Growing Ambivalence

To be caught between two worlds must be inexorably nerve racking. Tambu, though quite the diligent worker, is consistently plagued by her plight on the homestead and is both accusatory and jealous of Nhamo her entitled brother. From her mother’s point of view Tambu’s being born a woman is a burden she must carry, but Tambu is none to ready to except this. The scene where Tambu finds solace in the domestic activities during Babamukuru’s return provides good contrast to her arrival at his house much later. In the earlier scene we find Tambu drawing a great deal of comfort and security from her ability to complete those utilitarian tasks. She finds a camaraderie with her mother and the other woman that until that point we were wondering if she was fighting. At a young age there would be no fear of her having to feed a future husband “books” because she seems to have been tutored quite adequately in the culinary responsibilities of her home. Despite her rebellious nature it seems poignantly odd that she would associate her security and confidence so completely with these domestic tasks. It is in this cooking scene that the ground is sown for her growing ambivalence to her difficult situation. She cannot fight what she knows, though she can fight to know more. Both of these qualities go a long way to establish for her a base of self identity. When later she is whisked away to a setting of afluent comfort in Babamukuru’s mansion these domestic abilities which she associated with so much are now absent and she will have to find a new escape to help her identify with herself. I think its acceptable to think that to Tambu a large portion of her femininity was erased by the ease of which these domestic obligations are delegated to other people and much of the knowledge imparted onto her by her mother is now obsolete. Enough of a change to make anyone nervous.