Nervous Conditions

Find evidence in chapter 1 to support the following statement:

"patriarchal values are firmly entrenched in tambu's community."

Ensure that your answer includes evidence drawn not only from the direct relationships between males and females, but also from the social expectations placed upon women in terms of their relationship to both work and education.

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"Can you cook books and feed them to your husband? Stay at home with your mother. Learn to cook and clean. Grow vegetables."

This is how Tambu's father responds when she complains that the the family is raising funds to send her brother, Nhamo, to school. This is an example of Jeremiah's traditional Shona belief that women do not need to be educated. It represents the patriarchy that Tambu faces on her quest towards empowerment. Meanwhile, her aunt, Maiguru, is educated and has no use for her degree because colonial society expects her to be a devoted wife and mother.

Jeremiah (Tanbu's father)

"This business of womanhood is a heavy burden." Ma'Shingayi (Tambu's mother)

Tambu's mother explains to her daughter that, "when there are sacrifices to be made, you are the one who has to make them." This point of view demonstrates the generational gap between mother and daughter. Ma'Shingayi has accepted her fate as a servant to the men in her life, Tambu wants more. Tambu thinks she is worth more than just being a bearer of a burden, and this drives a wedge between her and her mother.

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