52 pages • 1 hour read
Tsitsi DangarembgaNervous Conditions
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1988A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary
Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses death by suicide, depictions of sexism, domestic violence, child abuse, and eating disorders.
Tambudzai, or Tambu, reflects on the death of her brother, Nhamo, and on the lives of four women in her family—her mother Ma’Shingayi, her aunt Lucia, her aunt Maiguru, and her cousin Nyasha—whose stories are inextricably linked to her.
In 1968, Nhamo is living with his uncle, Babamukuru or Mr. Sigauke, and attending the mission school where Babamukuru is headmaster. Nhamo has been sent to school with the hope that he will help raise his family from poverty. Since leaving his family, Nhamo has become resentful of his family’s life on the homestead, and he avoids returning. When he does return, he avoids working, claiming he must focus on his studies. Tambu is also enrolled in the school, but she is two years behind where she should be at her age. She does not understand why Nhamo dislikes walking from the bus stop, as she has fond memories along the route from before the British District Council Houses were built, which changed the layout and atmosphere of the town.
Tambu returns home and finds her younger sisters, Netsai and Rambanai, home alone. Nhamo has not arrived, and Tambu is relieved because she doubts he will return home this late because he would have to carry his own luggage. He always sends Netsai to fetch his luggage from the bus stop. Once Tambu had told Nhamo to get his own luggage, but when she went inside, Nhamo beat Netsai with a stick until she ran to get his items. Netsai and Rambanai bring water home, and Tambu prepares dinner. She does not kill a chicken, which she hates doing, because Nhamo has not returned.
Chapter 2 Summary
When Tambu is five, the missionaries give Babamukuru and his wife, Maiguru, scholarships to study in England; they accept and take their children, Chido and Nyasha. Money runs short, and Ma’Shingayi sells boiled eggs to earn enough to send Nhamo to school, but the family does not have enough to send Tambu. Her father, Jeremiah, and Ma’Shingayi both tell her not to worry because she does not need school to learn how to be a wife. Ma’Shingayi refers to womanhood as a burden, but Tambu is confused because Maiguru appears well-kempt and content.
Tambu, with permission from her parents, grows a small plot of maize, which she plans to sell to pay her school fees. She learned how to grow maize by working with her grandmother, who also taught her the family history: The family used to live on healthy land, but “wizards” forced them to move onto their current homestead, which is barren by comparison. Babamukuru had been sent to the missionary school, so he could rise in society and support the entire family. Tambu works hard but is discouraged by Ma’Shingayi, who wants to prevent Tambu from disappointment. Nhamo also discourages Tambu, saying that it does not matter that she wants to go to school, because she is a girl; thus, her wants hold no value.
When the maize is ready, Nhamo steals the ears, or mealies, and gives them away to other children. Tambu finds out and confronts and fights him at Sunday school. The teacher, Mr. Matimba, separates them, and Tambudzai explains why she attacked her brother. Sympathetic, Mr. Matimba offers to drive Tambu into town so she can sell her mealies. Jeremiah does not want Tambu to go, but Ma’Shingayi argues that Tambu needs to have the chance to do something for herself. Mr. Matimba drives Tambu into town, and he talks to the people who come to the mealie stand. A wealthy, older, white woman named Doris approaches them and first degrades Mr. Matimba. However, she feels empathetic toward Tambu when Mr. Matimba exaggeratedly explains that Tambu is selling mealies to earn her school fees. Doris gives Mr. Matimba 10 pounds, which far exceeds the amount needed for school fees, and they shut down the stand and leave. Mr. Matimba has the school hold Tambu’s money, which enrages Jeremiah. Jeremiah yells that Mr. Matimba stole his money and argues that because Tambu will marry, he will not benefit from Tambu’s education anyway.
Babamukuru’s family returns, and Nhamo and Jeremiah go to meet him at the airport, ordering Ma’Shingayi to cook and pack them cornbread and sweet potatoes for the trip. Babamukuru sends money so that they can afford a goat for his welcome feast.
Chapter 3 Summary
Tambu’s extended family celebrates Babamukuru’s return to the homestead. Tambu, who had been excited about Nyasha’s return, is disappointed to find Nyasha, who is wearing a mini dress, reserved. Tambu’s jealousy, her disapproval of Nyasha and Chido, and Nhamo’s exclusion of her ruin the celebration for Tambu. She goes to the kitchen and reflects on her feelings, searching for the cause, but she is worried by her thoughts and distracts herself with chores instead. Her insecurity stemming from Nhamo’s blatant exclusion of her is partly relieved by the praise she receives for her work in the kitchen.
Tambu is assigned to carry a washing dish to her family members—an intimidating task, as she must present the dish to each person according to their place in the family hierarchy. She makes multiple mistakes and must present the dish to Chido, Nhamo, and Nyasha, which she resents. She then joins the lower-ranking women and children in the kitchen while the rest of the family feasts together. The festivities move outside, and the family plays music and dances. Tambu encourages Nyasha to dance, but Maiguru interjects and explains that Nyasha does not understand Shona well anymore. Maiguru speaks to Nyasha, and the other women take notice and scold Maiguru for telling her children not to dance. She refutes the accusation and encourages Nyasha and Chido to dance, but they refuse, and Nyasha shuts down.
