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ENG2603 Exam pack 2024(Colonial and Postcolonial African Literatures)
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ENG2603 Exam pack 2024(Colonial and Postcolonial African Literatures)
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ENG2603 EXAM PACK2024
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EMAIL:gabrielmusyoka940@gmail.com
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ENG2603 NERVOUS CONDITION NOTES
THE AIMS OF THE STUDY
This study explores the gender, race, class and cultural experiences of black African
women. It will analyze Nervous Conditions (1988) from a feminist point of view of
women’s subjugation. The main argument of this study is based on the notion that even
though gender oppression against women is widely discouraged and is in the process of
being eradicated, unequal power relations between the sexes still lingers. Women still
suffer daily infringement of their basic rights as human beings and live with the ever
present experience of sexual oppression.
The focal point of this exploration is an analysis of the role women play in the novel
and to expound on how patriarchal oppression fosters discriminatory treatment against
women. The established norms and decorum sanctioned by culture as a whole which
relegate women to subordinate positions are investigated. Tsitsi Dangarembga’s
Nervous Conditions (1988) is used as a point of focus critically to investigate the
oppressive experiences of African women, all of whom now live in post-colonial
The Zimbabwean writer Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions (1988) is a novel
that shares many of the preoccupations of African women’s autobiographical writing,
and is spoken throughout by a single narrator who may be defined as “a narrative
voice” or “speaker” of the text, one who supplies the “I said” tags and descriptions.
The narrator of Nervous Conditions is an internal participant of the story, and a
seemingly reliable one since the rendering of the story and its commentary affords the
reader the opportunity to accept it as an authoritative account of a non-fictional truth
(Rimmon- Kenan 1987:87).
The narrator is a `woman who has already experienced the occurrences described in the
text; the protagonist is a young woman trying to overcome hardships and develop
herself to the fullest. As a woman she’s undermined and deemed inferior. This
subordination is further influenced by cultural ideologies that accord men a higher
status than women. The text explores how a Shona woman being oppressed by cultural
norms, patriarchy and race had minimal chances for social advancement.
AFRICAN SOCIETIES.
In the African culture, women are often trapped in traditional roles, as men do not take
equal responsibility for family care and will not do what they see as women's work. It is
within the novel that we can see how Tambus mother, Ma'Shingayi is trapped in the
traditional role of caring for the household as well as the children,
"The business of womanhood is a heavy burden." - Ma'Shingayi page 16,
this is when she explains to her daughter, Tambu, that there are sacrifices to be made, and
you as the woman, must be the one to make them. It is also within this quote that we can
see that Ma'Shingayi has accepted her fate as a servant to the men in her life.
In many cases, women do not have control or equal control over the management and
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forgotten their home, the do's and don'ts, the smell, the look, the language, and essentially
who they were raised to be, and that frightened them. Nyasha confides in Tambu that their
parent's shouldn't have taken them, shouldn't have exposed them to the Western culture,
as she believes that because of their changed home and lives, it changed them as
individuals.
Nyasha imitates everything European and despises her traditional culture and race while
failing to understand her own true needs. We see her battle between the two cultures as
she continually disrespects and challenges her father. Her battle between the two cultures
causes her to have a "nervous condition" i.e. breakdown,
"They're taken us away." -Nyasha page 200 (taken what away? Their culture/self
concept? Who are they?) "I'm not one of them but I'm not one of you" - Nyasha page
200, not European or traditional?
While the children were not married, I thought it of importance to mention then in relation
to the African traditional and Westernised lifestyles.
The other married woman, Ma'Shingayi, is portrayed in the beginning of the novel as a
hardworking figure, the ideal image of a traditional woman. However, after her son's death,
she grows spiteful, angry and jealous and she sees how her hard life has made her
accepting of the limitations of which life has saddled her,
"This business of womanhood is a heavy burden." - MaShingayi page 16.
