Gertrude is the original reason that Stephen Kumalo was forced to travel to Johannesburg. Her activities and appearance are a source of shame for Stephen and for herself. Mr. Paton uses the character of Gertrude to represent the desire to survive through any means necessary.
"You have shamed us, he says in a low voice, not wishing to make it known to the world… She looks at him sullenly, like an animal that has been tormented" (30).
"I do not like Johannesburg… I am a bad woman, my brother. I am no woman to go back” (31).
"Gertrude's dress, for all that she might once have been rich, was dirty, and the black greasy knitted cap that she wore on her head made him ashamed” (33).
Gertrude feels that she is obligated to take any means necessary, in this case becoming a liquor seller and a prostitute, in order to survive in the society that she lives in.
In order to survive in Johannesburg, Gertrude feels as if she must take any means necessary, but once she falls into a cycle of shameful, desperate behavior, she feels like it is impossible to ever come out of it.
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