All tagged literature blog
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
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.
