Nervous Conditions: Chapter Responses (6 - 10)

Chapter Six:

In this chapter, numerous events occur but most importantly, Nyasha gets herself into a heated argument with her father. I think this part fully establishes a defined relationship between Babamukuru and Nyasha. It completely cleared up Nyasha's personality for me. At first, she was a mess. Polite at certain times whereas she'd be disrespectful at others. For example, she greeted Tambu enthusiastically, but failed to spend time with her. The dispute in this chapter really emphasized and highlighted her character.

"'Thanks, Tambu. You saved my life'" (121).

This quote seemed very confusing at first glance. However, after looking into it, I can assume that Tambu considered suicide. During the argument, one might say that Babamukuru threatened to kill her and Tambu saved her from that situation. But that statement clearly neglects the fact that Tambu didn't interfere with Nyasha or Babamukuru at the time, so there was no possible way she could've "saved" Nyasha...

Chapter Seven:

Many, many things happened in chapter seven. What I noticed the most was separation between women and men. This relates to not only labor, but to also privileges. Many of the duties a woman had were listed in pages 136, 137, and 138. In terms of privileges, men all stayed in a single room discussing conflicts whereas all of the women stayed in a different room.

"'You think I am dirt now, me, your mother'" (143).

Ma' Shingayi tells off Tambu, accusing her of looking down to her own mother. Ma' Shingayi's rant highlights a major theme of the story, education. She claims that Maiguru attained power alongside her education and has stolen Tambu away from her with her money "and her white ways" (143). So as we can clearly see, there are links connecting education, money, and power.

Chapter Eight:

In this chapter, I was surprised to see a change in character relationship. This change was between Tambu and Babamukuru. For the first time yet, Tambu is reprimanded for being disobedient, which is against what we've seen of her already. I'm curious to know how she feels about Babamukuru now. At first, she had praised him for his gifts and knowledge; but now, I have no idea if she thinks his anger was understandable or not.

In addition to the argument, Maiguru defends Tambu. This leads into another fight between Maiguru and Babamukuru, and resulted in Maiguru leaving the house. After this scene, my views on Babamukuru changed drastically. He has been in three arguments already, two involving violence. Chapter eight left me questionning Babamukuru as a father and educator.

Chapter Nine:

Two significant events happens in chapter nine; Tambu earns a scholarship to  a school far away and we learn about Nyasha as a character. There is a discussion back at Tambu's house involving the scholarship. Once she is accepted, Ma' Shingayi's condition worsens. Tambu's dedication to education compensates for the lack of dedication to her family -- knowing her mother's condition and future, she still continues forth along her path of education. Keep in mind, this has already happened once before, during her trip to the mission.

"I could hear her gagging and choking" (193).

Right after being forced to eat her dinner, Nyasha escapes to the bathroom where she throws up the food she had just eaten. Nyasha talks to Tambu, telling her she didn't know why she did it. This can very well lead to the conclusion that Nyasha has a condition (anorexia). It has been three times already she has excused herself from dinner prematurely.

Chapter Ten:

I enjoyed the final chapter of Nervous Conditions. At first glance, it seemed very out of place for me. To end the book with another sojourn of education seemed out of place and left me hanging. However, the quiz question today really helped me understand chapter ten's real purpose. It wrapped up multiple aspects of the book, either by recurring or building upon them. I found it very interesting that Dangarembga included these details so close together without disrupting the flow of the book (they are three completely different subjects).

"...but about my escape and Lucia's; about my mother's and Maiguru's entrapment; and about Nyasha's rebellion..." (1).

Let's evaluate this early quote at the end of the book. First, I think Lucia and Tambu's escape is their escape from a poorer, less educated life to a richer, educated life. They both eventually take academic classes and leave the homestead. In this chapter, we learn that Tambu is driven to Sacred Heart and Lucia passes her form one. Secondly, Ma' Shingayi and Maiguru's entrapment is about duties. Even as an educated woman, Maiguru still takes care of a family as a poor one would, like Ma' Shingayi. In chapter ten, she prepares lunch and shops for Tambu. Lastly, Nyasha continues rebelling by disobeying her father and  refusing to eat food, when her condition is then revealed to them all.