A Girl Named Disaster

Mother is a secondary character. She is Nhamo’s mother. Her given name is Runako, but the narrator primarily refers to her as “Mother” throughout the novel, because this is how Nhamo addresses her spirit.

When Mother was young, she brought pride and honor to her mother and father, Nhamo’s grandparents. Whenever Grandmother talks about Mother in the narrative present, she tells Nhamo that Mother “was so clever” (22) and beautiful. When Mother went away to school, her teachers told Grandmother she “could go to university someday” (22). Mother’s life changed when she met and married Proud Jongwe, Nhamo’s father. This arrangement changed Mother’s path in life. Indeed, Grandmother has nothing good to say about Mother’s relationship with Proud, although she has always loved and accepted Nhamo. Nhamo’s family sees Proud as Mother’s downfall.

Mother was killed by a leopard when Nhamo was three years old. Her death overlapped with Proud’s crime and abandonment. Therefore, Nhamo grows up seeing Proud as the villain of her story and Mother as the hero. For this reason, she never includes her father in her secret tea parties with Mother’s spirit on the hill. These meetings give Nhamo something of her own, allowing her to feel maternal love even though Mother isn’t alive.

Nhamo communicates with Mother’s spirit throughout the novel. These conversations grant Nhamo comfort, support, and belonging. She sees the woman in her margarine ad magazine cover as a representation of her mother, because the woman in the image is beautiful and happy (8). When she leaves home, she brings the image with her in a pot. Nhamo clings to the magazine image throughout her time in the wilderness, as it helps her preserve her connection with her late mother. Mother is Nhamo’s talisman: She protects and guides her whenever she feels afraid, alone, or despairing.

When the magazine cover burns up in Chapter 29, Nhamo temporarily feels that Mother has abandoned her. However, she soon learns that Mother’s spirit cannot be contained to the scrap of paper. She later has other encounters with her spirit, which prove that their connection is intact.

Grandmother is a secondary, round character. She is Runako’s mother and thus Nhamo’s maternal grandmother. Her given name is Nyamasatsi, but Nhamo primarily addresses and refers to her as “Grandmother” throughout the novel.

Grandmother is Nhamo’s only confidante and ally. Since Runako was Grandmother’s favorite daughter, she has always been attached to Nhamo. Nhamo is an extension of the child she lost. Furthermore, Grandmother and Nhamo have a spiritual connection. They both love storytelling. They’re both spirited, adventurous, and brave. They also both crave freedom and independence.

Grandmother urges Nhamo to leave the village when the family arranges her marriage to Zororo, because she wants Nhamo to have the life that neither she nor Runako got to have. When Grandmother sets Nhamo free and launches her on The Quest for Freedom and Belonging, she sets Nhamo’s self-discovery in motion. Like Nhamo, Grandmother is willful and clever. She imbues these traits in Nhamo, too. She gives her granddaughter the courage and inspiration to venture out into the unknown and shape her own future for herself.

Masvita is a secondary, flat character. She is Aunt Chipo and Uncle Kufa’s eldest daughter, and Nhamo’s cousin. Masvita’s character is defined by her goodness. She is pretty and smart, diligent, and gentle. Aunt Chipo favors her for these reasons, believing she’ll bring pride and honor to the family.

Since everyone sees Masvita as a model of the good and honorable daughter, Nhamo often compares herself to Masvita. She envies Masvita, because Masvita has many of the things Nhamo wants. She has two parents, including a devoted mother. She gets her period first and has a paternal aunt with whom she can stay during her cycle. Masvita was wanted at birth and the whole village celebrates her and supports her journey from girlhood into womanhood.

Masvita is never unkind to Nhamo, despite the ways Nhamo privately resents her. Masvita’s generosity and graciousness extend to her cousin, even when her family and village try to cast her out. In these ways, Masvita’s character acts as a foil to Nhamo’s character. Her one-dimensional purity underscores the three-dimensional complexities in Nhamo’s character.

Proud Jongwe is a minor character. He is Nhamo’s late father. Nhamo has no memories of him, because Proud fled the village after killing Goré Mtoko when Nhamo was still a baby. The only things she knows about Proud come from her family’s negative stories about him. As soon as Mother returned home married to Proud and pregnant with Nhamo, the family rejected her. Proud became symbolic of Mother’s downfall.

When Nhamo leaves her village, she travels to Mtoroshanga in search of Proud’s family. She learns that Proud died when the tunnels he was digging collapsed on him. Proud’s family informs her that Proud tried to remake himself when he returned home after murdering Goré. Hearing Proud’s story from a different source changes Nhamo’s former perspective of her father. Throughout her childhood, she believed he was a wicked, selfish man. After her time in Mtoroshanga, she makes peace with who he was and the decisions he made that have impacted her life.

Dr. Everjoice Masuku is a secondary, round character. She is one of the scientists living and working in the Efifi community. She is also the character who finds Nhamo collapsed near the cows and goats when she first arrives in Zimbabwe. Nhamo is so weak and disoriented that when she sees Dr. Masuku upon waking, she imprints on her (291). She starts calling Dr. Masuku mai, and regarding her as her mother.

Dr. Masuku doesn’t want Nhamo to see her as her mother, but she does ultimately play a maternal role in Nhamo’s life. She cares for, nurses, protects, and advises Nhamo. She listens to her story and encourages her learning. She helps her find her father’s family and welcomes her to stay in Efifi as long as she needs. Furthermore, Dr. Masuku helps Nhamo to understand the importance and possibility of female empowerment. Unlike the majority of the women Nhamo has known before, Dr. Masuku is an unmarried academic. She has no interest in getting married or starting a family. Rather, she values her independence and freedom, giving Nhamo the opportunity to do the same.