profound Ioyalty
I have here a Ietter from a man by the name of Stanley
He asked me to smuggle it out
I thought perhaps you would Iike to see it before it is mailed
Listen, Mr. Hector, Iet me just say that I've never met a man
whom I have instantly despised so wholeheartedly both for his personality and his occupation
Does that mean you are turning down my offer?
I never want to see you here again!
All right, well, I am disappointed
I shall nevertheless bestow upon you my thought for the day
I indulge in word games
I Iike to give my clients something to Iaugh or think about when I Ieave
The best technique for a card sharp is "dealing from the bottom"
Look as ifyou're dealing from the top of the deck
but instead you just take the bottom card, one that you know
"Take from the bottom" means something else entirely in social terms
but it is what I do, I "take from the bottom"
won't be hard to find me ifyou change your mind
The Ietter was aimed at a Mr. Miller, one of the truckers who picked up cotton from Manderlay
and the plantation's only real contact with the outside world, it was short and to the point
"we are being held prisoner by gangsters and coloreds at Manderlay"
"inform the police and please come to our aid with all due dispatch"
Indignation is a rare emotion for a gangster
but a state ofjust that was what Grace's men experienced while they herded
the colored people in for their Iesson that day
as Grace had reported on Doctor Hector's cheap trick of "taking from the bottom"
And it was hardly the sophisticated ambiguity of the term that had affected them so dramatically
welcome to our Iesson
yes, I call it a Iesson as the term "meeting" seems to have scared some people out of attending
I was coming, but I was Iate!
Very Iate, you hadn't made it by the time we finished
In the old days we could hear the bell from the old clock in the halI
T'was easier to keep up with time, but we never hear it no more
Probably because nobody winds it up
But, now for the topic of this Iesson: working together
Only four people from your wing helped to prepare the fields
and only five helped to plant
I'm not a shareholder in this enterprise but if I had been and if I had also been one of the five
I would've felt cheated
Democracy means government by the people
But as it's not practical for everyone to sit in congress
a method by which people may express their views is required
this method is called a ballot
All right, so Iet's try it out
we should choose a problem, anything anyone can't decide on?
If I may suggest a small matter?
please do
I reckon the Iittle broken rake is mine, but FIora reckons it's hers
That's an excellent suggestion, it's a great example
I assume you all know of this dispute and all feel able to have an opinion on it, right?
who does the community think owns the rake?
It could turn out to belong to both parties equally
now that would correspond nicely with the subject of this Iesson!
working together, sharing together, all right?
So, who thinks it's EIizabeth's rake?
Sammy?
I think it's EIisabeth's rake
All right!
SIowly the point of Grace's edifying discourse dawned on the majority
Most of them thought the rake was definitely EIizabeth's a few that it was FIora's
and nobody that it could be shared
I still remain undecided whether the rake is EIizabeth's or FIora's
Right, so, not too surprisingly, neither party receives Mark's vote!
From now on a Iittle broken rake belongs to EIizabeth
That's what ballots are Iike, there are winners and there are Iosers
But the community has spoken
And now Grace embarked on a protracted explanation of FIora's difficulties
raking without a rake
and that owning things together could have its advantages
To make sure that everyone understood the democratic principle
the meeting carried out another ballot at Jim's suggestion
I wanna talk about the fact that Sammy being Iaughing so Ioud of his own jokes
and they ain't funny
and I been tryin' to get some sleep, and I can't get no sleep, cause he Iaughs so Ioud
Maybe perhaps there can a be a time when he can stop his joke
and stop Iaughing, so we can get some sleep
You can't vote on a man's Iaughter, you can't vote on a man's Iaughter surely
I'm hearing that it's at sundown at sundown
That's what I'm hearing, so Iet's do a vote
All right, so that's settled
That's democracy?
Finally wilhelm proposed that it would be practical if somebody was responsible
for winding up the clock with its small but penetrating chimes
And for mysterious reasons the probing though fairly passive artist, Jim, was appointed
despite the song and dance his mother kicked up
Grace wound up the Iesson by announcing that the topic for the next day would be
"our anger and how to communicate it"
Maybe somebody would at Ieast tell me what the time is?
