Heaven is not Closed
By Bessie Head
Setting
(Where the story takes place)
 A rural village in Botswana
Bessie Head
 She was born in Botswana
 She uses Botswana in her stories
Characters
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Galethebege
Ralokae
Ralokae’s brother: Modise
The Missionary
Galethebege
She is a devoted Christian
She goes to church every day to pray
She falls passionately in love with Ralokae
She wants to get married according to
Christian custom
 She goes to the missionary for advice
 Galethebege loves the church and the
rituals surrounding the services.
 She was never absent from church.
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Galethebege
 She was shocked about the way the
missionary treated her.
 When she could not go to church she
continued praying at home every day.
 Throughout her married life she
prayed every day.
Ralokae
 He is a widower
 He courts Galethebege because he
recognizes the goodness in her.
 He is not a Christian
 He wants to get married according to
Setswana custom
 He does not trust missionaries
 He blames missionaries for destroying
their customs and tribal lives.
The Missionary
 Short, anonymous looking man,
wearing glasses.
 He was the resident missionary for
some time.
 He did not like the Africans that he
worked with.
 He thought the Africans were beggars
and rather stupid.
The Missionary
 He liked marriages because he got paid
doing them.
 He got angry when Galethebege said she
wanted to marry a non-Christian in
Setswana custom.
 He said the marriage could not be allowed.
 The missionary said that heaven is closed
to the unbeliever.
 The missionary excommunicated
Galthebege from church. She could no
longer enter the village church.
Modise
 He is Ralokae’s brother
 He is the narrator of the story
 He tells the story of the marriage to
make the village think about
Christianity versus customs.
 He is not an unbeliever.
The Plot
 Modise tells the story of his brother’s
wife.
 His brother is Ralokae and he was
married to GalethebegeThe story
begins with a description of
Galethebege’s death.
 When Galethebege was young she
embraced the gospel.
Plot (continues)
 Galethebege was a good person,
whether she adhered to Setswana
custom or Christian customs.
 She always went to church.
 Ralokae was married for almost a
year when his wife died in childbirth.
 Ralokae went through the Setswana
custom’s boswagadi or mourning
period.
Plot (continues)
 A year later Ralokae finished the
cleansing ceremony demanded by
Setswana custom.
 Ralokae took note of Galethebege
because she was also devoted,
although not to the customs but to
religion.
 He began courting Galethebege
Plot (continues)
 Galethebege was hesitant to marry
because Ralokae was not a Christian.
 Galethebege placed God before
Ralokae.
 Galethebege was passionately in love
with Ralokae.
 Ralokae wanted to get married
according to the old customs.
Plot (continues)
 Galethebege wanted to get married
according to Christian customs
 Ralokae explained that missionaries
were not to be trusted. They
destroyed Setswana customs and
treated the Setswana people like
servants. They were full of tricks.
 Galethebege wanted to get advice
from the missionary
Plot (continues)
 The missionary forbid the marriage
with Ralokae.
 The missionary excommunicated
Galethebege from church.
 Galethebege married Ralokae in the
traditional way.
 Galethebege never stopped praying
although she could not go to church.
Plot (continues)
 Ralokae never became a Christian.
 Many people left the church because
of the way the missionary treated
Galethebege.
Setswana Custom (Marriage)
 The cow was holy to the Setswana because
they got their food and clothes from it.
 At the wedding a cow was slaughtered.
 The intestinal bag of the cow was draped
around the neck of Galethebege and
Ralokae to symbolize wealth and the good
luck they would have in married life.
Setswana Custom (Marriage)
 The porridge and meat were served in
ogopo bowls which had been used
since old times.
 There was a lot of dancing (capering)
and ululating on the day.
Intention (Why the story was
written?)
 The writer wants to comment on
missionary work done universally.
 She wants to show that missionaries
destroyed Setswana custom by not
allowing it. They enforced Christian
(Western) customs on the people
 Ralokae represents the traditional
customs of the Setswana people.
Intention (Why the story was
written?)
 Missionaries misused their message
to destroy traditional communities.
 Missionaries should have been more
considerate towards strange customs.
 All missionaries were not good, the
one in the story is a bad missionary.
 The missionary used the word of God
to control the people, not help them.
Intention (Why the story was
written?)
 In this story the missionary decides
who will go to heaven and who not.
 The writer wants to say that if there
had been more tolerance from
missionaries, the Setswana people
would not have been divided.
 Missionaries did not understand the
Setswana people and their customs.
Intention (Why the story was
written?)
 Even without a church Galethebege remained a good
Christian and succeeded in making Ralokae a good
husband although he was not a Christian.
 The Bible says that a Christian who married a nonbeliever sanctifies the non-believer.
 1Co 7:14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified
in the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified in
the brother: else were your children unclean; but now
are they holy.
 The missionary was wrong when he said heaven is
closed to the unbeliever. Heaven will always be open
to everybody