Theme of Gender Discrimination in Dangarembgas Nervous Condition - Essay Example

Essay on Tambu’s story Introduction Over the years, women have progressively gained equal rights as men. In the days gone, gender discrimination was common. One of the ways of enlightening the society on the fate of the gullible in the society is through literary works. This is what is portrayed in Dangarembga’s story titled Nervous Conditions. On a broader perspective, the story gives an introspection into the lives of women in a typical African setting in the mid 19th century. In this context, freedom comes out as a relative concept. Characters in Tambu’s story face different challenges. The relativity of freedom depends on the nature of bondages that people face in life. Society or even a culture can present diverse challenges which might entrap gullible members of the community. Obtaining freedom therefore requires an effective evaluation of one’s position and the nature of the relative entrapment. The following discourse highlights the transformations in Tambu’s life which also reflects the imminent change that the society undergoes at the time. The analysis on the Nervous conditions espouses the relativity of the entrapments of the characters in the narration and their quest for freedom. The narration commences with Tambu giving a refelction on her life. The narrator comes out strongly to assert the theme of liberation from the onset of the story. In a way, it discloses the social entrapements that might have been the captivity that the narrator was in. this is shown when she says, “ For though the event of my brother’s passing and the events of my story cannot be separated, my story is not all about death, but about my escape” (1). This shows the urge of the narrator, Tambu, to steer of the past and chart a destiny which would be new. In part, this shows the extent to which the story relates to Tambu’s personal life. She accepts her brother’s demise and has the urge to move on. Besides, her willingness to move on shows her desire to break from the social bondage that characterized the society in terms of dealing with women. The early Zimbabwean society is highly segregated. The country has a substantial number of white settlers who are, however, leaving the country. This implies that there are opportunities opening up for the native Africans. However, the natives lack formal trainings on most fields. This presents the first aspect of social entrapment in the story; the people are bound in perpetual poverty due to their illiteracy. Tambu, the lead character, is born in such a family, both her parents are not educated and she cannot afford a decent lifestyle. They live in poverty. For instance, they often lack most of the basic human needs. However, their situation is not unique since most of the people seem to live in poverty. The level of poverty was rife to a extent that hygiene wa not well observed by man. Tambu says, while describing the people in the bus, “… the women smelt of unhealthy reproductive odours, the children were inclined to relieve their upset bowels on the floor, and the men gave off strong aromas of productive labor” (1). The poor state of their family compels her to persue education for a better lifestyle than her parents’. Gender discrimination is quite evident in the narration. This is what makes the women in the story strive to break away from. The discrimination is akin to a social entrapment on the women. Just as in any other early African society, women were considered inferior by men. Tambu is an intelligent and a highly talented girl. When an opportunity presents itself, her family favors their male child and only thinks about Tambu after his death. This bondage is oppressive and applies to all the women in the story. Nyash is the daughter of Babamukuru, an established businessperson in the village. This implies that he has adequate wealth to send his children to good schools and therefore accord them effective lifestyle. Despite the flamboyant lifestyle that he develops for his family, the daughter still feels oppressed and therefore seeks to flee from the family and gain her relative freedom elsewhere. Through the female characters, the author portrays a unique type of bondage for the women and the girl child in the early Zimbabwean society. The society discriminates against women in a number of ways such as in the pursuit of education. Boys receive the first priority and have the consideration of the families in cases where resources are scarce. This denies the women such opportunities thereby resulting in a biased society which continues to trample on the rights of women. Without both information and education, the women live miserable lives without adequate empowerment to uplift them from their predicaments. Tambu, for example, yearns a formal education but she is sidelined. For instance, while Nhamo was enrolled in school, Tambu was at home assisting in harvesting as she states, “ Nhamo refused to come home, saying it was necessary to read his books ..we used to itch viciously at the end of each ay during the maize harvest” (6). While the boy went to school, the sisters assisted in menial jobs. This shows the extent that gender discrimination was present in the society. Tambu’s situation is common in the society. The author uses her and other female characters to represent the plight of other women in the society who possibly face similar challenges. The author develops the two lead characters, Tambu and Nyasha deliberately portraying Tambu as a daughter to a poor family and therefore depicts the challenges of million other