the problematics of motherhood in twentieth century women's fiction

out a change ln attitude towards motherhood wlth fathers
participating in mothering:
It seems -- today -- although it is perhaps too
soon to judge -- that the father, having cast off
his authoritarian image, identlf~es more and more
closely with his wife -- that is, with the mother
At the same time as women are "mas~ulinizing'~
themselves and distancing themselves from
motherhood, young men in particular seem to be
more and more incllned taward mothering, lf no'
full-tlme mocherhood Not only do we see more and
more dlvorced fathers asklng for custody of thelr
young chlldren but the most recent studies show
young fathers exhibiting attitudes, behaviour, and
deslres traditionally characterized as maternal
(1981 321
After centuries of the father's authority or absence, a new
concept has come into existence, father love, the exact
equivalent of mother love
It is probable that this new
experience of fatherhood 1s largely attributable to the
Influence of women, who have demanded the sharlng of all
aspects of motherhood
3.7.1. In Marge Piercy's Woman On The Edge of Time,
rnotherlng 1s extended to men also
The men of Mattapolsett
are not male-parents, but 'co-mothers' and 'kld-binders',
the concept of fatherhood 1s strangely lacklng here
Mothering, therefore, becomes a collective responslbllity
with each chlld having three co-mothers
Thls naturally
ellminates possessive parenthood, enabling the kld-blnders
to cultivate a shared responsibility of mothering, instead