Chapter Eight Summary and Analysis

The author speaks of her life as a child in Southern Rhodesia and about her dreams and nightmares. She dreams of her family, trapped by their lack of money and their life choices. She has dreams about the convent and the heavy greasy food provided the predominantly German nuns. She remembers the arrival of the Slump, a time of economic depression for Europe, and the beginning of talking movies and jazz. She continues her memories of the convent, this time about the dormitory where she is moved when she gets older. Just before an important exam, all the girls in the dorm come down with ringworm and lice and are pulled out of school. She flirts with becoming a Catholic, but when her mother confronts her with the evils of Catholicism, Lessing realizes Protestants are just as evil, and...