the problematics of motherhood in twentieth century women's fiction

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because thls existence has held for women certain
advantages. As they dare to defy the constraints upon them,
they leave behind this security and risk enforced
estrangement and the terrors of isolated life
Gordon, in her book Feminist
Tuula
Mothers, talks of the
pleasures, pains, contradictions and difficulties in the
lives of mothers who are feminists.
many women experienced gullt and paln, when their
power as mothers of thelr chlldren was contrasted
to a framework of Imitations that they lived In.
The world was seen as uncarlng and unlust,
mediating between thls world and thelr ch~ldren
was a hard and emotional task, and mothers felt
relatively powerless (Gordon 1990 131)
The Inadequacles felt by the new mother, who 1s exposed to
chlldcare demands by the social relations of :he
famlly, leaves her feellng an unnatural or bad parent
parrlarchal
As a
mother, she 1s supposed to meet all the child's needs
slngle-handed, to care for and stimulate the chlld's
physical, emotional and mental development, and to feel
fulfilled ln dolng so
But when In reality, she 1s unable
to cope wlth these varlous responslblllties, she experiences
the full welght and burden of maternal gullt, that
dally, nxghtly, hourly, Am I doing what is right?
Am I dong enough? Am I dolng too much' The
lnstitutlon of motherhood flnds all mothers more
or less guilty of havlng failed their children
IRlch 1976.2231
Worklng women especially, who had to tackle a publlc role
along with their private one had to consider how much they