Babamukuru plans to leave the next day to return to his old post as headmaster and new post as academic director, so the family stays up through the night to discuss family matters. He declares that one child from each family must complete primary and secondary school and potentially go on to university-level schooling. Babamukuru accuses Jeremiah of being the main problem in the family and decides Nhamo will come to live with him to focus on school. When Nhamo discovers he is to move in with Babamukuru, he gloats to Tambu. She accuses him of arrogance and warns him to be grateful, and he retaliates by calling her jealous. Tambu is jealous, although she understands that Nhamo is going because he is older and more advanced and because Babamukuru enjoys charity. She stops talking to Nhamo. Nhamo leaves, and Tambu attempts to re-friend Nyasha, but her attempts fail because Nyasha is different. Nhamo, too, is different when he returns for his first visit since leaving. He is well-nourished and clean, and he pretends he is forgetting Shona.
Nhamo never arrives for his scheduled visit in 1968. Babamukuru and Maiguru drive to the homestead, and when Ma’Shingayi sees them, she screams for them to leave, knowing the news they have come to deliver. Nhamo fell ill and was admitted into a clinic and died before he could be transferred to the hospital. After allowing some time to pass, Babamukuru informs them that Tambu will take Nhamo’s place. Ma’Shingayi does not want Tambu to go, but Tambu is excited at her good fortune.
Chapters 1-3 Analysis
The first three chapters introduce the main characters and develop the context and background for the rest of the plot. Tambudzai is both a protagonist and the narrator, and she narrates the story from an unknown future time. Her references to her expanded wisdom and life experience suggest that she has reached middle age. Ma’Shingayi is characterized as a despondent victim of her circumstances, while Jeremiah is depicted as irresponsible. Nhamo—a product of his environment—is intelligent but hampered by his inflated ego. Maiguru and her children appear cold and distant, while Babamukuru revels in the admiration shown to him by the rest of the family. The novel is set in 1960s Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), which Britain has colonized. Before the British colonized the country, Tambu’s family lived on fertile soil, but colonizers forced them to move to their current location, which is much more difficult to farm. Although Tambu’s grandmother disliked the British, as demonstrated by her referring to them as “wizards,” she understood that to thrive, her family must adapt. As such, she sent her eldest child, Babamukuru, to school, effectively placing the fate of the family on his shoulders. The plan worked in his case, and he intends to continue the new tradition by sending at least one child from each branch of the family to school. By doing this, he not only earns further admiration from his family, but also reduces his own financial and familial burdens.
The narration in the first three chapters is nonsequential; the author begins with a radical statement: “I was not sorry when my brother died” (1). She switches and concentrates on developing the setting, thus introducing the theme of The Enduring Impacts of Colonization by describing the alterations in the town and in Tambu’s life since the installment of British District Council Houses. This theme is further developed by the family’s backstory, in which they were forced to leave fertile land when the British colonized the area. Of all the family members, Babamukuru has most fully assimilated into the new culture.
As a well-educated patriarch, Babamukuru experiences an intense form of forced responsibility. He contrasts starkly with his brother, Jeremiah, who is uneducated and indolent. Both characters serve to develop the theme of The Pressures of Patriarchal Gender Roles. While Babamukuru succeeds in his expected role, Jeremiah fails and relies on Babamukuru for his family’s survival. Nhamo’s behavior complements this theme, and Tambu interprets his attitude as being a result of patriarchy. She narrates, “Perhaps I am making it seem as though Nhamo simply decided to be obnoxious and turned out to be good at it […] when in reality he was doing no more than behave, perhaps extremely, in the expected manner” (12). The women also demonstrate the pressures of gender roles—Ma’Shingayi through her despondency and Tambu through her tribulations. Tambu is expected to obey and to allay her educational aspirations because, since she is expected to marry, she will not bring future fortune to Jeremiah.
The expectation that Tambu should give up her dreams of pursuing education enhances the theme of Sisterhood and the Burden of Womanhood, which is introduced by Ma’Shingayi, who explicitly states that “This business of womanhood is a heavy burden” (16). Tambu enters a coming-of-age stage when she starts to question who she is and what her life will be. When her mother first suggests that womanhood is a burden, Tambu silently disagrees and looks to Maiguru, who appears content and authentic, as a beacon of hope. However, after the Sigaukes return from England, she begins to better understand the unfairness built into the patriarchy. She narrates her experiences as, “These were complex, dangerous thoughts that I was stirring up, not the kind that you can ponder safely but the kind that become autonomous and malignant if you let them” (39). Tambu’s emerging skepticism is discomforting, so she suppresses her thoughts.
When it is decided that she will go to the mission school and live with Babamukuru, Tambu enters a transitional stage. The combination of this major life change and her shifting perspective introduce the theme Coming of Age During a Cultural Transition. Not only is she maturing and working to understand the world around her, but she is about to experience an entirely different culture. Nyasha, too, integrates into this theme, although she has yet to assume her status as a protagonist, which occurs later in the novel. She, too, is coming of age while transitioning between cultures—first, she adapted to English culture, and now, she must reassimilate to Rhodesian culture. Her reassimilation is complicated in that she must adapt to her family’s lifestyle as well as to the rustic lifestyle of the homestead, where she feels out of place.
