All in Research
We still have a long way to go when it comes to humanizing and privileging maternal voices, especially the voices of marginalized and BIPOC mothers, but it is my hope that as more books, television shows, films, and high-profile figures continue to address the nuances of the maternal experience, we will come to see mothers for what they truly are — not labels, not archetypes, not binaries or bearers of the world’s burdens, but human beings.
Not every woman wants to tell her story. As comforting as it is to explain away maternal lies as reactions to trauma or protective acts of love, the reality is many mothers lie with/on purpose. In my pursuit of re-envisioning lying as a potentially ethical act at best and a necessary and practical one at worst, I would be remiss if I did not take an equally serious look at mothers who lie intentionally to their children, who lack zero desire to ever tell them the truth, and whose lies cause immense psychological and emotional suffering in their loved ones
I argue that a lie is not a lie, as in “an untrue statement with intent to deceive,” when it is an unintentional protective measure employed in the aftermath of a traumatic event, as is the case with Celeste, Jane, Elena, Bebe, and Polly. Though each mother has her own story, and thus her own multifaceted reasons for keeping secrets from her children, their lies collectively stem from their inability to confront or process their traumas.
Most moms, like most individuals, lie with purpose. They lie to protect themselves and their children from physical or psychological pain, to avoid confronting traumatic memories, to start over and fashion new identities, to resist the institution of motherhood, or simply because they do not see a reason to tell the full truth. This thesis explores the motives of the mothers in four modern novels.
THIS PAPER LOOKS AT HOW MODERN DIRECTORS AND FILMMAKERS REMEMBER AND REIMAGINE THESE READINGS OF THE PORTER’S ROLE IN MACBETH. THE PORTER’S SHORT SOLILOQUY CONTAINS A MULTITUDE OF TRUTHS THAT, WHEN EMPLOYED CORRECTLY, CAN UNDERSCORE THE PLAY’S BROADER THEMES OF MORTALITY, IDENTITY AND THE REPERCUSSIONS OF SIN.
FRIEDAN WRITES, “THE HIGHEST VALUE OF AND THE ONLY COMMITMENT FOR WOMEN IS THE FULFILMENT OF THEIR OWN FEMININITY” (FRIEDAN). WHILE FRIEDAN POSITS THIS FULFILMENT IN A WAY THAT IMPLIES THAT WOMEN ARE CHAINED TO THEIR APPEARANCES – A NOTION WHICH WAS CERTAINLY TRUE FOR SOME WOMEN, LIKE BETTY – PEGGY FORMS A MODEL OF FEMININITY THAT IS LIBERATING AND UNIQUE TO HER.
IT IS MY GOAL THAT IN ANALYZING HOW SHAKESPEARE ENGAGED WITH HETEROSEXUAL ROMANCE AND MARRIAGE IN THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD, WE CAN SIMULTANEOUSLY ENGAGE WITH OUR PRESENT AND THE #METOO MOMENTS THAT DEFINE IT.
THE RAP INDUSTRY HAS A LONG HISTORY OF USING LANGUAGE LIKE “BITCH,” “SLUT,” “HO,” AND “PUSSY,” TO DEMEAN WOMEN AND EXPLOIT THEIR SEXUALITY. WHILE SEVERAL TRAILBLAZERS LIKE NICKI MINAJ, TRINA AND CARDI B HAVE SUCCESSFULLY ENTERED THE INDUSTRY, THEIR POPULAR SONGS OFTEN EMPLOY SIMILAR DEROGATORY SLURS