Just ask Timothy, he always know what time it is
he can tell by the sun, he always do that
Or you can always ask wilhelm, he's so old
He's from before the clock ever got here
So wilhelm and Timothy, each made his own suggestion as to what the time was
And they were astonishingly close
wilhelm thought it was eight minutes to, Timothy thought it was five minutes to
and Grace rejoiced quietly at this natural ability that they found so straightforward
But rapidly two factions emerged
one which insisted it was eight minutes to
and the other would not hear of anything but five minutes to
And they were thus able to draw on the day's Iearning and put it to the vote
The result was five minutes to by a small majority
and so it was decided:
the official time at Manderlay was five minutes to two
Grace's first Iesson of the day took place in relative good humor
but the second one, the one that had unfortunately proved unavoidable
was severer in character
Read!
Daily ration offood for slaves from category 7
oh, no, 1 ... is, er...
Six ounces of solid food, and they've always been given just that
no matter how Iittle there was in the stores
That's a Iot Iess than category seven, for example
why should a proudy "nigger" have Iess to eat than an eye-pleasin' one?
How can the way your head seems to be arranged have anything to do whatsoever
with the amount people are given to eat?
I really don't know either, not precisely, do you, Mr. Mays?
It could be just to punish them for their pride!
No, I just did what it said
It mattered a Iot to my mother that we follow these rules
I know of many places where everybody got quite a bit Iess than 6 ounces
and where they began to eat dirt
It's a kind of custom coloreds have when food is scarce 'round here
but it was forbidden under Mam's Law
That's not what we're discussing here
don't you see what an affront it is to divide people up Iike that?
Folks is different
oxen and rabbits don't need equal shares offodder neither
both parties would come down with a belly ache!
Stop! All right, I'm not at all satisfied with what I've heard here today
You're all speaking up for this foolishness
I'm going to have to penalize you, because so Iittle effort has been made in these Iessons
That evening Grace thought that her idea of making the whites make up their faces
which had seemed so just and edifying in her flash of anger that afternoon
was perhaps a tad too much in the wrong direction
Even though Philomena herself in her own childhood would not have dreamt
of going to the toilet without the entertainment of her black nanny
Look at your Uncle Jim, he's in the bathtub Iearning how to swim
Can we clean our faces now?
Yes, yes, of course!
Ah well, here comes the dust
so none of this will matter any more
what do you mean?
There's gonna be a dust storm
and the plants have only just begun to grow
it couldn't be worse!
But Manderlay's fields have never been harmed by a dust storm
'Cause the windbreak was still in place
Grace was not inclined to go into what the former overseer meant by these mysterious words
And soon she had convinced herself that they had no meaning at alI
apart from spreading disquiet and despondency
The next day's Iesson on the importance of unleashing one's anger
met Iittle understanding from the assembly
It was when they wound up with a series of ballots
and the community had rapidly decided to use wilma's potatoes for seed
as she was so old and did not have to eat that much
that they heard the wind
The dust had come at this time for as Iong as anybody could remember
But every year from time immemorial it had spared the newly planted cotton
as the plantation had been cleverly shielded by a narrow band of trees
known in common parlance as "The OId Lady's Garden"
In the midst of the almost Biblical darkness that descended on Manderlay
Grace knew all to well that even hand in hand with all the races of the world
no army of gangsters could counter this
Nature's extravagant demonstration of power
All she could do was watch as row upon row of the seedlings
she had so welcomed disappeared beneath the devastating dust
Nobody could do a thing
but apparently it did not mean that no one would try
for now Grace discerned a rider out there
He was riding Iike crazy
As he progressed across the fields, wherever he spotted a pile of dust beginning to grow
he would break it up with his horse's hooves
whether it would make the slightest dent in the grand scale of things was hard to telI
but it was a battle
no matter how senseless it might be: heroic and dangerous!
Timothy
Come back! Come back! Timothy, Timothy!
He's gonna be all right, he knows these storms
Miss Grace, you's head over heels for him, you's a fool, Miss Grace
- where did you find him? - He was behind the house
Is he alive?
I do believe I know what you mean by that question
But what does it mean to be alive?
I mean is he breathing?
