A Meeting in the Dark is a short story by Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong'o.

The story is set in

his native country, specifically among the Kikuyu people, and the title refers to the innocent
meeting between boyfriend and girlfriend that spirals out of control and ends in a murder.
ohn:
main protagonist
polite, educated, Christian
Stanley:
strict father,
not affectionate towards family
sinned before marriage
Christian preacher
feared by son and villagers
Susana:
counterpart to strict father
closer to son
Wahumu's parents:
Traditional tribe members
suspicious of new religion

SUMMARY
"A Meeting in the Dark", by Ngugi wa Thiong’o is a short story set in Kenya, the author’s home
country. Specifically, the story takes place in the Kikuyu community. It is all about John, a young
man who has attained what is referred to as a “white man’s education.” As a result of this
education, John is respected and looked up to by those in his community because he represents
a “true African son.” He has achieved this status by successfully completing every available level
of education—and he plans on leaving the country to study more.
His education has also instilled in an optimistic view of his future. There is one setback,
however, represented by his lover, Wamuhu. Just before he leave the country to pursue higher
education, Wamuhu becomes pregnant. John is deeply upset by this, because he feels as
though he cannot leave if he is to be a father. He keeps his concerns to himself, though his
mother, Susana, can tell from looking at his face that something is bothering him. She and John
have always been close, whereas John relationship with his father’s is an emotionally distant
one.
John is certain that because of the pregnancy, he will have to marry Wamuhu and cancel his
plans for his education and for his future. To complicate his feelings, he worries about what his
father will think, since Wamuhu is considered the daughter of an unbeliever. John’s solution to
his troubles is to keep news of Wamuhu's pregnancy quiet, at least until he has left the country.
However, since John was keen to share the news of his educational opportunities abrouad with
his community, Wamuhu knows that he’s leaving soon.
John starts to have nightmares, so he goes to visit his lover. At her family’s house, he is
welcomed with the warmth he expects from members of the community, but finds Wamuhu is
not at home. John hurries from the house, and bumps into her in the doorway. He walks with
Wamuhu away from the house so that they can converse in private. He tries his best to
convince her that she should not tell her parents that she’s pregnant, but she rebuffs him at
every turn. Since she will not remain silent about it, John tries next to get her to say that it’s
another man’s baby—but again, she refuses, insulted by the suggestion. Wamuhu tells John her
mother is already suspicious of her condition anyway, since she is breathing more heavily as she
sleeps.
John starts to feel desperate as the situation slips further out of his control. All of his plans for
his education and his future are crumbling in the face of Wamuhu’s pregnancy. John loses
control and grabs Wamuhu by the neck, squeezing as tight as he can. Wamuhu struggles and
gasps for air as he strangles her, and only after she collapses, dead, does he come to his senses
and realize that he’s murdered Wamuhu—and their unborn child. The final line of the story is:
“…he had created then killed.”
Theme

British Colonial Rule

There is friction between the British and the Kenyans throughout the story, John and his family have
embraced British culture, and also the British class system, so much so that John's father looks down on
Wamuhu because she is a non-Christian and is actually one of the village's spiritual leaders. John has
attained what is termed a "white man's education" which means that he has gone as far as he can in the
Kenyan educational system and is now going overseas to continue his studies. John knows that
education is the key to his future and to the betterment of both his life and that of his family members.

Loss of Control

John feels like he is losing control of his life. He has worked so hard for the opportunities that
educational success has afforded him and he sees it slipping away because of Wamuhu's pregnancy. He
wants to control the situation and so appeals to her to keep the pregnancy quiet until after he has left
the village. She refuses, partly because she just doesn't want to, and partly because it is too late as her
mother already suspects that she is pregnant. He then asks her to say that the baby is another man's, or
that she doesn't know who the father is, but she refuses to do that too because it would show her in a
very bad feeling. John feels silent by this lack of control and the fact that he cannot turn the situation
back around again. He is so consumed by panic and rage that he strangles Wamuhu, only realizing what
he has done after he realizes she is dead. The lack of control he feels in his own life is mirrored by the
lack of control that he shows at the moment when he is unable to control his anger or his actions.

Selfishness

John is a selfish man. He sees his own needs and that is all that he sees, and in his attitude is is
sometimes hard to remember that Wamuhu did not become pregnant by herself; he seems to have a
total lack of responsibility and does not give a second thought to how a child might change his
girlfriend's life as well. John's selfishness leads him to make choices that are dangerous and ultimately
lead to Wamuhu's murder.