Nervous Conditions

by

Tsitsi Dangarembga

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Mr. Matimba Character Analysis

A teacher at the village school and at Sunday school. He breaks up the fight when Tambu tackles Nhamo for stealing her corn, and, after listening to her tale, he offers to help her sell her corn in Umtali. Unlike most of the other adults in Tambu's life, Mr. Matimba listens carefully to Tambu and takes her desires seriously. When they're on the street together in Umtali, Mr. Matimba tells Doris, a passing white woman, a story about Tambu's circumstances designed to arouse her sympathies and with this, is able to help Tambu raise enough money for two years of school. Understanding that the ten pounds would immediately disappear if Tambu takes it home, Mr. Matimba sets up a system to pay for school that allows Tambu to use the money without having to keep it herself. He later tries to impress upon Jeremiah that Tambu's education will be valuable to the family.

Mr. Matimba Quotes in Nervous Conditions

The Nervous Conditions quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Matimba or refer to Mr. Matimba. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Limits of Education Theme Icon
).
Chapter Two Quotes

He thought I was emulating my brother, that the things I read would fill my mind with impractical ideas, making me quite useless for the real tasks of feminine living. It was a difficult time for him because Mr. Matimba had shown him that in terms of cash my education was an investment, but then in terms of cattle so was my conformity.

Related Characters: Tambu (speaker), Jeremiah, Nhamo, Mr. Matimba
Page Number: 34
Explanation and Analysis:
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Mr. Matimba Quotes in Nervous Conditions

The Nervous Conditions quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Matimba or refer to Mr. Matimba. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Limits of Education Theme Icon
).
Chapter Two Quotes

He thought I was emulating my brother, that the things I read would fill my mind with impractical ideas, making me quite useless for the real tasks of feminine living. It was a difficult time for him because Mr. Matimba had shown him that in terms of cash my education was an investment, but then in terms of cattle so was my conformity.

Related Characters: Tambu (speaker), Jeremiah, Nhamo, Mr. Matimba
Page Number: 34
Explanation and Analysis: