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While it may seem as though Paulus was not brought to justice due to flawed racial ideals, it can be argued that justice was relatively served because he was brought to court, and underwent due process to be proven innocent. the "final verdict on the accused was "not guilty" (336), the man was clearly filled with guilt. The court examined the evidence, and while racial biased may have been present, his reputation and personal feelings were exemplified and scrutinized due to going through the legal process. As a result, justice was served in the sense that despite the racial bias, he still experienced a somewhat fair trial and functioning court system. - Teddy Lovejoy

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Alexandra Gusinski

In Nadine Gordimer’s Country Lovers, the concept of justice is deeply intertwined with the racial and social inequalities of apartheid South Africa. The relationship between Paulus, a white farmer’s son, and Thebedi, a Black girl from the farm, begins in childhood, while they are young and innocent. But as they grow older, it becomes a symbol of injustice. When Thebedi becomes pregnant with, Paulus’s child and later marries another man, Njabulo, she tries to protect the child as well as her dignitiy, even when living in a system tryingt to work against her. Paulus, on the other hand, possibly wants to erase the consequences of his actions, and he is ultimately accused of killing the child. Though he faces trial, the justice system—influenced with racial bias—ultimately sends him off with an innocent verdict, and he walks free while Thebedi, is left with the burden of silence and loss, justs s she had been when she “did not cry but simply sast, staring at the door” with her hands “cold as dead chickens’ feet.” The author uses this tragic story to expose the failure of justice under apartheid, where whiteness shields perpetrators and Black women like Thebedi are denied truth and justice. This story forces readers to think about whether true justice is possible in a society built on systemic oppression.

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Justice was not served. During the period, societal customs were in favour of white people. The story highlights apartheid and the white privilege that comes with it. When Paulus went to court, the verdict declared that Paulus was not guilty. However, instead of celebrating when he left the court, "The young white man refused to accept the congratulations of press and public" (336). The refusal of acceptance may indicate that Paulus did indeed commit the crime, but feels guilty of his actions. Even though the legal system, which is shaped by the racist structures of apartheid, fails to hold him accountable, his moral leaves him with a heavy burden. The outcome of the case exposed the racial bias of the system under apartheid, making clear that true justice was denied. - Raymi

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Maddy: In apartheid South Africa, people of color had very few civil rights and were seen unequal under the law. It wasn't until the late nineties that people of color gained the right to testify in court. Fighting in a case without much concrete evidence and in a system designed to suppress the rights and voices of black people, Thebedi most likely felt as though the only way she could possibly win the case was to lie. Paulus also comes from an elite family, so the evidence of him having a cross-racial relationship and of him killing his child would've been detrimental to the family's reputation. Throughout the closing of the story, Gordimer emphasizes the idea of there being a "insufficient proof" (Gordimer 336). The idea of there being a lack of evidence works both ways: there wasn't enough solid proof to convict Paulus (in the opinion of the courts) and Paulus killed the child to erase proof of his interracial relationship. Ultimately, Thebedi lied because she understood that it was highly improbable that Paulus would be convicted and that the best way for her to fight her case was to use the racial bias that negatively impacts her to hurt Paulus's reputation as well.

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Clem-

In "Country Lovers" by Nadine Gordimer, Thebedi lied due to how the legal system is unfair. There is no explicit description of the baby's death, which allows the reader to assume how the baby died. In terms of the court, it allows Paulus to manipulate and win in court with his privilege. Gordimer writes, "She did not cry but simply sat, staring at the door," which is contrasting because she lost in court, demonstrating how the outcome is somewhat expected. Thebedi lied because she knew that she could not win in court, and by lying, she avoided confronting the full punishment of Paulus's actions. Her silence in this quote signifies her guilt and grief. Her lying is out of survival over resistance since she knew how she could not win.

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Thomas

I am reminded of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible". That when everybody believes in a falsehood, it is within a person's best interests to believe in it too. Thebedi chooses to lie about Paulus' involvement, and that may be the safest option for her. Thebedi doesn't risk punishments by white supremacists, and even if she continued in the trial she's likely to be struck down by the partial courts. Thebedi saves herself by lying, though more importantly by bowing down to those who deem her inferior. It isn't selfish, and in no way can she be blamed for her actions.

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Quinn

The baby's death in "Country Lovers" by Nadine Gordimer is important because it shows the harsh reality of racial divides in South Africa during apartheid. It symbolizes the consequences of forbidden love between the black girl, Thebedi, and the white boy, Paulus. The death of the baby also reveals how the characters’ lives are affected by the unfair and oppressive society they live in.

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Tristan Bates

I believe Thebedi did lie because of the emotional contradiction and confusion within her mind. During this period, it was really hard or almost impossible for white people to get convicted if they were brought to court by a black person; "The Court did not accept the girl's evidence because it was clear she had committed perjury either at this trial or at the preparatory examination" (Gordimer, 336). Having this idea in mind, Thebedi could have been scared of how the Court would treat her. Thebedi could also be taking the Court case back because she could still have feelings for Paulus, or she could still want what's best for him, even after everything that she had thought he had done, altering her perception of him. This is because the type of secret love and intimacy that they had could make a Thebedi feel at least some love still for him, even though he could have killed their baby.

