the problematics of motherhood in twentieth century women's fiction

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not everyone does so willingly. For example, R umni suits her temperament to the ideals of feminine motherhood -- there 1s no dichotomy between the woman and mother In her; whereas Mrs Klll and Kate conform to the norms laid down though they consider the role a burden. 8 2 Even among the latter two, Kate relinquishes her role when she realizes its strategic manipulation of her self whereas Mrs Hl11 is unable to do so These subtle differences in conformity -- meek acceptance, burdensome acceptance or a waverlng between acceptance and questioning -- slgnal the light at the end of the tllsnel towards wh~ch women have already embarked on thelr ;ourcey The dissatlsfaction with femlnlne motherhood lndlcates that the seeds of feminist motherhood are already sown, the transltlon to whlch wzll form the focus of the subsequent chapter, 'Femlnlst Motherhood'
BEKINIST MOTBEICBOOD To be a good mother, a woman must have sense, and that independence of mind which few women possess who are taught to depend entirely on thelr husbands. Meek wlves are, In general, foollsh mothers Unless the understand~ng of women be enlarged, and her character rendered more flrm, by belng allowed to govern her own conduct, she will never have sufficient sense or command of temper to govern her children properly - Mary Wollstonecraft 3.1.0. The strange discrepancy between the reallty of then llves as women and the image to which they were trylng to conform led women to questlon the femlnlne ideal of rtotherhood Women had to speak out and protest agalnst the exlsting patriarchal norms when it became dlfflcult for them LO sustaln a spllt wlthln themselves - conforming outwardly to one reallty, whlle trylng to malntaln inwardly the values lt denies The conflict between women's deslres and the dornlnant values of feminine motherhood which made women .:o:ce their protest led to a change In attitude towards motherhood, which one can term the 'feminist' phase 3.1.1. The transition from the 'feminlne' to the 'feminist' phase of motherhood begins with the realization by women that the patriarchal institution of motherhood is not the natural 'human condition' In the feminlne Stage,
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THE PROBLEMATICS OF MOTHERHOOD IN T
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POONAM MINOCHA Research Scholar Dep
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The hand that rocks the cradle does
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university. New Delhi; Pondicherry
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CEAPTER - 11 INTRODUCTIONS PROBLEMA
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manipulation of her self whereas Mr
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This chapter explores the major que
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and career, single parenting, ambiv
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INTRODUCTION : PROBLEllATICS OP XOT
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3 institution of motherhood In her
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5 aspect of the female body and 'ge
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1.2.1. The dissertation takes for ~
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9 goddess with the human mother, im
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11 example, portrays Sophie, the 'i
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harm children 13 It argues instead
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15 fourteenth-century mother and he
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17 Gold, The Ice Age and The Middle
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19 1.6.2 The two American novelists
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21 finds herself at crossroads - sh
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enmeshed in the femlnine motherhood
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25 unrecognizable as individuals" (
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from the blologlcal to the psycho-s
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narrative point of view, structure,
Page 47 and 48: 3 1 By emphasizing the primacy of m
Page 49 and 50: TO bear a child, preferably a son,
Page 51 and 52: 35 the moral, transf0m:ng the biolo
Page 53 and 54: 37 2.2.1. Before the summer of her
Page 55 and 56: 2.2.1.3. Kate trles to Inculcate in
Page 57 and 58: sexually knowledgeable woman of the
Page 59 and 60: other hand, completely convinced by
Page 61 and 62: 2.2.2.4. Ira retalns some of her mo
Page 63 and 64: 47 2.2.2.7. Apart from Rukmani and
Page 65 and 66: malevolence of the instltutlon itse
Page 67 and 68: for her it involves both a give and
Page 69 and 70: 5 3 daughter Beloved the second tim
Page 71 and 72: 'feminist' daughter. 5 5 What one s
Page 73 and 74: 57 nurturing relationship Walker he
Page 75 and 76: 59 far preferable to rejection or i
Page 77 and 78: lnwlcation of the ability to relate
Page 79 and 80: 63 mother After a long bout of fami
Page 81 and 82: Her frail independence gave way to
Page 83 and 84: male. Rich interprets Yahweh's comm
Page 85 and 86: 2.5.3. Nectar in a Sieve reiterates
Page 87 and 88: . 71 internalization of a 'code of
Page 89 and 90: 73 Gilman's concept, therefore, is
Page 91 and 92: to the Church in the same way as he
Page 93 and 94: 77 2.7.1. Rukmani of Nectar in a Si
Page 95 and 96: 79 The mother therefore serves as b
Page 97: 81 comprehends that Michael's wife
Page 101 and 102: 85 3.2.0. In the novels under study
Page 103 and 104: 3.3.1. In Alice Walker's Meridian,
Page 105 and 106: As will be seen subsequently, symbo
Page 107 and 108: 91 that the daughter often recelves
Page 109 and 110: dentity. What Elaine Showalter says
Page 111 and 112: (1987.110) Although no resolution i
Page 113 and 114: 97 :elect it. Her obsessive remembr
Page 115 and 116: core: "Daughter? I don't have any d
Page 117 and 118: OD she forms with her daughters. Be
Page 119 and 120: experience and motherhood as an ins
Page 121 and 122: 105 of the double message she recei
Page 123 and 124: 107 Jaya of That Long Silence and I
Page 125 and 126: 109 saru marries Manu mainly to bre
Page 127 and 128: him on this account. Not withstandi
Page 129 and 130: 113 chat that Went on in the queue,
Page 131 and 132: 115 adaptability, but realizes that
Page 133 and 134: and behavlng well and you should an
Page 135 and 136: 119 embodiment. Kate's dilemma is s