Forget it
Is he dead?
we colored folks can be awfully hard to kill ifwe want it that way
That very afternoon strong Timothy was back on his feet
surveying the buildings for damage caused by the storm
The dust had struck a devastating blow:
Unfortunately, hardest hit were the food stores in the dilapidated "Peach House"
which had Iost its roof
Almost all of their provisions were now inedible
On top of that the pneumonia brought by the dust was inevitable
The dust had got in everywhere
particularly where no new boards could have provided weatherproofing
namely through the cracked glass in the window on the stars above CIaire's bed
"Valuables", not to mention cash, were non-existent at Manderlay
since the elegant clock miraculously still ticking merrily away on the mantelpiece
turned out to be, not Swiss
as Mam believed
but a copy made quite Iocally and worth practically nothing
"The freed Enterprise of Manderlay" was bust
wilhelm and Grace were therefore under no illusions that anybody would attend class this day
But then, one by one the Manderlay flock began to appear
I'm happy you're all here
But I don't really have a Iecture for you today
I'd just Iike to say
how badly I feel about this hopeless situation
But of course words aren't much use to you
No, Missy has Iearnt that much at Ieast
But as regards hopelessness, it is something we do know a bit about
There are a million plants out there beneath the dust, ifwe can save but fifty of 'em
perhaps we can grow a small quantity of great quality and get a better price for it
I reckon we should make a move
And that is how the greatest disaster turned into a stroke of Iuck for Grace
and how the people, with a common foe, the dust, as their excuse
suddenly found themselves working shoulder to shoulder with their deadliest enemy
to achieve the common goal as free, grown-up Americans
Stanley and Bertie had sown the fields with Iittle sticks
so that people could tell where to uncover the tender seedlings
while FIora ever so childishly kept teasing Grace
with her digs at Grace's supposed romantic feelings towards Timothy
Good night, old wilma
Good night, child
we can Iie down and talk for a while 'fore we go to sleep
No, thank you, wilma
I'm not weary enough to go to bed yet
A Iittle walk helps
A walk when a body ain't sleepy is a very good thing
I do the same myself
Good night!
That everything seemed as moving along on its own could be nothing but welcomed by Grace
But her Iack of an active part to play had suddenly Ieft her in a kind of a vacuum
and allowed other things inside her to claim attention
human things Iike instincts and emotions
An ominous sense of homelessness and Ioneliness struck Grace this evening
As she wondered about, Grace suddenly found herself outside the wooden rear of the bathhouse
without warning the homelessness transferred into a strange desire to move up that rusty pipe
against the flow of dirty water into where naked bodies were being washed in cheap soap
BIack skin
male and black manhood
what Grace had felt at the bath house was undignified, shamefuI
Her mind was meant to be devoted to policy at Manderlay
a matter in which these thoughts had no business whatsoever
Grace had forced herself to sleep to rid her thoughts of those black bodies
an achievement that was actually possible thanks to the stubbornness
that flourished in Grace's family
But the cotton seedling in her Iove-starved body did not give up
It manifested itself as a dream
Grace was in southern climes
There were women in exotic costumes and men in turbans
Even in her sleep she hated with a passion any idea of allowing that her father might be right
But it was a harem!
A group of black slaves appeared, bearing a huge charger piled with dates
And in a twinkling Grace Iay among the dates, trembling with pleasure
as a flock of Bedouin satisfied her one by one with their noses!
And it was even more confusing when Timothy appeared
and was both the slave bearing wine, hands shaking, and the Sheik himself
whose authoritative hands tested the size of Grace's most intimate orifices
I must have overslept
I'm sorry, CIaire has had another turn!
Yeah, she's running a bad fever again, she had anything to eat?
Oh, sure, pork chops and baked chicken
She's taken a Iittle oatmeal but it's hard to get it into her
she had this trouble with her Iungs Iast year when the dust come, too
but there was far more dust this year
Honestly Missy, you oughta go back home to the clean air and Iarders full offood
we're all in this together, no matter how hard it gets
And hard it will get
I've seen what's Ieft around here though some folks are still fillin' their bellies
You're right, we've got to talk about that
Come on, it'II be all right, Rose!
I propose that we ration what we have Ieft
and spread our provisions over a month until we can harvest more from the vegetable gardens
And as I hear there are so very few beans and potatoes Ieft
I think we should give them to Rose who needs them for CIaire
what's Ieft will be shared out equally among the rest of us!
Excuse me, the rest of us?
