Monstrous Mothers of Literature

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Images of terrible, horrifying mothers have long abounded in literature and have dominated media portrayals of motherhood for decades. Consider the mothers in Precious and the maternal substitutes in Disney films, or real-life examples like Nadya Suleman (the infamous Octomom) or Michelle Duggar: not only do a multitude of examples of "bad" mothering exist, but women's attempts to mother are also scrutinized in excruciating detail. In this course, we will read a selection of texts from the Irish and African diasporic traditions to interrogate the literary use of maternal motifs. What purpose is served by making a fictional mother monstrous? What literary effect is created? Maternal theory will provide a framework for analyzing these texts and theorizing possible impacts on the role of the modern mother. What does it say about society that these images are so popular? And what is the connection between a woman's reproductive power and the urge to label her "monstrous"?