Amelia
Chapter
One
There she sat, her fingers going through
the motions, the song coming out of her mouth. From the outside, there was
nothing differing her from the other women in the wharenui. There they all sat,
cross-legged, weaving the flax and chanting their prayer, instilling the lyrics
and their meaning into the piece. These women were passing all of what they
were into their weaving, their experiences, their loss, their love, and their
soul. Ria’s body was working, however, without any instruction from her mind,
let alone any connection from her soul.
This façade gave Ria the freedom to
disappear into another world, one of excitement, one of experiences and one
that didn’t result in arthritic fingers and a croaky voice. No, she could
imagine a world full of luxury, wearing the best dresses made of the finest
silk and bonnets of the finest lace, having her own house with only the best
imported furnishings and eating like kings without having to lift a finger. She
knew what this world was called, it was a Pākeha world.
Ria always knew she was better suited for
life as a Pākehā, despite being a Māori girl from Ngāpuhi. There was no excitement
here on the Pa for a sixteen year old, the most she could hope for was to hear
the stories from her brothers who were allowed to go into the towns. They would
tell her tales of meeting whalers, trading with seamen, seeing all of the new
British shops full of fabrics and the people on the streets and what they wore.
Although she knew the stories were always embellished by her siblings, still it
all seemed so glamorous compared to the dirt floor she was working on.
She felt a nudge from the woman sitting next to her.
Ria had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn’t even
noticed the tall shadow standing in the doorway. She knew exactly who it was
without even seeing his face. He had to duck his head to get under the door, his
shoulders skimming the frame as he walked through. His frightening size matched
his power within the tribe.
“Amiria, haere mai ki konei” her father said. How she hated it
when he used her full name, it made her feel like a child. She knew she was
named after an English woman called Amelia, so why did her father insist on
changing it to Māori.
She quickly got up and went to see him. She hurried not only
because she knew he wasn’t one to have his time wasted, but also because
whatever he had to say would be more exciting than the ‘over-under’ pattern she
had been making all morning.
As they stepped out into the sunlight, she saw her cousin standing
there holding one of the tribe’s horses.
This looked promising. Maybe she was being sent into town to mix
with the locals. Oh she couldn’t wait to come back and see the looks on her
brothers’ faces when she could tell them
about the excitement of the town.
Her father then handed her a note. It was all in English. ‘Damn’
she thought, her spoken English was nigh on fluent but her reading was well
below standard. But anyway, what use was being able to write a letter, when she
wanted to mingle with the British, not communicate from miles away.
Ria asked her father what the letter said. He looked at her for a
second longer than usual, Ria knowing this was his way of saying her reading
needed improvement.
Her cousin Tamiti then piped up and said “You’re going to do the
dishes for a white family, girl”. He was surprised with the reaction he got
back from her. Her eyes light up, a hopeful smile growing on her face. Tamiti
couldn’t believe it, why on earth would she want to be a white man’s dog’s
body.
“Am I really Pa?” Ria asked. She didn’t share the same opinion as
Tamiti on the matter. She didn’t even think about the hard work this would
entail, instead she just thought of the different opportunities this could
bring. She could improve her English, learn the behaviours of a real English
lady and most of all she could get a foot in the door of the Pākehā world. From
then on, Ria thought, her life would be full of high teas, crocheting,
tailor-made dresses, the luxuries were endless.
“Ae, e kotiro” her father replied. The smile on Ria’s face caused
more concern for him than any other emotion; although her loved her, he knew what
his daughter was like. This concern melted away for a split second as she
squeezed him goodbye as hard as she could. Before Tamiti had even bent down to
give Ria a leg up, she had thrown herself on the horse and was ready to go.
Chapter Two
The journey felt to Ria as though it had taken forever, she was
itching to see what her new house would be like. Tamiti also felt the trip down
to Paihia had been long; but he had walked the whole way leading the horse,
unlike Ria who was already acting like she was a righteous Pākehā she was
planning on becoming. She hadn’t even let them stop for the horse to cool off
in the water when they were walking along the beach.
Finally, for both their sakes, they arrived at their destination.
It was a two-storied house and Ria counted it had three chimneys. The white of
the paint was so crisp in contrast to the beautiful red of the Pohutukawa trees
that grew up from the sand.
Tamiti then caught eyes with the couple standing on the front
porch waving. He was relieved to know this meant his job was over and no sooner
as Ria had dismounted, he was up on the horse off back home as quickly as he
could.
Ria walked up to the couple with her head high and put out her
hand to shake theirs. She was confused when the man ignored her gesture and
said in a slow, loud voice “I am Mr Chambers, this is my wife Mrs Chambers.
What is you’re name girl?”
A little taken back by this, Ria replied in perfect English “My
name is Ria, nice to meet you”. She did not speak her name with the standard
rolling ‘r’ used in Māori, instead she pronounced it as British as she possibly
could; a slight plum was starting to grow in her mouth by the sounds of it.