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In Nadine Gordimer's "Country Lovers," Thebedi lies about the baby's death because she knows that in a country that is so divided, there is an extremely high chance that her voice isn't heard. As a white male in South Africa, Paulus can walk away from the crime with no punishment. Gordimer purposely spends a lot of time in the story describing the setting and how the Whites are always treated better than the Blacks, therefore giving Thebedi no motivation even to try to accuse Paulus of the crime that he committed, she is described as "sat, staring at the door" to signify not only the physical paralyzing of her body, but also the mental frozen idea in her head that she will never be treated as importantly as a white man (Gordimer 336). In addition, as a white male during this time period, there is a high chance that Paulus doesn't want any part of his genetics shared with black people, even if it was his decision to be intimate with Thebedi. She could have seen this and could have accepted the fact that, despite loving her, he doesn't want any of his family to be intertwined with hers, therefore representing the fear of mixing races in a divided society.

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Shiloh- In terms of the historical context of a apretheid South Africa, there was a clear division between black South Africans and white South Africans in terms of equality and a fair slate. We see different points in the text where the societal norm to not intermix the races kinda cause conflict not just for the couple, but for the country as a whole. Thebedi ends up having a child with Paulus but, "the infant was asleep; she revealed the closed, pale, plump, tiny face... he said nothing. She was watching him as she had done when they were little"(Gordimer 335). Proceding this moment it is implied that Paulus feels the need to take it upon himself to kill the baby because he does not want people to know of this forbidden love. This forbidden love that was thrown away showing the clear stance of valuing societal norms over pure intrest. There was evidence against him that proved his guilt, but as the white malehe will be favored. Thebedi and her husband Njabulo will never have justice served because of the systemic racism they were indulged in.

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Brody-

Thebedi lying was the most impactful part of the story because it illustrates the clear imbalance of power that exists in society, especially within the legal system. When Thebedi decides not to share the fact that Paulus was the father of the child, a fact that would have helped her in the court system and strengthened her argument, but even with that, I don't think it would have been enough to sway or change the judge's minds. Especially when Thebedi hears "there were no marks of violence on it" making it seem as if the case isn't fair in the first place meaning even if she did everything she could the legal system still wouldn't be in her favor based on the apartheid and the clear inbalnce of authority and power in the situation.

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Ben Sanders: I think that Thebedi lies in order to do her best to protect her relationship with Paulus. By doing so, she fights societal norms at the time and stands up for what she believes in. By lying in bed, she also shows the inequality and prejudice in the system: "she said she had not seen waht the white man did in the house" (336). Such a simple yet deceitful statement, which raised no questions from anynone, reiterates the lack of care shown to people of color during apartheid if the statement helps a white man in any way.

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Ethan Plummer

The ambiguity behind the baby’s death highlights the connection between Apartide and the relationship of Paulus and Thebedi. The ambiguity highlighted how much influence the racial divide between white and black people had over social and political views in South Africa as it prevented Paulus from being prosecuted but it also highlighted how Thebedi didn’t want Paulus to be prosecuted as she lied about what happened. This is highlighted through the quote “He did not tell her about school or town any more. She did not ask questions any longer” (333). This quote highlights how while their relationship changed and they grew apart, they still had some feelings for each other.

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She lied because she didn't want to get caught in a crossfire, so she decided to lie. Lying in court is also an offense that she knew she could get in serious trouble for, but she did it anyway. Knowing this, she decides to throw her husband under the bus and makes it his fault that the baby died, which she had no partaking in. If she wasn't been caught lying, she would have gotten away with the charges, and her life would have returned to normal.

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It was impactful how she held back and didn't push the conviction of husband. It showed how the culture and the relationship changed the way she approached the situation. In the setting, it is clear that she is supposed to be treating Paulus with more respect and is supposed to treat him with a higher standard than she treats herself with. It also touches on their relationship and how, even though he killed their baby, she still is hanging onto some feelings for him. She lied because of the feelings she still had for him, and adding to that, she lied because of the social construct that she was brought up in, which influenced the way she approached the case.

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Trevor - In "Country Lovers," justice was not served, as the judgement of Paulus highlights the racial injustices embedded in the legal system. Despite the strong suspicions against him, the judge stated, “The Court could not accept the girl's evidence because it was clear she had committed perjury either at this trial or at the preparatory examination,” (3) which underscores the systemic bias that ultimately protects the privileged white individual while disregarding the truth of Thebedi's experience. This intentional racial preference seen in the court reflects the deep inequities present in the society that Gordimer portrays through the story.

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Thebedi lied due to the social construct she was forced to live in. It would be detrimental for Paulus's reputation as well as his family's if it were revealed that Paulus not only had an affair with a Black woman but had a child with her. While it is implied that Paulus killed the baby, Thebedi was likely implicit as she pretended the baby was asleep and that was the reason it did not want to feed after Paulus had visited their home. This could suggest that even though it would damage Paulus's reputation more, it would also sabotage her life with her husband and family. It could have been from a semblance of love Thebedi still held for Paulus, but it also could have been her own self-interest. This is further implied to be the truth by the detail she comes to court the next year with a newborn. This could symbolize that she has moved on from the death of her first child.