the problematics of motherhood in twentieth century women's fiction

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122 they have to be both subhuman and superhuman at the same tlme In reality, women have found it extremely difficult KO combme independence and motherhood -- thls 1s because motherhood has been enforced and instltutionalised. Even if they attempted to do so, they found both lncompatlble and eherefore had to segregate career and motherhood into separate realms. Adrienne Rlch's statement,"for me, poetry was where I llved as no one's mother, where I exlsted as myself" (1976 311, exempllfles thls lncompatabllrty In addltlon to their professlonal obllgatlons, mothers are held responsible for the famlly's welfare The woman's profession 1s considered less Imporrant than her husband's. and 1f In a crlsls a confllct arlses between the parental and the professlonal, it 1s the mother rather than the father who 1s requ~red to assume the parental obllgatxon The lmage of the mother at home, the 'angel In the house' has been hauntlng and reproaching the llves of wage-earnlng mothers and has become a dangerous archetype The femlnlst mothers, however, are ready to confront thls Image when they conslder the fact that mother-work, In a soclety llke ours, does not have any productive value, lt has only 'use-value' b~t not 'exchange value' (aernard 1974 1151 3.5.1. For the new mothers, a career is cruclal ln placing them in a socletal context beyond the role of a mother. Tuula Gordon explains
Work means getting away from home, havlng other interests besldes children, havlng financial independence, being competent, it provldes status and self-esteem. But work also has intrinsic meaning, most women felt that it was an avenue through which they could explore their interests and/or campaign for socletal changes (1990 . 128) For the femlnlst mothers, work helps In establishing and maintaining an identlty beyond motherhood and bridging the gap between the prlvate and publlc spheres Apart from constructing then own Identltles, work enables them In pursuing societal interests as well. It provldes challenges, poss~bllitles for exploration, and an opportunlty to develop and expand thelr skllls 3.5.2. In The Diviners, Morag's rnltlal cynxclsm regarding marrlage has rts root In her bellef that she wlll not be able to successfully blend rnarriage/motherhood and career She is aware that she cannoL have the best of both worlds and that a balance between her prlvate and publlc roles wlll be a difficult alm to achleve However, her cravlng for emotional securlt;, overvelghs her deslre for Independence and she accepts Brooke's proposal marr:age Her to Brooke Skelton, a representative of patriarchy, reveals the femlnlne streak In her, while the detenlnatlon wlth which she struggles to keep her creatlve skllls allve desplte all odds, and her decislon to break away from Brooke when marriage becomes an encumberance, brings out the
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THE PROBLEMATICS OF MOTHERHOOD IN T
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POONAM MINOCHA Research Scholar Dep
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The hand that rocks the cradle does
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university. New Delhi; Pondicherry
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CEAPTER - 11 INTRODUCTIONS PROBLEMA
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manipulation of her self whereas Mr
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This chapter explores the major que
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and career, single parenting, ambiv
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INTRODUCTION : PROBLEllATICS OP XOT
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3 institution of motherhood In her
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5 aspect of the female body and 'ge
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1.2.1. The dissertation takes for ~
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9 goddess with the human mother, im
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11 example, portrays Sophie, the 'i
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harm children 13 It argues instead
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15 fourteenth-century mother and he
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17 Gold, The Ice Age and The Middle
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19 1.6.2 The two American novelists
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21 finds herself at crossroads - sh
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enmeshed in the femlnine motherhood
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25 unrecognizable as individuals" (
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from the blologlcal to the psycho-s
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narrative point of view, structure,
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3 1 By emphasizing the primacy of m
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TO bear a child, preferably a son,
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35 the moral, transf0m:ng the biolo
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37 2.2.1. Before the summer of her
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2.2.1.3. Kate trles to Inculcate in
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sexually knowledgeable woman of the
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other hand, completely convinced by
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2.2.2.4. Ira retalns some of her mo
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47 2.2.2.7. Apart from Rukmani and
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malevolence of the instltutlon itse
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for her it involves both a give and
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5 3 daughter Beloved the second tim
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'feminist' daughter. 5 5 What one s
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57 nurturing relationship Walker he
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59 far preferable to rejection or i
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lnwlcation of the ability to relate
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63 mother After a long bout of fami
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Her frail independence gave way to
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male. Rich interprets Yahweh's comm
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2.5.3. Nectar in a Sieve reiterates
Page 87 and 88: . 71 internalization of a 'code of
Page 89 and 90: 73 Gilman's concept, therefore, is
Page 91 and 92: to the Church in the same way as he
Page 93 and 94: 77 2.7.1. Rukmani of Nectar in a Si
Page 95 and 96: 79 The mother therefore serves as b
