It is often said that 'we are ourselves because of others.' Consider how this might be true of the characters in Tsitsi Dangarembga's NERVOUS CONDITIONS.

It is often said that 'we are ourselves because of others. Consider how this might be true of the characters in NERVOUS CONDITIONS. The main protagonist in Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga is Tambudzai or Tambu. The novel Nervous Conditions is set in colonial Rhodesia in the late 1960s. Nervous Conditions tracks a journey for Tambu which takes her from her rural family to a private school. In that journey she interacts with many different …showed first 75 words of 2056 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2056 total…for the effect of her female relatives. Maiguru is educated to the same level as Babamukuru, but is to all intents and purposes now just a genteel version of Tambu's mother. Nyasha and her attitudes and ultimately her illness are significant. Tambu assimilates all these influences and ultimately begins to form her own identity. "Quietly, unobtrusively and extremely fitfully, something in my mind began to assert itself, to question things and refuse to be brainwashed."