the problematics of motherhood in twentieth century women's fiction

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anticipation of sex becomes "a terrified, trapped animal"
(DH 121)
The sexual act Itself, instead of being an
afflrmatlon of love, becomes a vlclent assault and
nightmarish experience as Manu "atta, zed [her] llke an
anlrnalv (DH 1821
In The Handmaid's Tale, the Commander,
practlslng simultaneous polygamy with h ~ s handmaids is
compared to a bee pollinating various flowers
Offred
lmaglnes a balding Commander wlth hls wlfe and handmaid
"fertlllzlng away ilke mad,llke a ruttlng salmon" (HT 218)
5.5.1.5. In Gllman's Rerland, various analogles to fauna
are employed In a more positlve manner The wornen of thls
Utoplan land are ilkened to deer (H.321 which 1s lndrcatlve
of thelr swiftness and aglllty of movement, thls Image 1s
used to bring about the destruction of the stereocjiped image
of woman To descrlbe her concepts of collective motherhood
and parthenogeneclc reproduction, Gilman takes recourse to
entomological Images, malnly that of ants and bees To
d~spel Terry's mong notlon that women lack the quailty of
cooperation, Jeff compares the place to an anthill where
systematic organlzatlon and indlvldual ccntrlbutlon to the
larger scheme produces great results
This place 1s ilke an enormous anthill - you know
an ant hill 1s nothing but a nurse- And how
about bees7 Don't they manage to cooperate and
love one another? (H:67)