Manifestation of Colonialism in Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga

Introduction

How is it possible to advocate nationalism when for the sake of competition and economic independence, certain concessions to western traditions must be made? A colonized Rhodesia, plagued with a reliance on Anglocentric morals, is where Tsitsi Dangarembga sets her novel “Nervous Conditions.” A close reading through a post-colonial lens reveals that in the white man’s efforts to exert control over Rhodesian society, the identity and culture of the African have been compromised; a consequence of the victimization of the Shona language, ‘white man’s burden,’ and the educational/cultural hybrid.

Language as a Site of Struggle

Many post-colonial critics argue that language is a fundamental site of struggle for post-colonial discourse as the colonial process stems from language (Ashcroft, Griffiths, & Tiffin, 2002). Rhodesia itself, named after Cecil Rhodes, insinuates how the colonizers ‘understand’ the colonized area. This in turn hands them linguistic control over it, thus enabling them to exert their power. Tsitsi utilizes Nhamo—Tambu’s older brother—to convey his deliberate choice to abdicate the Shona language and speak only in English as a method of imposing his superiority onto his family. Upon arriving home from the white missionary school, it is clear that Nhamo is a victim of conditioning. His embarrassment towards his mother tongue is a manifestation of his desire to be Eurocentric. The sour victimization of the Shona language also conducts social discourse within Tambu's family. Her mother “wanted to talk to” Nhamo; however, the language of the colonizers became an obstacle for the once fruitful relationship between a mother and son. Alternatively, Nhamo’s own father, Jeremiah, instigates his behavior by marking it as the “first step to his family’s emancipation.” The less Rhodesian Nhamo becomes, the more his father was convinced he was being educated. Though in good will, Jeremiah’s belief that economic freedom lies in embracing the language of the colonizers indicates how everyone, including the colonized, consciously or subconsciously contributes to the victimization of the Shona language by labeling the English language as the only doorway to freedom (Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, 1986).

Cultural Disenfranchisement and Identity Crisis

Following this notion of cultural disenfranchisement, Dangarembga utilizes the character Nyasha to indicate the ironic lack of identity in the cultural/educational hybrid. Nyasha, Tambu’s cousin and daughter of the successful Babamukuru, alongside her family, has been to England—the house of the colonizers—where she witnesses their fashion trends and their beauty standards. Upon arriving home, these supposedly English traits have been adopted by her and on the surface have the potential to expand her identity and culture. Instead, she faces a culture shock where she devastatingly exclaims, “I am not one of them but I'm not one of you.” This cultural disorientation perhaps results in Nyasha’s “anorexia,” which ironically provides her with order to her disoriented life. Interestingly, as Rhodesia is not prominent in mental diseases in women of color, anorexia is a Western influence (further certified when all the doctors agreed “Africans did not suffer”). Consequently, ‘hunger and food insecurity is seen as a product of colonization in Africa’ (Dangarembga, 1988). Nyasha is detached from her Rhodesian culture by means of her English lifestyle, i.e., “tiny little dress,” yet she is also alienated from Western society by means of color and nation of origin. On the surface, she fits the narrative of the “man of two worlds theory”; however, upon further observation, Nyasha essentially belongs to no ’world.’ The control and manipulation of the colonial education system successfully conditions Nyasha into a ‘Nervous Condition.’ Alternatively, it is through colonization a seed is planted for a young, impressionable teen to have the leisure to contemplate a sense of identity and embark on a remarkable exploration of her own morals and ethics that paves the way for her to prosper and obtain this ‘success’ that everyone in the novel desperately hunts (Fanon, 1963).

