The character of Philemon in the short story "The Suit" by Can Themba

The character of Philemon in the short story "The Suit" by Can Themba Philemon is dominated by a need to be in direct command of his own environment; in popular terms, he is a "control freak". He is unable to cope with any threat to his version of "the goodness of life." Tilly's affair occurs outside Philemon's self-imposed boundaries and he is not equipped to react to the crisis. Philemon removes chance from even the …

…in front of her friends at the party. He continues to use the suit to secretly punish Tilly, while maintaining outward normality. His actions are more to reinforce Philemon's "heaven" that a punishment for adultery. Philemon's cry on discovering Tilly's body is not that of a man who has lost his wife, but that of a man who realises that his control has been taken away. In a very real sense, Philemon's world has collapsed.