- That goes for us too? - Yes, of course it does
we've already eaten things your father would ever have put up with
Joseph swears they couldn't been described as food at alI
Iegally speakin'!
Your father used to Iet us obtain stuffwhen the coffers were empty
Surely we could steal something from somewhere
but I suppose that's no good either, Miss Grace?
I'm afraid you're one tough cookie
Maybe I am
Sadly the most nourishing fare the estate could still provide
had not improved CIaire's condition much
but she needed meat, and Timothy knew it
and so henceforth they would have to do without the Ioyal old donkey on the treadmilI
It was not a good portent of the Ievel of morale that the gangsters were now
trying hard to fix the car from the ravages of the dust
But Iuckily Joseph, a Iegal expert with the ability to interpret the most incomprehensible of texts
had met his match in the 1923 Ford owner's manuaI
As time went by the scattered cotton plants at Manderlay grew side by side
with its denizens' hunger now that the Iittle that was Ieft of the donkey meat
was reserved for CIaire
And Grace found herself in the peculiar situation ofjoining wilma
and the other women in what had been completely forbidden under Mam's Iaw
namely the southern tradition of eating dirt
Having given up on the automobile manuals Joseph had found a quaint turn of phrase
in the agreement into which he had originally entered
with Grace's father regarding his employment
The wording could with a Iittle good will be interpreted to mean that certain circumstances
obliged an employee to obey a higher authority than his boss
the authority in this case being his stomach
The good news was that although the drought had been hard on the fields
Stanley and Timothy had invented a weapon to deploy against it
wait, wait, it's coming, it's coming
But the best news of all was CIaire
who had miraculously gained so much strength that she could empty her plate of good food
always in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep and nobody was Iooking, but even so
If Grace had thought hunger would put paid to her forbidden sensual fantasies
actually the opposite was more the case!
FIora, what's goin' on with the chickens?
Are they fighting?
You mean the four whites after the black?
You want I should open the door and have a peek?
No
Mind you, that Iittle black hen real proud
wouldn't surprise me if them others took the chance to give her the odd peck
Now don't you tease me, FIora
Goodnight then
Goodnight
FIora had teased Grace before with the Iittle black hen
But they were hurting it in there! No doubt about it!
And to make everything far worse, that heat in her Ioins
seemed to come back in spite of that poor chicken's cry for help
Or even intensified by it?
Devastated, humiliated and overcome by fear for her sanity, she fled
And in a fit of madness
or what others would simply call "horniness" she threw herself onto her bed on her tummy
and for a moment forgot all about shame and political correctness
and did what she had not done since her childhood
when she had not yet known it was so infinitely wrong:
she pressed herself onto the knot she had rapidly and instinctively formed by bunching her quilt
whether it was pleasurable or painful is hard to telI
but she kept at it, it was beyond her controI
with no regard for the sleep of the women around her or common decency in generaI
the pulsating explosions in her nether regions took over her world
And who knows how it would have concluded had there not appeared at that very moment
fortunately for Grace
a person shaking her back to a reasonable state of self defense
Miss Grace! You gotta come quick, Miss Grace
what?
She's dead
I took such care of her
I fed her the good meat
But she'd been eatin'
she's dead! Dead
But she'd been eatin'
No! She hadn't been eatin', this 'un had!
Are ya gonna tell 'em, wilma?
I was so hungry, I get so dizzy
and my Iegs hurt when I'm hungry
Our good friend and CIaire's beloved OId wilma been visiting in the window so while we slept
She emptied CIaire's plate every single night
T'was as easy as pie, considerin' that there window could be opened from the outside
I've eaten so much dirt in my time, my teeth can't take it no more
She killed our Iittle girI
Jack, she was sick
- Miss Grace - She was sick, Jack
Rose didn't worry to much about feeding her during the day, 'cause she ate so much at night
I want wilma punished for killin' my Iittle girI
I want this matter put to the vote
I want wilma punished for killin' my Iittle girl, I wantjustice or I'II kill her myself, right now
Let me go
Stop it, Jack!
- Stop we'II talk about it tomorrow...! - She killed my Iittle girl!
Stop it
And so, the very next evening a gathering took place under the magnificent
clear, twinkling, starry sky of Manderlay
Now we've heard 'em all, wilhelm
wilma showed no mercy to our CIaire so no mercy oughta be shown to her, she must die!
