What is the role of Nyambula in The River Between?

Nyambura is portrayed as a woman frustrated by the lines of religious difference enforced in her community. She is a Christian but resents her overbearing father, and she loves Waiyaki even though Waiyaki is not a Christian. We also see Nyambura show love to her sister, Muthoni, when she is circumcised according to the customs of her tribe, despite also being a Christian. Nyambura is positioned as caring, empathetic, and open-minded. In many way, she is a window that helps readers see the pain caused by the weaponization of religion through colonialism in Kenya that The River Between explores. If we imagined the book without Nyambura, it could easily become simply a clash between two opposing groups, without giving us a sense of what this clash means for those pulled both ways. Nyambura and Waiyaki's love is also a central plot device that propels the story to its conclusion.