TOWARDS RESISTANCE AND RECONSTRUCTION: A STUDY IN NERVOUS CONDITIONS BY TSITSI DANGAREMBGA
Dr. P. Mohana
Assistant Professor,
Department of English,
Sona College of Arts and Science,
Salem
Abstract:
African literature
is a rich and assorted body of work. One of the issues in Nervous Conditions
explores is gender. In this novel the author presents how men and women dwell
in society and the difficulties to cross those gender boundaries. Women are
expected to live according to certain rules. The novel has different
representations of women, there’s Maiguru, Tambu’s aunt and Babamukuru’s wife,
who has a Masters degree but still dotes on her husband, plays the devoted wife
and mother, is never allowed to express her opinion and is constantly sad
because of that; there’s Nyasha, Tambu’s cousin and Babamuru’s daughter, who
challenges gender stereotypes, and gets into a lot of trouble for doing that.
There are many mixed emotions in this work. This paper is related to some
extent with the gender issues that were being explored and especially the ones
about a woman’s place in society.
Keywords: Women, Men, Society, Gender, Boundaries
The history of Zimbabwean literature in English is relatively young and the novel in particular
is even more recent. It is after the British colonisation of Zimbabwe,
English studies and English claims as the medium of instruction in the
educational institutions from the school to the university. Thus, it took more
than three decades for the Zimbabweans to write in English. The white settlers
like Doris Lessing, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Alexander McCall Smith and Alexandra
Fuller are the contemporaries of native Zimbabwean novelists in English.
The concern for the native Zimbabweans were not left-over
for their creative writing. The two
major subjects of the male Zimbabwean were their mores and colonialism. The
female writers had one more matter namely their own double dilemma in the
context of new patriarchy and colonialism. The phrase ‘new patriarchy’ refers
to the male dominant society resulted from the colonial rule and colonialism.
The cultural or original Zimbabwean society was never patriarchal. There was
gender equality in their social life.
This paper explores the difficulties and hitches faced by women, their power of resistance and their journey to reconstruct
their identities in TsitsiDangarembga’s novel Nervous Conditions.
Tsitsi Dangarembga is one of the Zimbabwean women
novelists who has occupied an idiosyncratic place for her not only in the
quantity of Zimbabwean African novel but also in the world novel. Dangarembga
is a celebrated Zimbabwean woman novelist in English, a daughter of English
educated parents who dole out as headmaster and teacher in the school. She has
received medical education in London and was brought up in the English
background rather than in her own aboriginal background. Thus she was more
relaxing with English language than with her own shone language although she
tried to learn the latter. A prolific writer as well as filmographer her novel Nervous Conditions analysis with the
allusion to exposé the identity of women.
The novel depicts the progression of Tambudzai, the
daughter of Jeremaih and Ma’ Shingayi from one mindset to the other and from
that to the next in her long journey of life. The journey begins with her
misconception and ends with her illumination as a Zimbabwean young woman. The
scrutiny in the consequence Nervous
Conditions, reveals that all women are under some sort of nervous condition
mainly owing to the impact of coloniasation and Christianisation.
Metaphorically Nervous
Condition refers to the stipulation of the colonised or the blacks from the
western perception. The analysis of Tambudzai divulges that she is go- getting
and obsessed with receiving education in the Mission school in which her
brother was admitted by her uncle Babamukuru. Her aspiration for such education
was not given precedence either by her parents or by her uncle. Education was
considered unnecessary and unessential for a black woman whose providence is
predetermined to be a wife serving her husband and family, cooking food for
them, bearing and nursing children.
Maiguru is another significant woman character in the
novel. The inspection of her characterisation reveals that she is acquiescent
androcentric although she disobeys her husband once. She is portrayed as a
perfect wife serving and being faithful to her husband. She never fails in her
duties as a wife. Tambudzi’s mother is yet another woman to be examined. The
examination shows that she provides education to her son who cultivates maize
and sells them in the bus terminus to pay school fee for her son Nhamo. But she
does not take the same interest in the education of her daughter Tambudzai.
Lucia is also an important character who is analysed. The
analysis evinces that though she appears briefly in the novel, her identity is
very significant. She is a rebel of her own cultural patriarchy and polygamy.
She fights no sigh to court many men although she is viewed as a cheap woman.
She does not hesitate to remind Babamukuru of his mistake in manhandling
Tambudzai for her failure to follow his tutoring at the time of her parents’
remarriage in the Christian way. Thus, her identity may be inferred as a woman
on par with men.
The characterisation of Nyasha reveals that she is
identical with the author. She has stayed with her parents in London and
received the English school education and is influenced by the English manners.
She rebels against her father’s dictatorship and Puritan attitude continuously.
The identity or status of woman in the prehistoric time was based on the
classification and division of labour established by the indigenous people with
a consciousness and consensus in the interest of the whole community, region
and land. The system formulated by the insiders of the community. It empowered
the whole community of both men and women.
The indigenous society was non-stratified and
non-hierarchal in theory and practice. It was a community-based society in
which men and women had harmony although the work was distributed between them.
Thus, identity of the men and women were just sex and role based without any
discrimination. In Nervous Conditions,
Tambudzai tries to identify herself with the white/European girls by imitating
and following their life style and ideals in her school, college, university
and in the workplaces. Thus, she is one step ahead of the native women and is a
part of the whites and thus comes under the category or identity of a ‘new other’.
Tsitsi Dangarembga has attempted to capture the struggle
and predicament of the women of Zimbabwe against the black patriarchy and white
colonisation. The study of the novel with regard to the identity of women
reveals several factors. It reveals that the Zimbabwean and English cultures
deny equality to women in the vital aspects like education, income, generation
and decision making. Although the western system provides education to women,
it fails to treat women equivalent to men. In the name of culture, morality,
discipline, female members are subjugated in the subtle ways. Ma guru, Ma’
Shingavi, and Tambu, do exhibit protest against Babamukuru’s male domination
and chauvinism but submit and surrender themselves at the end. There is no
collective and ideological protest. Their protest is against the events or
incidents for the time being. Nyesha makes a strong protest against her
father’s oppressive behaviour. She speaks and acts back to her father’s
cruelty. Lucia is a fine example of women’s voice as well as women’s fight for
equality. She rejects marriage, ignores the society’s attitude towards her and
exercises her wish and freedom in sexuality which is the major weapon of
patriarchy. Although she is not formally evaluated, she represents as a
champion of women’s rights.
Works Cited
Dangarembga, Tsitsi. Nervous Conditions, Ayebia Clarke Publishing Ltd, 2004.
Klarer, Mario. An Introduction to Literary Studies, Routledge, 2013.
The Encyclopedia Americana.Vol.29, LCCP, 1829.
Maathai, Wangari. The Challenge for Africa. Penguin Random House, 2009.