Jack, killing OId wilma won't bring CIaire back
All we want is justice, you've said so many times, that we're entitled to it!
I propose that she be banished from Manderlay
for stealing food in an emergency
she probably won't survive that anyway, as old as she is
after all, we don't know if the matter of the food made any difference at all in CIaire's fate
wilma can't have known whether it would kill her
but she didn't care a bit when it came to riskin' somebody else's Iife that of our Iittle girl!
All wilma saw was a plate nobody was touching, she was hungry
And what do you think the rest of us was?
All of us here ate what we had agreed?
And whatcha think Iittle CIaire was?
we're all hungry, and that just makes it far, far worse!
All right, I'd Iike to ask y'all to vote on Jack and Rose's motion
All those who believe that wilma deserves to die, raise your hands!
Thank you, thank y'alI
Stop!
Grace, I thought we were the ones who made the decisions here
that's what you've always told us? Or maybe it's only sometimes?
No, of course not, it's always
And they's the decisions you're here to defend, ain't they?
So Iet me go across and do it!
No
if anybody is going to do it, it's going to be me
it must not be an act of vengeance
That's all right by me
as Iong as she suffers as much as CIaire
That will be up to me
I'II Iet you know when it's over
Grace
be so kind as to tell me
what did they decide?
Am I gonna die?
No, wilma, you're not going to die
whatcha mean?
I mean the ballot did not go Jack's way, you're not gonna die!
See, they didn't think that CIaire would've eaten the food on her plate anyway
and anyhow she'd certainly have died from pneumonia from the dust
Did they really say that?
Yes, they really said that
Ifyou knew how terrible the waitin' was...
I'm just so weary
I know, I know you are, but now you can sleep easy
Yes, I can
Lie down and get some sleep
You are the daughter I might had
Lie down
will you stay 'till I sleep?
I'II do that, wilma
Here
Lie down
wilma?
Harvest-time finally did arrive and the cotton went safe into the sacks
Despite the fewer bushes the harvest was splendid
It was as if all the trials and tribulations had made the cotton extra white
and the fibers extra strong, and even at current prices it would bring in a record sum
And although nothing was the way it had ever been
the harvest was as precise as always at Manderlay
The moment the Iast tuft of cotton was in the sack, the swallows arrived
dropping from the skies towards the marshes
Everyone observed the sight in awe and for a moment it was greater than all the words
and politics in the world
The old gin was as ready as ever, it had been for a week, greased and stripped down
and reassembled by Sammy, who had teamed up with Niels
They worked well in harness, Niels had never found a joke funny in his Iife
so Sammy, the clownin' nigger, had given up, not unrelieved, trying to entertain him
with his somewhat weak materiaI
Miss Grace? Miss Grace?
Edward?! God, I hardly recognized you! You've certainly changed the way you dress!
Yes, your father thought it was time for a change, he's on his way into a new area of business
- Is daddy here? - No, he just sent me on ahead
to give you a message
Your father says he will be by a week Monday at eight o'clock in the evening
He told me to tell you that he will wait in the car outside the gates for a quarter of an hour
and not a second Ionger, the way he did in Dogville, he says
and the way he did with your mother, I think it was...
- when he asked her to marry him - Yes, something Iike that
But ifyou want to go with him, you better be there, 'cause he says he'II just push on
I know, I get the message
All right, I'm on my way, take care, Miss Grace!
You too, Edward
Edward! just tell dad that new times have come to Manderlay
But no, Grace had no intention of going with her father when he arrived
she had her own Iife to Iead now and it suited her just fine, but she'd be at the gates anyhow
She just had to show him what she had achieved, a new and better Manderlay
It was examination day for Stanley and the family
because even though things had been going well recently
when Stanley partook of his traditional beer with Mr. Miller
nobody would be able to prevent him from revealing what had happened on the plantation
and thereby ruin it alI
wilhelm had been highly skeptical about Ietting the whites talk to the drivers at alI
but Grace had insisted, she trusted them
Eejit nigger! Are you totally useless?
Sorry, Mr. Mays!
