The small house

The dissertation is in the form of a novel. It is the story about Tina Moyo, a 31-year old middle-class woman living in contemporary Zimbabwe in the year 2006. She is happily married to a successful financial director, Andile Moyo, and she enjoys a life of privilege in a country where the economic situation has caused much suffering among ordinary people. Regular water and power cuts occur and there are chronic shortages of fuel and basic foodstuffs like bread, milk, sugar, and margarine. Tina's life is suddenly turned upside down when she discovers that her husband is having an affair with a woman called Zodwa. In Zimbabwe, such affairs are referred to as 'small houses'. This discovery sets Tina's life on a new course, characterised by emotional upheaval, deep pain, anger and confusion. She is forced to re-evaluate her life and her beliefs. She seeks counsel from her family and friends, which reveals some surprising realisations about the mindset of the people closest to her. She is forced to ask some painful. The dissertation is in the form of a novel. It is the story about Tina Moyo, a 31-year old middle-class woman living in contemporary Zimbabwe in the year 2006. She is happily married to a successful financial director, Andile Moyo, and she enjoys a life of privilege in a country where the economic situation has caused much suffering among ordinary people. Regular water and power cuts occur and there are chronic shortages of fuel and basic foodstuffs like bread, milk, sugar, and margarine. Tina's life is suddenly turned upside down when she discovers that her husband is having an affair with a woman called Zodwa. In Zimbabwe, such affairs are referred to as 'small houses'. This discovery sets Tina's life on a new course, characterised by emotional upheaval, deep pain, anger and confusion. She is forced to re-evaluate her life and her beliefs. She seeks counsel from her family and friends, which reveals some surprising realisations about the mindset of the people closest to her. She is forced to ask some painful questions related to love and marriage within the context of family and tradition and she is pulled in different directions.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of English Language and Literature

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Chimombe, Shumirai Winifred

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10195

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/10195