THE IMAGES OF RHODESIAN WOMEN AS SEEN IN NERVOUS CONDITION BY TSITSI DANGAREMBGA

Abstract

This thesis describes about the images of Rhodesian women which are formed because of gender representation in patriarchal culture which are pictured in Nervous Condition  by Tsitsi Dangarembga, an author from Zimbabwe. This study has two purposes : (1) to describe the images of Rhodesian women and (2) to describe how the Rhodesian women resist toward their own images. In analizing this novel, the writer applied Betty Friedan’s theory of feminism which emphasizes on images of women in a family and society. The writer also did a technique of close reading that requires her to read the whole novel several times to understand the content of the novel. The results show that women are mostly wife and mother. The novel shows that wife and mother in Rhodesia are not the role anymore but the images. Being a good wife does not mean that she has to serve her husband but also becoming his partner in fulfilling their life. As a good mother, she has to take care of her family fully. Taking care of family is only her task not her husband. Therefore some women resist their own images by rejecting the men’s rule and struggle to get their rights.

Key words : patriarchal culture, images, oppression, resistance