Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions portrays the oppression of women in Africa. This novel exemplifies the dual battle African women are fighting to emancipate themselves. They're simultaneously fighting the effects of colonialism and the patriarchal domination over women. The author builds the novel by focusing on five individual women: Tambu, Nyasha, Tambu's mother, Maiguru, and Lucia. Each woman is dealing with an inner conflict of her own while living under the effects of colonialism and sexism.

The main character, a young girl named Tambu, deals with the limited expectations placed on women and yearns for the freedom of a man. She clearly shows this desire in the opening chapter. Upon learning of her brother's death, she wasn't the least bit upset, "I was not sorry when my brother died" (1). The reason for this feeling of resentment towards her brother is because she wasn't allowed...