Dalene Matthee received many awards during her lifetime as an acclaimed writer. However, she also received an award from the Southern African institute of Forestry "in recognition of exceptional service. " Matthee's knowledge of the Knysna forest and its surrounding areas was exceptional and even more so she used her knowledge of the animal's native to this setting to aplomb, integrating it into the novel, Fiela's Child, to allude to characters and also for animals to act as symbols within the novel. .
To begin with, immediately we can see the use of animal imagery within the novel. For Fiela, the ostriches that she owns symbolize her wealth and prosperity. The fact that ostriches have been used to symbolize this is also telling. Ostriches are violent, protective of their young, difficult to tame and hide their heads in the ground when they feel threatened. These traits are symbolic of Fiela; she tries to protect her children at all costs, she is steadfast in her opinions and she assumes that she can hide a white child within her household which, just like an ostrich burying its head in the sand to hide, is futile. Also, Ostriches are one of the very few birds that cannot fly. In this sense, ostriches are different to their kind yet they symbolize wealth. This could reflect on Fiela's situation as her race, coloureds, is greatly discriminated yet she is the one the readers sympathize and connect with most in my opinion. Furthermore, Ostriches live in semi-arid conditions and this imagery helps the reader to acquaint himself with the similar description of the Woolwekraal. .
Conjointly, with the idea firmly established in the early chapters that the Ostrich symbolizes Fiela, in chapter 10 Matthee again uses the technique of synthesizing the ostrich with Fiela. Fiela says "Good-for-nothings! All you can do is eat! Why don't you do something to earn your fodder at least! " Fiela is very angry at the ostriches.