Mrs Chambers, relieved that she wasn’t going to have to struggle
with speaking to her home help, smiled at Ria and replied “Its nice to meet you
Ria, come inside”.
Mr Chambers, still slightly embarrassed, decided that he was not
required for the mandatory tasks that were to follow so retired to his office
without a word to either of the women.
Mrs Chambers was so pleased to have Ria in her home. If she were
honest to herself, a fresh face to distract from the problems her and her
husband had been having lately was a Godsend. She had been so lonely ever since
she arrived in New Zealand. Brian was always out with the other reverends doing
the Lord’s work and she was left at home to keep the house. She did try and mix
with the other mission wives here, but struggled to have anything in common
with them because they all had children, unlike herself. The two of them had
been trying to have a baby ever since they’d arrived but to no avail and it
seemed her husband was becoming less and less interested in trying.
After showing Ria around the house, the women settled into the
living room to have a cup of tea and talk. When Mr Chambers came down from his
office and saw the two getting along the way they were, he was less than
impressed. He had hired this girl to work for them, not to befriend his wife
and certainly not to act like a guest in his home.
Before he could turn and go back into his office, he caught his
wife’s eye.
“Come and join us for a drink Brian” his wife smiled. There was no
way he was going to socialize with some girl from the local Pa. The cheek of
her to even be in his sitting room, drinking his tea and eating his biscuits,
as though she was a member of the Royal family.
He wasn’t going to upset his wife though, he hadn’t seen her this
happy in a long time. Instead he just smiled at his wife and said “I’m sorry my
love, I need to work on my service for this week”.
“Will you be coming to bed tonight?” Mrs Chambers replied.
“Don’t wait up for me, I will probably be in my office all night”
he replied and went back upstairs, no acknowledgment of the goodnight Ria had
said to him.
Chapter Three
Ria couldn’t get to sleep that night, even though she knew she had
a busy day tomorrow. The excitement of her new job being exactly what she had
hoped for and with Mrs Chambers being such a lovely woman, she knew she was
where she wanted to be. She couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come.
It felt as though the night was dragging on longer than usual. She
flinched as she heard her door open slightly, which made her realise her body
had been asleep, it was only her mind that was busy full of excitement.
It was Mr Chambers. Was it time to get up already? She had hardly
been asleep and it was still dark out.
“I will be up in a second Mr Chambers, just give me a moment to
get dressed” she called out to him, not realizing that he was now in her room
but had closed the door behind him.
“Keep your voice down love, its late, people are asleep” he
whispered. His tone was a lot friendlier than earlier on in the night.
Ria was unsure why he was here, but felt it be too rude to ask.
Instead she just lay there as he sat on her bed next to her.
The confused look on her face prompted him to tell her what he was
doing. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to meet you properly tonight” he said. Feeling
a bit more relaxed after hearing this, Ria smiled and said, “no need for apology Mr Chambers, I am living
here now so there is lots of time for that”.
Encouraged by her answer, he lay down next to her. Thank goodness
he had laid on top of the blanket Ria thought, she would definitely be asking
Mrs Chambers for some night clothes in the next few days.
Ria, thinking Mr Chambers’ behaviour was rather odd, simply lay
still. He must like her more than she had thought earlier in the day when he
was so cold to her. The more time that passed, the more comfortable she felt.
He was just being welcoming and she soon began to fall asleep. She assumed Mr
Chambers would leave once she was asleep.
Ria woke to a cold chill on her body. She definitely would be
getting those nightclothes, especially as winter was coming soon, Ria thought
to herself. Ria then realised her blanket and fallen off her and that Mr
Chambers was still there lying next to her. She panicked with embarrassment and
grabbed for the blanket to cover herself up, but it was on the floor, between
her and her new boss.
“You’re already ready for me, what good service” Mr Chambers
whispered in her ear.
Ria knew what would happen next. She had heard stories from other
girls back at the Pa, about white men when they got drunk and thought they had
every right because the girl was Māori.
But maybe this was something she had to do once, to get the life
she had always wanted.
This however, didn’t only happen once.
Chapter Four
These visits from Mr Chambers continued regularly. The more he was
stressed, the more he would turn up in her bedroom.
Mrs Chambers on the other hand was like a mother to Ria. She
taught her how to cook meals, to sew, to dress for an occasion and how to act
in a formal situation. If there were chores to be done, the two would do them
together. In return Ria gave Mrs Chambers company and a distraction. Her and
her husband still were unable to have a baby and she had resigned herself to
the idea that this was never going to have a child of her own.
This all changed however when Ria returned from visiting back at
the Pa for a couple of days. She came to Mrs Chambers and confessed she was
pregnant.
While being back to see her family, Ria was examined by the Pa’s
medicine woman for the pain she was feeling in her lower back. She was told
that she was too far along for anything to be done about it and that she would
need to return to the Chambers to resign from her duties.
