the problematics of motherhood in twentieth century women's fiction

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enables Sam to defy her mother, thereby defying the social
lnstitutlon of motherhood as well She breaks away from the
claustrophobia and stifling atmosphere of her mother's
house: ''I hated her. I wanted to hurt her, wound her, make
her Suffer" (DH 1281. This separation, described by
Destsande In terms of the severance of the umbilical cord,
1s for Saru, far from painful, as no bonds of love and
affection connect her to her mother For Saru, her parents
had become "the past" and "meant noth~nq" (DH . 34) Saru's
flrst act of deflance is seen ln her intention to loin
rnedlcal college aqalnst her mother's wlshes There 1s a
sllent antagonism between the two as Saru refuses even to
talk to her mother
I'm not talklng to you I'm not asklng you for
anythlng I know what your answer wlll be No.
forever a 'no' to anythlnq I want You don't want
me to have anythlng, you don't want me to do
anythlnq You don't even want me to llve (DH
Her act of deflance In marrylng Manu, who belongs to a lower
caste, 1s actually directed against her orthodox Brahmin
mother
3.3.4.2 Although Sam's mother is a character evoked from
the dead, she is more effective than the livlng characters
In the novel Her haunting presence looms large on the
psyche of Sam, the recurring memory of her mother is "as
violent as an assault" (DH . 12), and Saru angrily tries to