published_or_final_version / toc / Literary and Cultural Studies / Master / Master of Arts

Mothers, in female literature, have often been represented through the eyes of their daughters; only recently have they begun to speak for themselves. The object of this thesis is to analyse the portrayal of mothers and daughters in several modern short stories written by women from 1961 onwards, in order to understand the principal elements of an often difficult and ambivalent relationship. In the texts written from "daughterly" perspectives, mothers represent regression and lack of autonomy; therefore, daughters tend to dissociate themselves from their mothers in an attempt to avoid the cycle of repetition typical of this relationship. In these texts, daughters speak for and about their mothers and hence do not allow them to articulate their own subjectivity. However, as daughters reach adulthood, they are able to accept their mothers and a new dialogue emerges. In the texts written from "motherly" perspectives, mothers speak about the responsibility and the guilt which the "institution" of motherhood confers upon them. Although they acknowledge their powerlessness in patriarchal society, these mothers nonetheless hope for better lives for their daughters. By speaking for themselves, they attempt to find an alternative to the traditional role of the mother. / The collection of short stories that follows, Demain tu comprendras, presents mothers and daughters at various stages in their lives and in their relationships. They are written from both "motherly" and "daughterly" perspectives.

Thesis (M Soc Sc) -- Australian Catholic University, 2005. / Submitted in total fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Science. Bibliography: p. 119-130. Also available in an electronic format via the internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of English, General Literature and Rhetoric, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2000. / Field project. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1971. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

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