Mrs Chambers responded in delight. If she couldn’t conceive her
own child, she would take in Ria and raise her child as a part of her family.
The news of this meant Mr Chambers spent less and less time at
home to avoid any suspicion and his nightly visits to Ria also stopped, to her
relief.
v
As the months progressed, Mrs Chambers doted on Ria and helped her
with everything, there was nothing this child would miss out on.
Nobody spoke of who the father was, Ria knew it could only be one
man, Mr Chambers did too but wouldn’t even admit this to himself and Mrs
Chambers assumed it must have been a Māori boy from the visits Ria would take
back to see her family every few weeks.
This baby, though not due for a few more weeks, also distracted
Mrs Chambers from the gossip mill of the wives who had been commenting on Mr
Chambers infidelities ever since near the time they arrived. These comments had
been starting to get to her before the baby news and the stress of it all was
starting to make her unwell. In fact, Ria’s pregnancy couldn’t have come at a
better time.
v
Almost to the day that the Māori medicine woman had predicted, Ria
had her baby, a healthy baby girl.
The medicine woman arrived to help her through the labour, luckily
for Ria because it was a terrible ordeal. This made the medicine woman think
that the baby did not come from a good place. Her thoughts were certified as
soon as she saw the new child and its fair skin.
Because of this the medicine woman would not touch the baby and
left as soon as she knew Ria would be alright.
Later on that day Mrs Chambers came in to meet her new baby. Ria’s
baby of course but in her eyes she too would be this baby’s mother.
She kissed Ria on her sweaty forehead and reached out for the
swaddled child.
As Mrs Chambers held this baby in her arms she was surprised by
lightness of her skin colour. Maybe all Māori babies look like this. But when
the child opened her eyes Mrs Chambers knew straight away that this little girl
did not have a Māori father. Her big blue eyes looked up at her, they were
familiar eyes not unalike her husbands in fact.
That moment Mr Chambers slowly walked through the door. He looked
at Ria and the unspoken message that flowed between the two of them was as
clear as anything for Mrs Chambers to pick up on. He then caught Mrs Chambers’
eye and she knew in that moment exactly whose child she was holding.
The End
Commentary
I have based this re-write from the New
Zealand novel, Kitty, by Deborah Challinor. This is a book about an English
girl who moves to New Zealand in 1839 with her Uncle and Aunt who are both
missionaries. Although Kitty has an exciting life of travel and romance, I
wanted to focus my re-write on one of Kitty’s two Māori housemaids. In
Kitty she is known as Amy, short for Amiria, but in this re-write I call her
Ria, still short for Amiria. This re-write is a prequel to Kitty but with the
focus being on Ria’s life.
In Kitty, Amy (Ria) has a strong attitude towards both men and Pākehā
in general. She is described as “impish” when she is first introduced. She is
also caught prostituting herself to the European traders. I have based my
re-write on a story that tells why she became this way. During the beginning of
my re-write I have Ria very eager to learn and be involved in a Pākehā life,
which is opposite to how Amy is in Kitty. What happens along the way
demonstrates why her attitude changes. There is also a scene in Kitty where Amy
is described as being “fully developed woman already” in comparison to her
cousin who was the same age. To count for that, the re-write has Ria falling
pregnant, which would change her body.
In this re-write I wanted to highlight the
idea of a power balance. It is commonly known that in British culture, women
were treated below men during the times of colonisation. I wanted to highlight
how this transferred to other cultures as well, which is why I had Ria feel
jealous of the things her brothers were able to do but she wasn’t because she
was a girl. I also wanted to show that even though Maori and British people
shared this theme, there was also a power distance between the two races. This
is why I continue from Kitty, the idea that British settlers had Maori
housemaids. This is also why I have Ria having such a longing to be a part of
the Pākehā world because she has been instilled with the idea that
their life is better than hers. I have Mr Chambers
mistreat Ria because she is both Maori and a girl. The power he has over her
because of this allows him to get away with how he is treating her.
This then leads to the irony of Mr Chambers’
behaviour. He is authoritative and cold to Ria in public so that he maintains
that power balance for his fellow men to see, yet in private he is the
opposite. There is also irony in the way that Mr Chambers is a Reverend and is
considered a godly man in society, but he rapes Ria continuously behind closed
doors.
In
the original, Kitty’s family takes over the Chambers’ house because they have
had to leave because Mrs Chambers has a breakdown because of her husband’s
infidelities. Although Mrs Chambers hears rumors throughout the re-write about
what her husband had been up to, the shock of seeing Ria and her baby and realizing
then it was all true, was the push her character needed to reach breaking
point.
Although there is a similar storyline in
Kitty about a missionary abusing a Māori girl, I wanted to demonstrate how commonly
this occurred during the colonisation of New Zealand. These
happenings added onto the already rife relationship between the colonisers and
the colonised, which highlights why, although a much-improved environment, there
is still friction between Māori and The Crown to this day.
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