Summary of Sources
Audrey Vanthul
Summary of Article written about Nervous Conditions
This summary of the novel Nervous Conditions written by Tsitsi Dangarembga
focuses mainly on the plight of the female characters of the book. While it does
acknowledge the patriarchy alive in Zimbabwe at this particular time, it also seems to
want the women in the novel to stand up and speak for themselves more clearly. The article
says "The power of the grandmother to remember is a crucial reference point for
Tambudzayi to tap from, in her journey towards creating a new sense of the self she
announces at the end of the novel." The writer of this article, Maurice Taonezvi
Vambe notes that this novel has the potential for a nationalist narrative, and seems
disappointed that the promise is not fulfilled. This article also mentions the traditional
image of women as mothers and the images that invokes.
Summary of a Biography Tsitsi Dangarembga was born in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. She spent
her early childhood in Britain. She began her education in Britain, but returned to
Rhodesia. She later returned to Britain to go to school at Cambridge University, after
becoming disillusioned she returned once again to Rhodesia. Tsitsi still continued her
education. She began a course in psychology, wrote many plays that were put into
production at the university she attended, and became an active member of a theater group.
Among other things, she pursued prose writing, and started studying film direction. Among
her credits she has a documentary done for German television and a film titled
"Everyone's Child".
Questions: I. Do you think that Tsitsi Dangarembga's background in psychology and early
childhood in Britain helped to influence the book Nervous Conditions that she wrote?
2. Do you think that this book should have more overtly political connotations given
the country and era that it was set in?
Beth Theodorson
This is a summary of the web site- http://cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/dangarembga.htm This site gives a description of
all characters in the novel but it mainly focuses on theme. There are three major elements
to this novel- racism, sexism, and oppression in their society. It also focuses on
cultural identity which has a lot to do with community. It shows how a culture can be
alienated while trying to "fit in" with another culture. This site also leads to
sites that are created by students on their views of the novel. It talks about how women
express rebellion through the body. This web site also has several interviews with the
author. These interviews tell about the life that Dangarembga has lived and why she has
chose to write about the situations in Nervous Conditions.
Second summary taken from: http://www.mcdougallittell.com/lit/litcon/nervous/guide.htm
This article talks about the coming of age of women. The characters in this novel have to
find their independence and to do so these women must overcome the autocratic authority
exercised by the men in her family and the racism shown towards some of the main
characters. This article ties together all of the novels we have read this quarter. For
all novels there is an overall theme- PERSONAL FREEDOM IN AN OPPRESSIVE CULTURE. Wow, I
think I just came up with an idea for my research project. I can't tell you any more
because I am going to save it for my research essay, so it's a surprise.
Links to Sites:
http://www.emory.edu/ENGLISH/Bahri/Dangar.html Biography. Sources include: Creamer,
Heiti (1994) "An Apple for the Teacher? : Femininity, Coloniality and Food in Nervous
Conditions", in Anna Rutherford, ed. Into the Nineties. Dangaroo Press : New South
Wales, Australia, 344-360.
Dangarembga, Tsitsi (1989) Nervous Conditions, Seattle, Washington : Seal Press.
http://www.landow.stg.brown.edu/post/poldiscourse/yang/5.html Sources include: Thomas,
Sue. "Killing the Hysteric in the Colonized's House: Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous
Conditions." The Journal of Commonwealth Literature. 27.1 (1992):26-36.
Vizzard, Michelle. "Of Mimicry and Woman: Hysteria and Anticolonial Feminism in
Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions." SPAN: Journal of the South Pacific
Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies. 36 (1993):201-10.
http://www.arts.uwa.edu.au/AFLIT/DangermbgaEN.html
http://www.stg.brown.edu/post/zimbabwe/td/yang.html
http://social.chass.ncsu.edu/jouvert/v4i2/gairol.htm
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/tsitsi.htm
http://landow.stg.brown.edu/post/zimbabwe/gender/mtvanbe4.html
www.bn.com (nervous conditions, novel) www.amazon.com www.readshort.com
www.yellowmonkeybooks.com www.msdougallittell.com/lit/litcon/nervous/guide.htm
http:/cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/dangaremba.htm
1) http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/dangarembga.htm Interviews,
critical essays and a study guide for "Nervous Conditions".
2) http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/tsitsi.htm Author tells of what inspired the
writing of "Nervous Conditions".
3) http://catalog.com/dsr/tsitsi.htm Biography and what led her to change her
plans and return to Zimbabwe.
4) http://www.ivillage.com/workingdiva/leadership/courses/articles/0%2C6894%2C84496%2C00.html
- Amazing stories of different women writers, Lesson 10 - Dangarembga
5) Http://landow.stg.brown.edu/post/zimbabwe/td/religionov.html Religious
themes and contexts used in "Nervous Conditions"
6) http://www.cc.emory.edu/ENGLISH/BAHRI/Dangar.html Biography
7) http://www.newsreel.org/films/everyone.htm "Everyone's Child"
film information
8) http://www.catalog.com/dsr/flm-list.htm Links to notes on film's context,
production and soundtrack.
9) http://www.arts.uwa.edu.au/AFLIT/DangarembgaEN.html Biographical site with
links.
10) http://rwent.rwc.uc.edu/boards/afrilit/index.htm Sample discussion board
regarding "Nervous Conditions" and interview clips.
11) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/18780677X/002-5266398-7679066
Reader comments on "Nervous Conditions"
12) http://direct.press.jhu.edu/journals/postmodern_culture/abstracts/5./abstracts.html
Scholarly article about "Nervous Conditions".
13) http://www.mcdougallittell.com/lit/product/litconhs.htm#Nervous
Interviews with the author.
14) http://www.fblo.uni-bremen.de/anglisti/kerkhott/Africanlit/dangarembge/Androne.htm
Narrative by Mary Jane Androne.
15) Http://lilac-media.de/afri-lit/autor/dangarembga.htm. Short biography.
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