I'm joking
Stanley Mays and the family passed
That very evening Grace pronounced them graduate Americans
And although they were free to go they had elected to stay
as there was talk of hiring the family and Stanley Mays on a permanent basis
And before anybody knew it the days had passed and the money was in the bank
from where it had been picked up by proud Timothy on horseback
Niels and Sammy had fixed the car, wisely without reference to the manuaI
- Thank you, for everything - Thank you
- what are you gonna do now? - I don't know
You could always go back to gangstering
where is Mr. Robinsson?
He's been down the cabins shakin' hands
Grace was touched by Mr. Robinson's sudden social interest in the former slaves
But it felt right when the car Ieft, it was time for Grace to say goodbye to power
Brave and strong thy men and women
Better this than corn and wine, make us worthy God in heaven
of this goodly Iand ofThine
Hearts as open as our doorway
Liberal hands and spirits free
Alabama, Alabama
we will aye be true to thee
He's watching you
- No, he's not! - He's watching you
No he's not!
I reckon it have somethin' to do with them gangsters Ieavin'
See, honey, when you was boss, he has visitin' your kingdom
Now, you're visitin' his
I reckon he wants you now
He should have some dinner, I'm gonna go get him
You gotta come and get some dinner
Quiet, woman!
In Mam's bedroom Grace recalled FIora's worrying, intimate Iittle details
Sexual intercourse amongst the Munsi was determined by ancient traditions
It would not appeal to Grace, FIora had said
not with Grace's modern ideas of equality of people and the sexes
but Grace seemed to have Ieft her progressive attitudes at the table
Now actually in the situation she had dreamed of... it was all more bizarre than erotic
anyway Grace decided to hang on to this opinion
Timothy, wake up!
Timothy's horse had got out of the staple when fires had been Iit
around the Manderlay slave quarters while Grace was asleep
what happened?
I can't tell you, ifyou want a clear answer you gonna have to ask somebody else
- The gangsters took the money! - what?!
The gangsters took the money! That's the answer! And I reckon it's a pretty clear answer, too!
It certainly is very clear, but what makes you think so?
when the party ended we all Ieft the table to go and take a Iook at the money
Timothy had hid it behind the red slope
Timothy was meant to be keepin' an eye on the place, but he wasn't there
And the box had been pulled up, it was empty
One of the gangsters dug up the money when he was pretendin' to say goodbye
But he couldn't have done it alone
Someone must've told 'em where the box was
And Sammy refused to admit it was him
although he'd spent a whole Ioad of time with Niels
And then everybody started yellin' and screamin'
and folks is angry and no one's Iistenin'
Stanley Mays and the family got away I believe
although Philomena and Bertie got cut up real bad
EIizabeth is dead too, although that was mostly by accident
It was too soon to send the guns away, we weren't quite ready yet
For once Grace had nothing to say
She could but reproach herself in silence for her tasteless joke to the gangsters
about resorting to their former occupations if things got tight
wilhelm, I can't rouse Timothy
No, I bet you can't
he drank three bottles of hooch before we ate
The Munsi don't drink!
Oh, well, maybe they do on special occasions
well! It certainly is Iively 'round here!
Didn't I tell you I didn't want to see you here again?
Yes, but I haven't come to do a deal, I have come to conclude one
and in the hope of course that you'II see that I am an honest man
Cause, I needn't have come back to settle up at alI
This is your 80 per cent, quite amounts to a tidy bit too, as you can see
It's the money from our harvest?
I expect so, it's that time ofyear
See, I had a Iittle game with a young man who came to see me and I knew he come from here
so I've made my humble return
Don't you think that you've just might have been wrong about me?
who did you play for all this money?
It was a day ago now
See, I would have come sooner but I pass this black car with some gentlemen in dark coats
they began to follow me, shouting the whole time, that I was going to die
and that I was a con man who dealt from the bottom, what an accusation!
well itjust took me a while to get away from them
who was it?
The Nigra fellow and he arrived on horseback, what was his name?
Timothy?
Yeah, that was it, Timothy, yeah, that was his name
He's a Munsi! They don't gamble!
well, I know, Munsi don't gamble, I'm a bit of an expert in this field
You'II have a devil time gettin' them to the gamin' table!
but he's no Munsi, in fact he's what I'd call a splendid fella at the card table
and he just stayed bein' splendid no matter how much he Iost
But he told everyone he was a Munsi
Of course, see, the girls were wild about the tales that he told
All the Munsi tales, the proud African, the royal Iine, all that old-fashioned morality
and the accent of course, and on account of that the girls was easy to bed
There! I'm not even going to avail myself ofyour gratitude
That's just the kinda' fella I am, hey ho!
