THE RHINO KEEPER SPOILER SERIES VOLUME 3: Your Favorite, Zubin
- JillianForsberg
- Jan 17
- 2 min read
It’s not a secret.
Everyone loves Zubin.
People have asked if Zubin is fictional many times. And the answer is…kind of.
He was born of two pieces of art featuring Clara:
That little endearing face of that boy leaning over the banister summarized Zubin’s entire personality for me.
But Zubin is multi-faceted and and all the complexities of a person whose identity is essentially defined by what he left behind and where he ended up.
Zubin is an allegory for colonialism. And you must ask yourself while reading The Rhino Keeper: is he a free person? Or is Zubin a slave?
While you get the warm fuzzies thinking about Zubin and the way he loved Clara, I must remind you that many people of color were taken from their homelands and thrust into European society without a real choice.
If Zubin would have stayed in Calcutta, his life might’ve been good, truly, but it is likely that he would have been subject to the many sieges, battles, and revolutions that occurred when the Indian kingdoms did their very best to rid the sub-continent of Dutch influence. In fact, in Fort William in 1756, a black pit of a prison was open and many died.
Instead, Zubin caught a ride. Left Calcutta with everything he owned…which was very little. His fiery personality was made clear when he took great ownership over this exact statue of Durga.
Zubin’s life was good, but it was because I made Douwe and Clara love him. It is likely that a boy from India would have been treated very badly by anyone who would have taken them aboard their ship, regardless of the love he showed for a rhino calf.
But fiction allows us to do things to satisfy our own hearts. And Zubin was one of those things. Clara couldn’t have survived without someone who knew about rhino care. Douwe couldn’t have survived without someone who knew about loyalty, trust, humor, and had a boundless curiosity and a bravery only met by the fearlessness of a child.
Zubin allowed Douwe to ground himself. He was his calming voice (remember the panic attack? Zubin calmed that ship captain!). Zubin was his guiding hand (remember that Clara trusted Zubin more than anyone else). Zubin was his found-family, his son.
What did Zubin do after Clara died? Lived in the brown brick manor. Helped the VOC categorize their treasures from Batavia and India and onward. Married. Had lots of children himself. Smiled broadly at animals and kids and cats named Betsy and kittens.
Zubin is Lucas’s direct descendant.
He is also my favorite. And you’re lucky my mom, Claire, told me I couldn’t kill him off when he got sick. You were very close to losing your favorite character. Thanks mom.
Zubin will live as a symbol of love for many readers: love of animals, love of people, love of adventure. He is our comic relief, our strong hug, our constellation-scarred boy…
He is our son. (And the word doesn’t startle us like it did for Douwe.)
I am glad Zubin and Douwe had each other. I think it was very much a symbiotic relationship. Like you said, Douwe couldn't have made it without Zubin's attentiveness, love, and care, for both himself and Clara, and maybe Zubin didn't get mistreated on board as much as he could've because of Douwe's protective authority as captain.
I like this question you posed.
"And you must ask yourself while reading The Rhino Keeper: is he a free person? Or is Zubin a slave?"
This gave me chills because we as readers got to observe their interactions up close, and see into Douwe's mind, so we had the comfort and security of knowing that Douwe had no bad intentions and that…