Page 137 and 138: 121 them to be childrearers once th
Page 139 and 140: Work means getting away from home,
Page 141 and 142: 125 would probably have become some
Page 143 and 144: 127 motherhood and career only when
Page 145 and 146: 129 she does not grant =he 'father'
Page 147 and 148: 131 social construct, Gilman was wl
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out a change ln attitude towards mo
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135 the House' and loosening the te
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13 7 of one's Own' is essentlal to
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139 example that comes to mind imme
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141 experlences a fragmentation of
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TECHNOLOGIC& MOTEERBOOD It was part
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145 4.1.1. This brlngs us to the qu
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147 womb, sometimes after it has be
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149 bodies of brain-dead pregnant w
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151 4.2.4.1. Surrogate motherhood h
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153 vitro gestation (IVG) which inv
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155 pregnancy necessary? Do foetuse
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157 prosperity of then children dep
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159 strengthen male control over fe
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161 chlld, while advocates of techn
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clash with a woman's llved experlen
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165 children and more a displacemen
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167 w~th Adrienne Rich's stance tha
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169 allowing women to place themsel
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171 4.5.2 Mothering, In Mattapoiset
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173 with a new consclousness" (Lane
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175 subverts the existing stereotyp
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177 when they learn from the men th
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179 4.9.0. As Piercy's Wcrman on th
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181 patrlarchal culture, we see her
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THE USTEETICS OF MOTHERHOOD . Women
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185 sees lt, the mother's voice is
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esurrected female slave narrator's
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189 daughter and her wrlting and wh
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191 through the flrst person narrat
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193 on Kate, uslng the omniscient n
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195 story, It is also the story of
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197 narrative of her visit to a uto
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dominated soclety. 199 In Atwood an
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201 buffalo" (NS 14) brlngs to ligh
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203 going to do, just lay there and
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205 Further, the chlldren brought u
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everyone she knew - but it had neve
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more my style" (SBD . 228) says Mau
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211 trees, fountains and flowers Th
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Quite ironically, the Commander's w
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215 5.5.3.8. The river 1s a dominan
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217 5.5.3.11. Morag of The Diviners
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separation is as easy as cutting of
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221 mixed feelings about her child.
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223 (WET:95) and "canned childLren1
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225 Piercy's Woman on the Edge of T
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227 5.5.9.6. "Maternity clothes", "
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229 warmth and shelter and at the s
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231 prompts Terry to remark that th
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deepest religious emotion, every fe
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235 In Search of Our Mothers' Garde
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237 Demeter, searching for her daug
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239 - the ways in which feminine mo
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241 6.2.0. A quick recapitulation o
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243 freedom: those with an aptitude
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considered natural, conversely ther
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247 not relieve the mother of her r
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249 androcentric society which repe
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251 The Summer Before the Dark and
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253 should orientate themselves to
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255 The Sunmar Before the Dark and
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257 semen, socially, ethically and
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259 feminine motherhood allow them
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261 for exploration, and Gloria Nay
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SELECT BIBLIOaRAPHY PRIMARY SOWRCES
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Budhos, Shirley 1987: The Theme of
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Gould, Joan 1988: Spirale : A Woman
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Mala, R. 1989: The Predicment of th
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Rumsey, Jean P. 1990: "Constructing
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Veevers, J.E. 1991: Continuity and
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