the problematics of motherhood in twentieth century women's fiction

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Piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time and Deshpande's novel,
the advertisements portraying the perfect mother In a happy
famxly are indicators of what the protagonist cannot achieve
In her circumstances. They are also telllng comments on the
themes of mystique versus reallty, feminlne versus femlnist,
and culture versus nature.
The protagonist experiences a
tug-of-war between what is innate in her and what is
expected of her In a male-dominated society
novel, Connie contemplates on this image
In Plercy's
Like Mrs Polcarl, she was going to have only two
chlldren and keep them clean as advertlsemects.
Those beautiful rooms, those clean-looklng men who
woresulcs, those pretty sanitary bables (WET 41)
Though she later shrugs off thls image, Sam in The Dark
Holda No Terrors envisions herself ln such a role.
I saw myself, the end of my sarl tucked lnto my
walst, hair tied lnto a neat knot, smlllng at them
all as I serJed them And all of them smlled back
at me. A mother ln an ad, ln a movle, dressed In
a crisply starched, lroned sarl. Wife and mother,
lovlng and beloved. A plcture of grace, harmony
and happ~ness Could I not achleve that' IDH 73).
Thls lmage occurs in the beg~nnlng of the novel also
A famlly the right size The right klnd. Llke
tne ads A happy famlly Healthy, happy, smlling
and in colour IDH.17)
In Beloved, the image of the family rs evoked xn Paul D's
deslre for a family whlch he knows is out of reach for hlm.
and m his vehement assertion to Sethe that he wanted her
pregnant