Nervous Conditions is a novel written by Tsitsi Dangarembga that tells the story of four women living in Rhodesia, Zimbabwe. This book shows the struggle that the main character Tambudzai and her female family members all face during the colonization of their country. Tambu’s cousin, Nyasha and her Aunt, Maiguru are all extremely relevant characters and they must endure this oppressive demeanor forced on them by their society.
One very significant character in Nervous Conditions is Nyasha, Tambu’s cousin. Nyasha enters the story when she returns from England and has to re-adjust back to her life in Rhodesia. Tambu is initially described by Tambu as reserved and shy. This is because she does not speak the native language, Shona, and is very …show more content…
Tambu is fighting throughout the story for an education and that is why she is not sorry when her brother dies. When she does get this opportunity that she has so eagerly waited for, Tambu works very hard in school and becomes a stellar student. Babamukuru opinion of Table changes when he insists that her parents have a wedding. Tambu is unhappy with Babamukuru decision because she feels that it casts a shadow of sin over her childhood. She describes her wanted to speak out against the wedding in the following quotes: "Whenever I thought about it... I suffered a horrible crawling over my skin, my chest contracted to a breathless tension and even my bowels threatened to let me know their opinion." These words shed some light on how suppressed all of these women's’ opinions are. Like Maiguru, Tambu finally speaks out against something that she is passionate about, the wedding. This earns her a punishment, but she is pleased with herself for not obeying her authority.
One of the reasons that Nervous Conditions has so successfully captured the feelings and struggles of these female characters was because it was written by a women. It is so important to have female literature because these women have faced discrimination and their struggles must be told accurately. Dangarembga’s novel changed the way that I saw the world in the sense that no matter how oppressed females might be, there is always inner strength that allows women to stand up against any obstacles that might come their
One very significant character in Nervous Conditions is Nyasha, Tambu’s cousin. Nyasha enters the story when she returns from England and has to re-adjust back to her life in Rhodesia. Tambu is initially described by Tambu as reserved and shy. This is because she does not speak the native language, Shona, and is very …show more content…
Tambu is fighting throughout the story for an education and that is why she is not sorry when her brother dies. When she does get this opportunity that she has so eagerly waited for, Tambu works very hard in school and becomes a stellar student. Babamukuru opinion of Table changes when he insists that her parents have a wedding. Tambu is unhappy with Babamukuru decision because she feels that it casts a shadow of sin over her childhood. She describes her wanted to speak out against the wedding in the following quotes: "Whenever I thought about it... I suffered a horrible crawling over my skin, my chest contracted to a breathless tension and even my bowels threatened to let me know their opinion." These words shed some light on how suppressed all of these women's’ opinions are. Like Maiguru, Tambu finally speaks out against something that she is passionate about, the wedding. This earns her a punishment, but she is pleased with herself for not obeying her authority.
One of the reasons that Nervous Conditions has so successfully captured the feelings and struggles of these female characters was because it was written by a women. It is so important to have female literature because these women have faced discrimination and their struggles must be told accurately. Dangarembga’s novel changed the way that I saw the world in the sense that no matter how oppressed females might be, there is always inner strength that allows women to stand up against any obstacles that might come their