The aim of this bachelor thesis is to contribute to research on how feminist perspectives on motherhood are portrayed in North American fictional writing. For this purpose, I will use close reading techniques to analyze Margaret Atwood’s novels The Handmaid’s Tale, Cat’s Eye and Oryx and Crake to show that all three foster a feminist view on motherhood. I will argue that in the novels Atwood recognizes motherhood as both a source of oppression and a source of empowerment. Additionally, I will demonstrate how she dismantles the myth of perfect motherhood by portraying disrupted mother-child relationships, authentic maternal experiences and the subjectivity of mother figures that would traditionally be regarded as “bad” mothers.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. An Overview: Feminist Perspectives on Motherhood
3. An Overview: Motherhood in Margaret Atwood’s novels
4. Motherhood in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Oryx&Crake and Cat’s Eye
4.1. Reproduction
4.1.1. Reproduction in Feminist Discourse
4.1.1.1. Feminist Perspectives on Abortions Rights
4.1.1.2. Assisted Reproductive Technologies
4.1.2. Reproduction in The Handmaid’s Tale, Cat’s Eye and Oryx&Crake
4.1.2.1. Pregnancy and Abortion in Cat’s Eye
4.1.2.2. Reproductive Rights in The Handmaid’s Tale
4.1.2.3. Reproduction in Oryx&Crake
4.2. Mother figures and mother-daughter relationships
4.2.1. Blaming and Idealizing Mothers in Feminist Theories
4.2.2. Mother figures and mother-child-relationships in the novels The Handmaid’s Tale, Cat’s Eye and Oryx&Crake
4.2.2.1. Mother figures and mother-daughter-relationships in Cat’s Eye
4.2.2.1. Mother figures and mother-daughter-relationships in The Handmaid’s Tale
4.2.2.3. Mother figures and a mother-son-relationship in Oryx&Crake
5. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Key Topics
This thesis examines how feminist perspectives on motherhood are portrayed in Margaret Atwood’s novels The Handmaid’s Tale, Cat’s Eye, and Oryx and Crake, arguing that Atwood recognizes motherhood as both a source of oppression and empowerment while dismantling the myth of perfect motherhood.
- Theoretical analysis of second-wave feminist perspectives on motherhood.
- Examination of reproductive rights, abortion, and Assisted Reproductive Technologies in Atwood's fiction.
- Critique of patriarchal social constructions regarding the "ideal" mother.
- Investigation of mother-child relationships and maternal subjectivity.
- Deconstruction of the dichotomy between "good" and "bad" mothers.
Excerpt from the Book
Having a mother
In Atwood’s female bildungsroman Cat’s Eye, the first-person narrator and protagonist Elaine travels back to Toronto, the city of her childhood, to attend a retrospective of her art work. Being back in the place where she has lived through traumatic experiences, childhood memories rise to the surface and the reader can witness an “inner retrospective”. As the middle-aged painter Elaine retraces the most crucial events of her childhood in order to process repressed memories, a rather complex time frame opens. Constantly using the present tense, the narrator switches between episodes of Elaine’s childhood, young adulthood and her present situation. Naturally, reliving the past, she initially offers a child’s perspective on mothering and will only come to reconsider it when she herself becomes a mother.
When Elaine’s family moves to Toronto, the protagonist is about eight years old and has spent her life in the Canadian wilderness so far. Playing in the woods with her older brother, collecting insects with her entomologist father, and growing up with a rather unfeminine mother, Elaine has not yet learnt how to behave “femininely”. That is, when she enters the civilized world of Toronto, she is confronted with the preexisting gender roles for the first time. She is eager to adapt to the “girls’ world” but must admit: “I’m not used to girls, or familiar with their customs. I feel awkward, around them, I don’t know what to say.”
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the thesis objectives and outlines the analytical approach to feminist perspectives on motherhood in Atwood’s selected novels.
2. An Overview: Feminist Perspectives on Motherhood: Discusses core feminist theories, including psychoanalytic approaches and the critique of motherhood as a patriarchal institution.
3. An Overview: Motherhood in Margaret Atwood’s novels: Provides a general survey of how Atwood’s protagonists navigate childlessness, abortion, and their own mother-child relationships.
4. Motherhood in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Oryx&Crake and Cat’s Eye: The primary analysis section, examining reproduction, maternal figures, and parent-child dynamics in the specific contexts of the three novels.
5. Conclusion: Synthesizes the findings, confirming that Atwood echoes feminist discourse by presenting motherhood as complex, ambivalent, and powerful.
Keywords
Motherhood, Feminism, Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale, Cat’s Eye, Oryx and Crake, Reproductive Rights, Patriarchy, Maternal Subjectivity, Mother-Child Relationships, Gender Roles, Second-Wave Feminism, Dystopia, Abortion, Assisted Reproductive Technologies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this bachelor thesis?
The thesis explores how feminist perspectives on motherhood are represented in Margaret Atwood’s fiction, specifically The Handmaid’s Tale, Cat’s Eye, and Oryx and Crake.
Which central feminist topics are discussed?
The work covers themes such as the patriarchal construction of motherhood, the tension between maternal institution and experience, reproductive rights, and the critique of the "perfect mother" myth.
What is the primary objective of the research?
The goal is to demonstrate that Atwood’s novels foster a feminist view on motherhood by recognizing it as both a source of oppression and empowerment, while highlighting the subjectivity of mother figures.
Which scientific method is applied?
The author utilizes close reading techniques to analyze the narrative representations of motherhood and maternal-child relationships within the selected literary texts.
What does the main analytical part cover?
It addresses reproduction, abortion rights, Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), and the depiction of various mother-child relationships and their impact on child development and maternal subjectivity.
Which keywords define this work?
Key concepts include motherhood, feminism, reproductive rights, patriarchal structures, maternal subjectivity, and the deconstruction of gendered upbringing.
How does the thesis categorize the mother figures in Atwood’s novels?
Atwood’s mother figures are analyzed as complex individuals who are often labeled as "bad" by patriarchal or traditional standards, but the thesis provides justification for their actions by centering their subjectivities.
How does the thesis define "shared parenting" in the context of the novels?
It references Nancy Chodorow’s concept of shared parenting as a potential solution to break the vicious cycle of gendered labor division and the reproduction of gender disparities within the family unit.
What role does the "Virgin Mary" motif play in Cat's Eye?
The protagonist Elaine uses the Virgin Mary as a symbol to process her longing for a protective mother figure and later, through her art, to demystify the myth of the perfect, self-sacrificing mother.
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- Ronja Thiede (Autor:in), 2018, Motherhood in Margaret Atwood’s novels, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/469960
