The journey to a new or strange environment in Philip Pullman's Northern Lights and Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions is an essential part of each plot. It is Lyra and Tambu's physical journey that allows them to gain knowledge, experience the world through experience, and grow as individuals. Both protagonists are women, and it is for this reason that we see the theme of gender inequality developed in each novel, most profoundly in Nervous Conditions. Education is reserved, for the most part, for men in both novels, with Tambu being an exception and Lyra's education being virtually non-existent. Lyra's curiosity is fueled by her own disregard for the rules, which leads her on her journey where she gains knowledge. Tambu's journey begins with breaking tradition, as she is given the opportunity to educate herself. Each novel focuses on how the characters journey from their place of origin, breaking away from traditional values ​​and replacing them with progress, the journey forces each character to grow and develop as a character. Although the two novels take place in completely different times and places, Lyra and Tambu's journey has a similar outcome, as both protagonists grow as individuals and learn truths about the world. The journey to a new and strange environment proves extremely important. in the Northern Lights. This journey encourages Lyra to neglect her deviant and disobedient self, in order to grow as a person and gain the knowledge necessary to save her friend Roger and other children from the Gobblers. Lyra had a rather scattered education while living at Jordan College, with the academics instructing her “when they had a little spare time” (Pullman, 68). Our protagonist's formal education is, for the most part, neglected...... middle of paper ...... believed to be essential and right, and she travels into an unknown world of "doubt, danger and unfathomable" . mysteries” (Pullman, 399), in order to try to save her friend. Tambu left her farm and received an education thought impossible for a woman due to her poor upbringing. It is clear that both protagonists are growing as individuals and learning the ways of the world in which they live. Works cited: Dangarembga, Tsitsi. Nervous conditions. London: The Women's Press Ltd, 1988. Falconer, Rachel. The crossover novel: contemporary children's fiction and its adult readership. New York: Routledge, 2009. Gooderham, David. “Fantasying It as It Is: Religious Language in Philip Pullman's Trilogy, His Dark Materials” Children's Literature 31 (2003): 155-175 Pullman, Philip. Northern Lights. London: Scholastic Ltd, 1995.