19th Annual Student Research Conference
Language & Literature
Solitary Strength: Maiguru as a Powerful Figure in Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions
Shannon A. Damery
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor
The effects of colonialism leave the characters in Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions with the daunting task of living in two worlds: the colonial world and the world of their traditional Rhodesian culture. The female characters rebel against their assumed roles even as they stumble across this cultural divide, but only Maiguru finds some balance. Researchers and their analyses often overlook the importance of Maiguru and she is painted as too passive to help her daughter. In this paper I will argue that Maiguru is unique among the women in that she is the most solitary also most able to verbalize her dissent. Maiguru desires to live in her traditional roles of mother and wife even as she longs for the respect that her education and contributions to the family afford her. Through her rather undramatic rebellion, she saves herself from much of the torment that her female relatives suffer.
Keywords:
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 22-1
Location: VH 1320
Time: 9:45