The Feminine Individual

“The female subject is a site of differences; differences that are not only sexual or only racial, economic or (sub)cultural, but all of these together and often enough at odds with one another…. These differences cannot again be collapsed into a fixed identity, the sameness of all women as Woman, or a representation of Feminism as a coherent and available image” --Teresa de Lauretis

Individuality in Female Characters

Author Binyavanga Wainaina writes a satirical essay titled “How to Write About Africa”.  In his essay, Wainaina suggests how to write about women, imploring they “must look utterly helpless.  She can have no past, no history....Moans are good.  She must never say anything about herself… except to speak of her…suffering” (Wainaina, 93).  This description, with the rest of the essay, portrays the limited opinions and perspectives of women in African writing.  This essay demonstrates the singularity of many African female characters that are void of personality.  In tremendous contrast, Tsitsi Dangarembga, in her novel Nervous Conditions, eliminates the stereotypical “Woman” from her novel by portraying individual and complex female characters, challenging the clichéd “fixed identity” of African women.

The protagonist of the novel, Tambu, challenges the stock woman character in her desire for education and to break the mold and limitations placed on her sex by her culture.  The character of Tambu as the narrator provides an interesting spin on her identity in the novel also. Tambu narrates the story as an adult, telling the story from a retrospective mentality. She recounts her life as a young woman in her teens and her relationships with her family (specifically her brother) and her culture. Tambu tremendously desires to attend school, against the financial capabilities of her family. However, she is not stopped by these limitations and decides she will earn her own way to school, growing and selling vegetables from her garden. Tambu’s refusal to accept the limitations set upon her by her culture powerfully portrays Dangarembga’s ability to create complex identities in female characters.

Similarly, Tambu’s sister, Lucia, presents great friction against the typical mold for women through her sexual endeavors. Women (arguably in all cultures) are stereotypically expected to remain innocent (chaste) until marriage. Lucia, however, is known to have been sexually involved with several men and is unabashed by these actions.

Tambu is only allowed entrance to school upon the death of her brother. She is so obsessed with education that a part of her does not mourn the principles by which she is finally able to attend, though she opens the novel stating “I was not sorry when my brother died” (Dangarembga, 1). The subtle cultural resistance that she is up against, however, is revealed in her discussion with her uncle upon entrance to school. She states, “Lastly, he explained, at the mission I would not only go to school but learn ways and habits that would make my parents proud of me.  I was an intelligent girl but I had also to develop into a good woman, he said, stressing both qualities equally and not seeing any contradiction in this” (Dangarembga, 88).

Maiguru, Tambu’s aunt, may be the most subtly powerful character in the novel. Maiguru and her husband, Babamukuru have spent much of their adult life in England, focusing on their education. Immediately, Maiguru is set apart from the typical role of women in her education.  Her role is also a tool of foreshadowing the experience Tambu shares as she moves to her aunt and uncle’s. Tambu remembers,

When I stepped into Babamukuru’s car I was a peasant…. This was the person I was leaving behind…. At Babamukuru’s I would have the leisure, be encouraged to consider questions that had to do with survival of the spirit, the creation of consciousness, rather than mere sustenance of the body. (Dangarembga, 58-59)

This passage, however, creates tremendous irony in the actual experience of Maiguru. Maiguru experiences intense under-appreciation, especially from her husband. Her character and life is extraordinarily complex. She is a highly educated woman who desires an equal partnership with her husband. However, this is not her experience. Upon returning to their homeland, Maiguru is immediately expected to provide for her husband and family as nothing more than a servant.

            Another crucial character to evaluate is the character of Nyasha. Nyasha is Maiguru’s daughter and Tambu’s cousin. She is the epitome of the symbolism of colonization, for she is the ultimate product of two worlds: Western and indigenous, Europe (England) and Africa. Her initial relationship with Tambu (when Tambu moves in with their family) also conveys the dissonance with the native culture. Tambu, on the first night in their home, struggles with communication. An example lies in the greeting of Babamukuru at the dinner table. It states, “ ‘Good evening, Baba,’ Maiguru greeted him in Shona. ‘Good evening, Daddy,’ Nyasha said in English. ‘Good evening, Babamukuru,’ I said, mixing the two languages because I was not sure which was more appropriate’” (Dangarembga, 80). This exchange portrays the language struggle amidst the family. Maiguru, highly educated and skilled in both European culture and her native culture is prepared on their return to Rhodesia to switch to Shona. Nyasha, on the other hand, is skilled primarily in English while Tambu is stuck, concerned to mimic Maiguru or Nyasha. This conversation foreshadows the relationship the girls will have to the present culture, one confident, one confused, though ironically switched.

These characters, Tambu, Lucia, Maiguru and Nyasha powerfully portray the individuality of people and the falsity of stereotyping women into one role. Tambu’s desire to separate herself from traditional roles and her self-reliance in affording and presencing of her own education demonstrate the ability of women to overcome social limitations. Lucia’s sexuality confronts the typical cliché of women as “innocent”, especially in her confidence and assurance in her actions. Maiguru struggles with personal expectations and the expectations placed upon her by her family and culture, a stark contrast from her life in England. Finally, Nyasha represents the ultimate Diaspora. She is lost as to an idea of “home” and does not know where her social expectations exist. None of these women contain a “fixed identity” nor a consistency in issues or sameness.

Works Cited:

Dangarembga, Tsitsi. Nervous Conditions. Seattle: Seal, 1989. Print.

Wainaina, Binyavanga. "How to Write About Africa." Granta 92: A View From Africa. Winter

2005: 91-95. Print.