Nervous Conditions

3. Tambu proclaims that her little sister, Netsai, “will make a sweet, sad wife”. What has happened to make her reach this conclusion? What does this observation imply about Netsai’s character?

Sheila Madiseng

Asked by
Last updated by Aslan
Answers 1
Add Yours

Netsai is Tambu's younger sister. On those occasions when the men leave the fields headed for home while the women continue to work, Netsai works as fast as she can to avoid her mother's wrath. Tambu says that Netsai would easily have outworked Tambu, except for Tambu's determination that her younger sister not do so. Tambu notes that Nhamo sends Netsai to fetch his luggage on his rare visits home, and that Netsai doesn't mind running the errand and only asks Tambu for help if there is too much to carry. Sometimes, she even straps their youngest sister, Rambanai, to her back to run the errand.