women from poor families. Nyasha was from a wealthy family. She too depicts the challenges that the few wealthy African families faced. Later in the story, Tambu receives an opportunity to attend a school. She travels to the city to live with her wealthy uncle, Babamukuru, who is the father to Nyasha. In the city, the author depicts the challenges that result from culture shock. She presents another entrapment for the young Tambu who thereafter struggles to reverse her situation by freeing herself from the bondage. During the time, millions of Africans relocated to urban centers in a bid to find formal employment. They faced several challenges resulting from the clash in their cultures and beliefs. After identifying their bondages, the female characters begin to work hard towards freeing themselves from their social, economic, and mental entrapments. The disparities in the society are quite evident. For instance, it is reported that “ Nhamo was forced once a year to return to his squalid homestead, where he washed in cold water in an enamel basin or a flowing river, not in a bathtub with taps gushing hot water and cold; where he ate sadza regularly with his fingers and meat hardly at all ” (6). The divide between affluence and poverty as well as modernity and tradition is evident from such sentiments. Tambu witnesses the extent to which poverty entraps a family. She is born and bred in a poor family. They go without food on a number of occasions and the father is helpless and cannot afford to pay her school fees. When an opportunity presents itself through the death of her brother, she takes it. The brother was preferred because of his gender and, therefore, received a formal education at her expense. This is seen when Tambu says, “ It had been my uncle’s idea that Nhamo should go to school at the mission” (4). However, when he later dies she moans because of the love they shared. Losing a brother was painful enough since they had grown together. She also understood that the death of the brother would imply the end of his family’s attempt at formal education. The death demoralized the entire family as the parents had placed their hopes on the young man. It is with this understanding that makes her take the opportunity. She promises herself to work hard in her studies, earn the best grades, and live a fulfilling life. Her days at school presented a number of challenges but she becomes determined to complete the studies successfully. Being a female and from a poor family, the social structure does not favor her. She cannot freely interact with the rest of the students who are mostly male. She becomes close with her cousin, Nyasha. It is through her that she earns her preliminary freedom. The freedom is relative since they still face the previous challenges though under different contexts. With Nyasha, Tambu easily confides in her and they share a number of secrets which give them relative satisfaction. Unfortunately, the two friends are different and possess varying interests. While Tambu is interested in studies and struggles to complete them successfully, Nyasha detests her family since it oppresses her. Her father is less considerate and is an outright male chauvinist. She therefore lives in a constant desire to break away and earn her freedom elsewhere. Despite their divergent interests, they both support one another. Tambu desires to become successful and the only means she understands is through education. She excels in most of the exams beating most of her classmates most of whom are male. She wants to proceed her studies to the university but understands the evident lack of finances to sponsor such a study. When an opportunity presents itself in the form of a scholarship, she wins it by working extra hard and becoming the first in the class. However, her success presents yet another challenge. They are possibly parting ways with her trusted friend, Nyasha. This adds problems for the poor woman who engages in quarrels and fight with her family every so often. Tambu fails to understand how people can live in such a family. According to her, the relationship between fathers and their daughters is always secured and one of mutual respect. When Nyash fights with her father openly, she legitimately becomes scared. To break away from the oppressive family after her friend’s departure, Nyasha decides to travel to England where she seeks to continue her education. The English society is. Coping in the new society is difficult given the unique lifestyles and the evident culture shock. She survives and eventually comes back home later. She earns her freedom by expanding her understanding of the world. The knowledge she obtains from England improves her understanding of the English society, which had coincidentally colonized her country. She returns to Zimbabwe a mature, knowledgeable, and experienced woman capable of leading an independent lifestyle. Education earns her the right to a number of unconventional practices in the African society such as independent lifestyle for a woman. Her freedom is relative but her life at the end of her academic endeavors is different from how she had envisioned it without education. Among the most fundamental freedoms she earns is from poverty. The greatest freedom she earns is the psychological freedom. She pursues her dream and therefore frees herself from the constant reminder of the desire to learn. In reference to the story, she says is was, “about my escape and Lucia’s; about my mother’s and Maiguru’s entrapment ” (1). Work cited Dangarembga, Tsitsi: Nervous Conditions. London: Women’s press, 1988. Print. Read More