BIess me if I can't come up with a motto for today
they say the Mansi are better hung than the Munsi
or "The Munsi are so up-stuck but the Mansi, how they fuck!"
well then, I'II be seein' you!
we can talk business another day
Grace went straight to the Iast pages with the tables of personal details
on the slaves at Manderlay
where was Timothy, now? Yes, his name had a 1 beside it
A proudy slave, as she'd read earlier or did it?
She Iooked more closely at the handwritten number
She compared it to the seven next to EIizabeth's name
The pleasin' nigger of the chameleon type
an expert in changing character according to whatever was opportune
and what would titillate and enthrall the other person, and then Grace could see it
Timothy's number was not a one but a seven
She had only wanted to read it as a one
There was even a note beside Timothy's name: "Caution, diabolically clever"
Grace had called a final meeting for everybody at Manderlay
for that evening she had decided to Ieave the place forever with her father when he arrived
Oh, you're all here
I persuaded the community to assemble, extraordinarily, for two ballots
whatever they involved, they can scarcely have anything to do with me any more
Don't be too certain of that, Miss Grace
well, I am certain, I've come to say goodbye!
And ifyou've had two ballots today
well, oddly enough that coincides with the two presents I have brought
farewell presents, ifyou Iike, the first is this...
It's the money from our harvest
well, actually it's 80 percent of it, a cardsharp kept the other 20 per cent as commission
He scammed the money off of somebody from Manderlay in a game of cards
So the gangsters didn't take it?
No, no they didn't and I won't prolong the tension
it was the treasurer who did it
the man charged with Iooking after the money
He was overcome by his eagerness to play, probably because he isn't a Munsi at alI
but a Mansi, however unimportant that may sound
which brings me to my second present, this one, painful to you or not, it has to come out
In this book, which I still regard as the most abominable, contemptible document ever written
Timothy is Iisted as a pleasin' nigger
a person who can change his appearance to please the beholder, as he has done
Iet me find the page
It's on page 104!
How do you know? I thought no slave had ever seen this book
How do you know what's on page 104 of Mam's Law?
'Cause I wrote it!
It's all in my meticulous hand
Mam and I were very young when the war suddenly ended
and this new statute terrified us
Terrified you?
we tried to imagine what kind ofworld were these slaves Iet out into
were they ready for it?
Or more correctly, was it ready for them?
The Iegislators promised all kinds of things but we didn't believe 'em
And that was then Mam urged me to commit to paper the way I thought things
should be done here if everyone stayed on at Manderlay
But it's the prolongation of slavery
You might call it that, you might also call it the Iesser of two evils
But did the others know that you wrote this book?
Groups 2, 3 and 5, always knew
A few members of the other groups were better off not knowing
But everyone knows now, I wrote Mam's Law for the good of everyone!
For the good of everyone!
For the good of everyone?
How dare you?
It's a recipe for oppression
and humiliation from start to finish
I think you've been reading it through the wrong spectacles, Miss Grace
if I may take the Iiberty of saying so
And then wilhelm initiated Grace into the humane qualities, of the Iesser of two evils
Mam's Iaw! How it guaranteed food and shelter
and allowed anybody the privilege of complaining about their masters
instead of having to blame themselves for the Iife of no hope
that they would surely have to Iead in the outside world?
How the noonday parade was a blessing since the parade ground was the only place
with shade at the warmest time of day?
How the numbered groups were determined according to the patterns of behavior
that human beings resort to in order to survive in an oppressive community?
so that Iife could be made easier for each of them, since a proudy' nigger
not that Manderlay had seen many, if any, of these, survives by perceiving himself as proud
and could be helped by this system to believe that he was a bit more persecuted
and punished than the others
Since a CIowning nigger would benefit greatly from the Iaughter
that Mam's Law strictly demanded of its master
just as any other groups benefited from similar obligations
How cash was forbidden so that gambling had to be done with cotton money
to prevent ruination and misery for the families, etc. etc.
Until Graces head felt fair ready to explode
Damn it, wilhelm, they're not free! That's what matters!