Here she explains to Tambu, that when there are sacrifices to be made, you as the woman
are to make them. Between the two main married women, Maiguru and Ma'Shingayi,
Ma'Shingayi has resentment towards Maiguru because of her education and wealth, and
Ma'Shingayi's lack thereof,
"I am only saying what I think, just like she did. She did tell us didn't she, what she
thinks, and did anyone say anything! No, why not? Because Maiguru is educated.
That's why you all kept quiet. Because she's rich and comes here and flashes her
money around, so you listen to her as though you want to eat the words that come
out of her mouth. But me, I'm not educated am I? I'm just poor and ignorant, so you
want me to keep quiet, you say I mustn't talk. Ehe! I am poor and ignorant, that's me,
but I am a mouth and it will keep on talking, it won't keep quiet." - Ma'Shingayi page
142.
It is also through these spoken words of hers, we can see that she recognises her own
poverty and lack of education as the reasons she has no voice. In this, we can see that
there is a hierarchy within the patriarchy of the Shona society, that women who are more
educated, such as Maiguru get more respect, while poor uneducated housewives such as
Ma'Shingayi are at the bottom of the hierarchy chain.
In conclusion, we can determine that although both women have different cultures, or have
incorporated both into their homes, Ma'Shingayi keeping to the traditional culture, while
Maiguri battles to incorporate both into her home life. Although both women are
submissive and respectful to their husbands, they do show some agency throughout the
novel, where Maiguru speaks up to Babamukuru and leaves, and Ma'Shingayi when she
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speaks out to the women regarding the difference between her and Maiguru and how
Maiguru is respected more due to her wealth and education. However they do not display
true agency, whereby they determine their own words, actions, thoughts and lives.
NYASHA’S IDENTITY CRISIS
Colonisation did not only affect the politics and the land of the colonised, but also the
mindset. It was not unusual for the colonised to aspire to be like the white colonists, in
all respects. Adopting western values may alienate African people from their traditional
communities. Those that endeavour to adopt the culture of the colonists may end up
being rejected by both cultures. Nyasha in the novel is a portrait of the colonised
African mind. Throughout the novel Nyasha is portrayed as a misfit, a condition that
becomes very obvious towards the end of the novel. When Nyasha’s family returned
from England, they were given a majestic reception by their relatives. Nyasha arrived
wearing a mini skirt, of which she was obviously conscious, as she kept pulling it
down. This is the first indication of Nyasha’s inaptness. In other words, she imitates
everything European and fails to understand her ‘true’ needs, the need to be ‘decently’
attired according to traditional Shona custom. The narrator’s disapproval of Nyasha is
made evident when she states that:
’I would not give my approval. I turned away’ (1988:37).
Tambu’s disappointment with Nyasha revealed itself several times during the evenings
of the festivities. Before Nyasha’s family departure to England they used to converse in
Shona and play together without any inhibitions. A few years on Tambu could not
relate to Nyasha neither in Shona nor in tribal dance. Tambu invited Nyasha to dance, a
gesture which was in keeping with the jovial mode that was prevailing that evening.
Nyasha’s reaction was to shut off the whole world.
‘She clicked her tongue scornfully, it was a very abrupt way the way she did it’
(1988: 43).
It was as though she despised her traditional culture and kin, as she was non-
communicative. In fact Tambu’s parents thought Nyasha was a miserable child. She had
changed from being a bold, ebullient and Shona speaking, to a girl that was duller and
dimmer and wearing a very complicated expression. Relations within the community are
contingent on reciprocity, in that each action is judged according to the customary norms.
Fanon observed that (1986: 109 the moment of ‘being for others’ requires a certain
element of conformity and placations. This ‘being for others’ is noticeably absent in
Nyasha’s instance, as observed by Tambu. Nyasha had taken to smoking – a habit that
was unbecoming of a young girl growing up in a Christian mission. Such an act was a
culmination of many other episodes that were improper for a Shona maiden. Tambu’s
shock at Nyasha’s habit is expressed as:
‘You smoke cigarettes; I was aghast. Babamukuru was right! His daughter was
beyond
redemption.’ (1988: 84).
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