The ‘White Man's Burden’

Another manifestation of colonialism in “Nervous Conditions” is the concept of the ‘white man's burden’—a term theorized by Rudyard Kipling—and was used to morally justify imperialism (Kipling, 1899). The theory pledged that ‘white people are superior to other people and are therefore responsible for them.’ As part of the three C’s to colonization, Christianity was implemented in Rhodesia as a means of justification to the British for their colonization. ‘For they were holy,’ Tambu accepted the white missionaries as intrinsically superior and ‘treated’ them ‘as minor deities.’ Kipling's poem denounced the religious practices of Africans who themselves begin to desert ‘witchdoctors,’ the ‘sacrificial ox,’ ‘mediums,’ all ancient traditions of removing evil. These religious practices were perceived as barbaric to the colonizer and were transmuted into superior practices, i.e., Christianity as ‘the light of heaven shines upon us’ (Flickinger, 1913). This is a deliberate method of power exertion over the Rhodesian society: by converting the nation, it is much easier for European imperialists and colonizers to exploit the indigenous Africans. As powerfully stated by Nyasha, “it’s bad enough when a country gets colonized but when the people do, that's really the end.” Masked as the savior to Africa’s savagery coupled with the ‘matchless’ Christianity, the white missionaries and British were able to justify their efforts to civilize the ‘Dark continent.’ Dangarembga utilizes Minimi—Tambu’s mother—who “suffered from being black...and uneducated” as a harsh symbolism of Africa’s inglorious past. To which the British ‘liberate’ her through the Europeanization of her children. However, due to her barbaric, uneducated nature, she is incapable of gratitude; white colonialists saw it as their moral duty to reform the African similar to Minimi who had not yet been conditioned.

Cultural Reading and Understanding

Furthermore, another strong element of colonization in Dangarembga's novel “Nervous Conditions” is the contrasts in how the colonized experience literature; indicated through their take on cultural reading and understanding (taken from Heroic Ethnocentrism). For instance, the traditional African does not partake in kissing or foreplay. Therefore, when reading erotic Western texts, intimacy regarding kissing is perhaps alien to the African. As “it is not natural at all,” kissing can be regarded as a social construct within Western society and a product of colonization as it is a Western import. The inquiry is thus posed as to whether Tsitsi rejects the colonial import of kissing. The answer to this lies in the absence of kissing or even basic intimacy within, e.g., Jeremiah and Mainini's marriage. The closest we get to the prevail of love, never mind sexual innuendos, is Maiguru's loving nickname for her husband ‘Daddy-sweet’ or ‘Daddy-pie.’ The absence of kissing or any sexual tension in the novel reinforces the writer's dismissal of the generic Anglo-centric novel plagued with references to foreplay and kissing, which is foreign to the African pre-colonization. To accentuate this allegorical protest in cultural reading and understanding of literature, Dangarembga utilizes Babamukuru’s distaste to his daughter reading of “Lady Chatterley's Lover”; “No daughter of mine is going to read such books,” to highlight the differences between Rhodesian society and British society where such a book would be understood as an emblement of creativity. Alternatively, Tambu's lack of emotion when she states, “I was not sorry when my brother died,” is truly mortifying to the Western reader; however, to the Rhodesian and African based reader, perhaps their reaction would be more diluted. Due to unfavorable circumstances, the average life expectancy of the African is much lower than that of the Englishmen; therefore, Tambu's unemotive reaction to her brother's passing is relatable to the African reader. Thus the question is posed, ‘is the African way less sophisticated than our own or is the belief that these supposedly ‘universal’ attitudes should be the same as ours the naive one?’ Nevertheless, the striking contrasts in cultural reading and understanding undoubtedly divide our societies and shape our interpretations of literature (Achebe, 1958).

Conclusion

In conclusion, Dangarembga successfully exposes the harsh consequences of colonizing a nation through presenting the struggle for identity undergone by Nyasha, Nhamo’s ‘choice’ to abdicate the Shona language (a byproduct of conditioning due to writing English off as ‘superior’), and the controversial depiction of the African way as inferior due to the differences in cultural reading and understanding.

References

• Achebe, C. (1958). Things Fall Apart. Heinemann.
• Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G., & Tiffin, H. (2002). The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literatures. Routledge.
• Dangarembga, T. (1988). Nervous Conditions. Ayebia Clarke Publishing.
• Fanon, F. (1963). The Wretched of the Earth. Grove Press.
• Flickinger, R. (1913). Our Mission Work in Africa. Press of the Evangelical Publishing House.
• Kipling, R. (1899). The White Man's Burden. McClure's Magazine.
• Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. (1986). Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature. Heinemann.