Page 97 and 98: 81 comprehends that Michael's wife
Page 99 and 100: BEKINIST MOTBEICBOOD To be a good m
Page 101 and 102: 85 3.2.0. In the novels under study
Page 103 and 104: 3.3.1. In Alice Walker's Meridian,
Page 105 and 106: As will be seen subsequently, symbo
Page 107 and 108: 91 that the daughter often recelves
Page 109 and 110: dentity. What Elaine Showalter says
Page 111 and 112: (1987.110) Although no resolution i
Page 113 and 114: 97 :elect it. Her obsessive remembr
Page 115 and 116: core: "Daughter? I don't have any d
Page 117 and 118: OD she forms with her daughters. Be
Page 119 and 120: experience and motherhood as an ins
Page 121 and 122: 105 of the double message she recei
Page 123 and 124: 107 Jaya of That Long Silence and I
Page 125 and 126: 109 saru marries Manu mainly to bre
Page 127 and 128: him on this account. Not withstandi
Page 129 and 130: 113 chat that Went on in the queue,
Page 131 and 132: 115 adaptability, but realizes that
Page 133 and 134: and behavlng well and you should an
Page 135 and 136: 119 embodiment. Kate's dilemma is s
Page 137: 121 them to be childrearers once th
Page 141 and 142: 125 would probably have become some
Page 143 and 144: 127 motherhood and career only when
Page 145 and 146: 129 she does not grant =he 'father'
Page 147 and 148: 131 social construct, Gilman was wl
Page 149 and 150: out a change ln attitude towards mo
Page 151 and 152: 135 the House' and loosening the te
Page 153 and 154: 13 7 of one's Own' is essentlal to
Page 155 and 156: 139 example that comes to mind imme
Page 157 and 158: 141 experlences a fragmentation of
Page 159 and 160: TECHNOLOGIC& MOTEERBOOD It was part
Page 161 and 162: 145 4.1.1. This brlngs us to the qu
Page 163 and 164: 147 womb, sometimes after it has be
Page 165 and 166: 149 bodies of brain-dead pregnant w
Page 167 and 168: 151 4.2.4.1. Surrogate motherhood h
Page 169 and 170: 153 vitro gestation (IVG) which inv
Page 171 and 172: 155 pregnancy necessary? Do foetuse
Page 173 and 174: 157 prosperity of then children dep
Page 175 and 176: 159 strengthen male control over fe
Page 177 and 178: 161 chlld, while advocates of techn
Page 179 and 180: clash with a woman's llved experlen
Page 181 and 182: 165 children and more a displacemen
Page 183 and 184: 167 w~th Adrienne Rich's stance tha
Page 185 and 186: 169 allowing women to place themsel
Page 187 and 188: 171 4.5.2 Mothering, In Mattapoiset
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173 with a new consclousness" (Lane
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175 subverts the existing stereotyp
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177 when they learn from the men th
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179 4.9.0. As Piercy's Wcrman on th
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181 patrlarchal culture, we see her
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THE USTEETICS OF MOTHERHOOD . Women
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185 sees lt, the mother's voice is
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esurrected female slave narrator's
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189 daughter and her wrlting and wh
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191 through the flrst person narrat
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193 on Kate, uslng the omniscient n
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195 story, It is also the story of
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197 narrative of her visit to a uto
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dominated soclety. 199 In Atwood an
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201 buffalo" (NS 14) brlngs to ligh
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203 going to do, just lay there and
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205 Further, the chlldren brought u
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everyone she knew - but it had neve
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more my style" (SBD . 228) says Mau
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211 trees, fountains and flowers Th
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Quite ironically, the Commander's w
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215 5.5.3.8. The river 1s a dominan
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217 5.5.3.11. Morag of The Diviners
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separation is as easy as cutting of
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221 mixed feelings about her child.
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223 (WET:95) and "canned childLren1
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225 Piercy's Woman on the Edge of T
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227 5.5.9.6. "Maternity clothes", "
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229 warmth and shelter and at the s
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231 prompts Terry to remark that th
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deepest religious emotion, every fe
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235 In Search of Our Mothers' Garde
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237 Demeter, searching for her daug
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239 - the ways in which feminine mo
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241 6.2.0. A quick recapitulation o
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243 freedom: those with an aptitude
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considered natural, conversely ther
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247 not relieve the mother of her r
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249 androcentric society which repe
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251 The Summer Before the Dark and
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253 should orientate themselves to
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255 The Sunmar Before the Dark and
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257 semen, socially, ethically and
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259 feminine motherhood allow them
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261 for exploration, and Gloria Nay
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SELECT BIBLIOaRAPHY PRIMARY SOWRCES
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Budhos, Shirley 1987: The Theme of
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Gould, Joan 1988: Spirale : A Woman
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Mala, R. 1989: The Predicment of th
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Rumsey, Jean P. 1990: "Constructing
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Veevers, J.E. 1991: Continuity and
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