Nervous Conditions
Tsitsi Dangarembga’s novel, Nervous Conditions, was perhaps the most captivating, poignant novel that I have ever read. Her brilliant style of writing was perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of the novel; not to detract from the content of the novel. Dangaremba writes as if she is telling a story to an old friend, constantly reiterating important points of her story as if to say: Is this making sense? Not only does she use reiteration throughout the novel, she inserts opinions and realizations from the adult narrator that were not evident to the character during the moment in time. There are several instances where we see this. In the opening lines of the novel, the narrator, Tambudzai, says to the reader: “I was not sorry when my brother died. Nor am I apologizing for my callousness, as you may define it, my lack of feeling.” Then later in this chapter she is relating the story of selling her maize in the city and she tells us that “I would have been frightened of being alone if I had thought about it.” The way she switches from the view point of a young girl to one of an enlightened adult kept me engrossed in the novel, wondering what insights the narrator had on specific instances. Not only does Dangarembga ke
There are so many issues that are present in this novel but the one that I found most problematic was Tambudzai’s lack of confidence as a youngster, though I think we see that she evolved into a secure woman as she looks back on her life. I thought her a such a strong, rebellious, determined young woman, however, we are often given insight into her mind where she calls herself “inferior”, “stupid”, or “humiliated”. An example of how she sees herself as being the cause of her insecurities and how the adult narrator has evolved is on page 89 when Tambudzai says: “I began to feel inferior again. I was a bit masochistic at that age, wallowing in my imagined inadequacy until I was in real danger of feeling sorry for myself.” Though we are not given the details of the maturity of Tambudzai’s security, I think we can safely deduce from her narrative inserts that she does come to terms with her insecurities and addresses them. In direct opposition to Achebe’s depiction of women in African socities, I found Dangaremba’s novel to be a celebration of women. This novel is addresses the struggles of African women, the daily routines of African women, dispels the stereotypes of African women, and gives us the very personal account of several women who overcome or succumb to their situation. Dangaremb
Some topics in this essay:
Nervous Conditions,
Maiguru Babamukuru,
Degree Maiguru,
african women,
Tsitsi Dangarembga’s,
adult narrator,
babamukuru regarded,
reader “i,
mental image,
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Approximate Word count = 897
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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