| Between the years 1966-1976, Joyce Carol Oates published five novels whose in-depth treatment of motherhood represents her response to the decade's tremendous rise in feminine consciousness. The novels (A Garden of Earthly Delights, Expensive People, them, Do With Me What You Will, Childwold) all present a major female character who is defined/explained in terms of her maternal role, who is in some way maimed by her dependency upon motherhood, and whose maiming ultimately harms her children as well. Oates's portrayal of these mothers evidences a strong feminist bias; beneath her presentation of the shortcomings of traditional motherhood, Oates consistently pleads for feminine self-actualization. Oates's female characters turn to motherhood to combat feelings of personal and social impotence; they seek worth and purpose, even self-definition, in the maternal role. But because these women try to substitute a function for an identity, they invariably remain unfulfilled. In her exploration of Woman-As-Mother, then, Oates underscores the need for American women to move beyond the social and sexual conditioning that proclaims motherhood a woman's greatest achievement.; In asserting this message, however, Oates avoids any abstract polarization between feminism and the family; she asserts that feminine selfhood must enhance--not impair--the quality of life within the home. Oates takes a balanced and reasonable approach: alongside her plea for feminine wholeness is a plea for mature and responsible parenting; alongside her portrait of the diseased state of the American family is an urgent and unremitting appeal for health. Furthermore, Oates indicts a society that would deny half its members full personhood, even while she condemns women who exploit double standards to find personal fulfillment, and manipulate sexual stereotypes to press personal advantages. Oates believes that women must transcend sexual determinism responsibly: she calls for radical reassessment of attitudes and values so that motherhood may become the result, rather than the cause, of feminine identity and worth. By highlighting the flaws in the traditional maternal role, Oates pleads for correction and improvement which, she believes, will improve the quality of life for all people--men as well as women. |
