For Tambu, the river Nyamarira represents the few joys of the homestead and her life in poverty. It's a life-giving river, allowing everyone a place to bathe, the women a place to do laundry, and those tasked with carrying water a place from which to fetch it. Tambu's love for the river doesn't change throughout the novel, suggesting that in some ways she is doing better than Nhamo did in her endeavor to not look down on life at the homestead—she can still find joy and happiness in being at home, even with her education. However, the fact that the river itself changes as the local village grows and expands (the swimming holes once used by children become a thoroughfare) positions Nyamarira as a symbol of change, while Tambu's continued respect for the river indicates that it's possible to find a middle ground between the colonial system as represented by England and the dire provincial poverty of the homestead itself.
Nyamarira Symbol Timeline in Nervous Conditions
