the problematics of motherhood in twentieth century women's fiction

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6.2.0. A quick recapitulation of the previous chapters
points towards differing attitudes of the women characters
towards motherhood - some accept it meekly and
unquestioningly, others accept lt wlth an iota of
scepticism, yet others accept ~t though they consider it a
burden, some others accept it on thelr own terms, ignoring
or questioning certain norms, some women totally rebel
against foisted roles while others relect lt outright.
Between acceptance, questioning and relectlon lie a range of
attitudes whlch may be conservative, revolutionary.
reactionary or radical. It hence becomes increasingly
d~fficult to taper down these wlde-ranging claims to one
Single deflnltion of femlnist motherhood Taking Into
account the differences in cultural background of the
femlnlst authors studled here, lt would be best to conslder
the pluralistic attitudes towards motherhood, rather than
tylng oneself to a single definition.
6.2.1. What, then, 1s fem1n:st motherhood? If lt 1s not
a blind acceptance of motherhood, does it necessarily mean
that 1t 1s a rejection of motherhood? The emerglng femlnist
mothers del~neated in the prevlous chapters at some point or
the other in thelr lives questlon or rebel agalnst the
normally accepted Ideals of motherhood. But although Saru,
Kate, Meridlan and Morag, at some stage, relinquish their
mother-role, they later try to redefine it. The endings of