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school, but her family is very poor and does not have enough money to pay her school fees. Tambu’s uncle, Babamukuru, and his family came to visit the homestead. Because of
Babamakuru’s success, he is worshiped whenever he comes to visit. During the visit, Babamukuru suggests that Tambu should take Nhamo's place and attend the missionary school by his house. Upon arriving, she soon becomes close to her cousin Nyasha and completely focuses on her studies. During term break, everyone returns to visit the family back in the homestead. Tambu does not want to go back as she is much more comfortable living with Babamukuru.
268:. Tambu always calls him "Babamukuru", which means "father's older brother"; Tambu's father's generation call him "Mukoma", which means "oldest brother". A well-educated man, he is the dean of the missionary school. As head of the family, he feels responsible for the rest of his extended family; he also regards them as insufficiently hard-working, which makes him rather authoritarian towards them. By contrast, he shows subservience to the people who helped him get his education.
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emphasizes that " as parallel themes to patriarchal dominance because both are doubtless interrelated forms of dominance over a subordinate social group. Dangarembga has, indeed, demonstrated a keen knowledge of the problems of her
Rhodesian society in particular, and Africa in general. Her vision as
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Colonialism is another major theme in the novel — it is another driving force behind many of the plot points, including the fixation on (Western) education and Nyasha's internal struggles with race and colonialism. Additionally, Tambu's trajectory starting with her early education and ending with her
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Towards the end of the term, there is an exam administered at Tambu’s school. This exam is to test the students and offer them an opportunity to study at a well known missionary school. Tambu excels on the exam and is offered a scholarship to attend this well known school. In the new school Tambu is
253:
Nyasha: Tambu's first cousin, Babamukuru and
Maiguru's daughter. Her desire to be independent gets her into a lot of trouble, including numerous arguments with her father. Her time in England showed her a different life, and she is having trouble assimilating back into Rhodesian society, suffering
233:
Tambu is the main character of the novel. The novel opens with the news that Tambu’s older brother, Nhamo, had just died. Tambu is not upset about this because Nhamo studied at a missionary school away from home with his uncle
Babamukuru and his family. The only thing Tambu desires is to attend
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Nhamo: Tambu's brother. As the eldest son in the family, Nhamo is chosen to go to the mission school. After being at the school, he feels he is superior to the rest of his family, and takes no part in their daily tasks. Eventually, he starts going home from the mission less and less until his
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Tambu: Jeremiah and Ma'Shingayi's daughter. Tambu is the novel's main character and narrator of the story. Her desire for an education and to improve herself seem strong enough to overcome just about anything. She is very hard on herself, and always strives to do her best and make the correct
34:
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Lucia: Maa'Shingayi's sister. Lucia stays relatively unknown during the course of the novel. She is believed to have had many affairs with wealthy men. She is a very independent woman, and is determined to educate herself and not fall into the normal roles of women in her
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Maiguru: Nyasha's mother. Maiguru is a well-educated woman who is forced to be reliant on her husband, Babamukuru. She is frustrated because while she has the potential to provide for herself, she is prevented from doing so by patriarchial
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introduced to many cultural changes; however, she remains resistant to the changes. As always she is fully focused on her studies. Consequently, she remains cautious of her daily situations and nervous of the conditions that surround her.
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Babamukuru: Tambu's uncle, and the head of her family. He is married to
Maiguru and has a daughter, Nyasha, and a son, Chido. His actual name is mentioned in the novel only as Mr Sigauke; he is otherwise referred to by clan names in the
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Jeremiah: Babamukuru's brother and Tambu's father. Jeremiah received very little education and is barely able to provide for his family. He acts grateful to
Babamukuru for the education he provided his children
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Gender is one major theme expressed in the novel. The
Rhodesian female characters face oppression on the basis of gender, and this is a driving force behind many of the story arcs in the novel.
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Ma'Shingayi: Tambu's mother. After Nhamo's death, when Tambu goes to the mission, she becomes very resentful of
Babamukuru for taking another one of her children to his school.
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in 1989, and has since been translated into a number of languages. It has been praised both within and outside of Africa as a prominent contribution and advocate of
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acceptance at the nun's school reveals the colonial nature of that scholarship, since the
African students were not treated the same as the white Western students.
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illustrates the dynamic themes of race, colonialism, and gender during the colonial period of present-day
Zimbabwe. The title is taken from the introduction by
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Chido: Babamukuru and Maiguru's son. Because Chido is Babamukuru's son, he received a good education, but succumbed to the customs of the white colonists.
344:, claiming Dangarembga’s work to be, "a thought-provoking novel that packs a huge number of complicated ideas into a simple and engaging story."
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has mostly received positive reviews, making it a prominent African and Zimbabwean literary work. The Africa Book Club recommends
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a writer stresses that awareness and courage are the blueprint to exploding its contradictions." Overall,
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as one of the top 100 books that have shaped the world. The novel was the 66th book on the list.
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is recognized as a major literary contribution to African feminism and postcolonial literature.
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and post-colonialism. The novel has been described as an "absorbing page-turner" by
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460:"Tsitsi Dangarembga thrilled as 'Nervous Conditions' makes it into Top 100 books"
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The semi-autobiographical novel focuses on the story of a
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19:This article is about the novel. For the band, see
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201:(2006) as the second novel in the series, and
486:"Nervous Conditions (by Tsitsi Dangarembga)"
442:Colonial and Postcolonial Literary Dialogues
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21:Black Country, New Road § History
488:, Africa Book Club, 3 September 2011.
195:is the first book of a trilogy, with
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366:and "a unique and valuable book" by
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168:is a novel by Zimbabwean author
16:1988 novel by Tsitsi Dangarembga
543:Novels about race and ethnicity
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444:, Western Michigan University.
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563:Books by Tsitsi Dangarembga
350:Commonwealth Writers' Prize
178:Commonwealth Writers' Prize
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511:. Retrieved 7 August 2008.
417:"Africa's women speak out"
180:(Africa section) in 1989.
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222:The Wretched of the Earth
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538:Novels about colonialism
187:family in post-colonial
505:The Voice of the Turtle
558:1988 Zimbabwean novels
533:Novels set in Rhodesia
359:The Bloomsbury Review
258:, an eating disorder.
207:(2020) as the third.
176:won Best Book of the
144:PR9390.9.D36 N47 1988
501:"Nervous Conditions"
438:"Nervous Conditions"
553:Postcolonial novels
204:This Mournable Body
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27:Nervous Conditions
394:Nervous Conditions
383:Nervous Conditions
378:Nervous Conditions
346:Nervous Conditions
342:Nervous Conditions
338:Nervous Conditions
209:Nervous Conditions
193:Nervous Conditions
191:during the 1960s.
174:Nervous Conditions
170:Tsitsi Dangarembga
165:Nervous Conditions
48:Tsitsi Dangarembga
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528:Zimbabwean novels
388:In May 2018, the
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548:1988 novels
372:. Finally,
323:Colonialism
522:Categories
497:Patel, Raj
400:References
248:decisions.
242:Characters
333:Reception
72:Publisher
369:Booklist
291:society.
225:(1961).
189:Rhodesia
131:21118465
97:Zimbabwe
78:(London)
54:Language
470:27 July
423:27 July
274:forces.
256:bulimia
57:English
392:named
313:Gender
302:death.
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44:Author
285:with.
254:from
185:Shona
103:Pages
62:Genre
509:1999
472:2018
425:2018
125:OCLC
112:ISBN
88:1988
390:BBC
219:'s
215:to
106:204
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449:^
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