I'd call that a philosophical argument, which neatly brings me to the two ballots I just mentioned
was Mam's Law still relevant?
And we agreed that unfortunately it was as relevant now as it ever was...
America was not ready to welcome us Negroes as equals seventy years ago
and it still ain't, and the way things are goin' it won't be in a hundred years from now!
So we agreed we'd Iike to take one step backwards at Manderlay and reimpose the old Iaw!
Excuse me, but I'm going
As for your going, well, I'd better tell you about the second of our ballots
as you know sadly we Iost Mam
and unfortunately we've good and well frightened off her descendants
In short: we Iack a Mam!
No!
I needn't tell you that you received every single vote
Never!
with all your idealism, I think you'd enjoy being the guardian of a kind of menagerie for creatures
who have no chance in the wild
Just as you thought the notion of a community would be good for us
You were so sure that you permitted yourself to use force to convince us
I'II be sorry ifwe have to do Iikewise
what do you mean? Do you intend to keep me prisoner?
Only 'til you understand the way you wanted us to understand
The gate has been repaired and is closed
The fences are in good shape but of course they ain't particularly high
Those fences, come on
two men with a rusty shot gun and a toy pistoI
How dumb do you really think we are?
Too dumb to build a Iadder ifwe'd really wanted to get away?
Grace had spent a great deal of time on this meeting
which from her point of view didn't seem to be getting anywhere
Her father and his car would be at the gate at eight
That was in half an hour, she had no Iadder
And she was on her own and guarded by many
Just how was she to get out of Manderlay?
when was a section of the fence always down?
Grace would have to change her tactics rapidly if she was to make the rendez-vous
All right, I'II do as you want
not from my heart, though surely none ofyou could expect that
but as my only option, and you needn't be scared, I'II obey your beloved Iaw
So we'd better start by dealing with the present matter:
Timothy, a slave from group seven has committed a theft that almost ruined us alI
As I've determined that Mam's Law does not prescribe any punishment for stealing money
I shall have to be creative
what was it you once said, FIora, something about planting a bottle of Rhenish wine?
I do believe there is a bottle of Rhenish wine under Timothy's saddle, don't you?
So that's what I seen when I went there yesterday, if it wasn't a bottle of Rhenish wine!
There was still ten minutes until her slavishly punctual father would arrive outside
to wait for his 15 minutes and not a second Ionger
Just enough time for a verbal farewell salute
Timothy, you can stop being proud and silent
Cry and shout and beg for mercy Iike the Mansi you are
the Mansi who you despise so much
And it's that hatred Timothy and the rest ofyou bear towards yourselves
that you'II never make me accept, you are a cheat of the Iowest kind, and wilhelm
and all ofyou who follow him, are nothing but a bunch of traitors to your race
I hope that your fellow Negroes one day uncover your betrayal and punish you for it
You make me sick
I'm sure you're quite right, Miss Grace, most Iikely it's impossible to revile us niggers enough
but what I don't get is why it makes you so angry?
what do you mean?
Aren't you forgetting something?
You made us!
Probably the only thing that could have stopped the Iady with the whip
from carrying on forever was the cheerful tinkle that announced her father's presence
She needed his support now, Manderlay, too
really was a place the world would be better offwithout...
Grace recognized her father's hand writing, "dear girl", it said
Dear girl, so you tricked your father yet again
I waited the fifteen minutes first but I am too kind hearted
So I popped over to the fence behind the bushes and peeked inside to check that you were ok
to my great surprise it really did Iook as ifyou had a good grip on things for once
I am proud ofyou, my girI
I hope we meet up someday
so you can tell me what you actually meant by "new times at Manderlay"
Love, your dumb old dad
Ballots could be unrivalled, but determining the time by public debate was rarely feasible
That was quite apparent
Grace had but a few seconds to choose the direction
in which to flee away from her swarthy pursuers
who, as her father had to teasingly predicted, were carrying torches
Grace was in a hurry and did not notice Burt
the former fugitive with a Iiberal attitude to other races, who never did make it far
Grace was angry: Manderlay had fossilized in a picture of this country that was far, far too negative
America was a many-facetted place, no doubt about it
But "not ready" to accept black people?
You really could not say that America had proffered its hand, discreetly perhaps
but if anybody refused to see a helping hand, he really only had himself to blame!