the problematics of motherhood in twentieth century women's fiction

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the moral, transf0m:ng the biological mother to a psychosoclal
one The mother was considered the person in the
best possible posltlon to take on these dutles, as lt was
"naturen that assigned them to her
2.1.7. Social conditlonlng plays a ma3or role In creating
feminlne mothers The soclal constructzon of motherhood
runs very deep, and is embedded in our psycho-social make
up Feminlne gender-role socialrzation stresses maternity
as all women's destlny, pressurlslng women to conform to
structural constraints and cultural llmltatlons Young
girls Walt for llfe to begin with a more circumscribed
frar.ework of control than boys, ~n a more domestically
orlenta-ed environment, the insuiarlty of whlch prepares
them for thelr future llfe of marriage, motherhood and
domestlc responslblilty As grrls were golng to be wlves
and mothers, they were brought up to be sweet, gencle.
submrsslve and subservient to males, hence afflrmlng
quallcles of love, nurturance and self-sacrlflce, and mutlng
self-assertion and aggression Anythlng that encouraged
lndependexce was seen as a threat to thelr future 'careers'
as bearers of chlldren Infused wrth the 'do's' and
'don't's' of an androcentrlc culture they ultimately lmbibed
these Ideals Vlctims to the feminine ideal of motherhood,
they no longer have a prlvare Image to tell themselves who
they are, or can be, or want to be A11 thelr deslres are