There seems to be no more "natural" image than that of a loving mother and this emblematic concept of the good mother has permeated almost the whole society. In Western culture, as in most cultures, powerful high culture promotes the instinctive nature of motherhood, generalizes the maternal experience, and projects "an idealized model of motherhood" as universal. But feminist historians have long emphasized that this iconic concept of the good mother is anything but natural and that “there is no essential or universal experience of motherhood.” It is indeed a social construct wrapped in cultural expectations and norms. Adrienne Rich describes it as the “institution” of motherhood. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay According to feminist critics, the conventional ideology of motherhood, "assuming the institution and image of the idealized white heterosexual couple of the middle class and their children,” internalizes and reinforces traditional gender roles that have kept women in a subordinate position. Motherhood is also presented by patriarchal society as women's path to their ultimate fulfillment. In most cases, women are defined as mothers. Thus, motherhood helps to ensure the continuity of the patriarchal lineage on the one hand and regulates female behavior on the other. It restricts the definition of femininity and places women in the “object” position, which denies female subjectivity. While some feminists reject motherhood because it is seen as the ultimate acceptance of patriarchal oppression, more and more feminist scholars in recent decades, as Julia Kristeva have understood, "women's liberation cannot go through the condemnation of procreation” and what they need is to constitute a new discourse on motherhood. On the one hand, they continue to criticize the restrictive and monolithic definition of motherhood, on the other hand, they strive to develop a maternal discourse that offers breadth and diversity and, more importantly, highlights perspective and the subjectivity of the mother. What is even more revolutionary is that motherhood has been recognized as empowering for women. Adrienne Rich is one of the first feminists to express the empowering potential of motherhood. In her landmark work, on female-born motherhood as an experience and an institution, she distinguishes between the concepts of maternity and mothering by designating the former as a restrictive patriarchal institution and the latter as an individual experience. She also sees this individual experience of mothering as a source of power, which Andrea O'Reilly refers to as "empowered mothering." This idea is taken up by Julia Kristeva in her relationship between the maternal and the formation of the subject. She maintains that motherhood, as the incarnation of alterity or inner otherness, forms the "heretical ethics of love" which "binds the subject to the other through love" and, by therefore, upsets the law of the father. Lessing begins her story by showing the patriarchal construction of angelic motherhood. David is introduced as an ambitious architect with “what he worked for was a house.” It is old-fashioned and conservative with the conventional notion of family life centered on idealized motherhood. So he marries the right woman and sets out to make his dream come true. Soon the couple bought a “big Victorian house” and filled it with children. David chooses his wife as part of his dream for the future andof the guarantee of the patriarchal order. "If Harriet saw her future the old way, that a man handed her the keys to his kingdom, and this as her birthright,... His wife must be like him in this: that she knew where the happiness and how to keep it. it." It is David, as head of the family, who decides the value of the woman in the light of a patriarchal norm of ideal motherhood, made of self-sacrifice and fertility. The romanticized notion of motherhood is well the projection of male aspiration Kaplan points out that the promotion of this powerful ideology of romanticized motherhood, "a dominant cultural discourse of the ideal 'angel' mother" has had the effect of manipulating women in order to maintain the patriarchal order. By David's standards, Harriet is indeed a perfect choice. She is presented as a traditional woman with a motherly nature who also believes in domestic happiness based on the stereotypical division of labor. married and the question of “whether or not to be a career woman” never bothered her, because she took for granted that “family life was the basis of a happy life. She happily assumed the social role.” that patriarchy confers on her and she is so absorbed by this conventional stereotype that she judges her own worth entirely based on her role as a mother. From the beginning of their marriage, Harriet's life focused on pregnancy, childbirth, and education. Comprising six years in a few pages, Lessing chronicles the birth of the couple's four children and the early stages of their marriage. The Lovatts have built a small kingdom, based on the ideal mother-child relationship. It is a society governed by dominant patriarchal values ​​with David as the head of the power structure. But this social order is interrupted by the birth of the fifth child Ben, whose presence proves that this patriarchal construction of the maternal ideal is only a fantasy. Ben defines himself in terms of differences. Her presence shatters the Lovatts' maternal ideal. It is from the interruption made by this different child that Lessing turns to examine the unpleasant, even horrible, side of mothering. When he is in his mother's womb, he causes her extraordinary agony with his incessant blows and efforts. This overly energetic baby seems to be forcing its way out of her womb, leaving her unable to sleep or rest. The unpleasant experience of mothering is particularly highlighted in the birth scene, almost as terrifying as that of Frankenstein's monster. Unlike the four previous children with "thinning blond hair, blue eyes and rosy cheeks", Ben emerges tall, ugly and malformed. With his large muscular body, heavy hunched shoulders and greenish-yellow eyes, he is "not like a baby at all." The atmosphere is not one of celebration or success, but one of tension and apprehension. Raising Ben proves an even more painful experience for Harriet. He's still struggling and crying, so caring for him leaves her exhausted. Feeding him is also very painful because his stomach never seems to settle. Harriet's breasts are still "bruised black all around the nipple." Lessing highlights the difficulty of being a mother through a dilemma: as trying to be a good mother to Ben demands all of her energy and time, Harriet fails to be a good mother to the other four children. Here is the detailed description of one woman's terrible motherhood experience: one full of stress, fatigue and loneliness. This stark contrast constitutes an attack on the idealized notion of motherhood projected by patriarchal tradition. Here, Lessing attempts to give a more realistic picture of motherhood by describing the mother's subjective feelings and thoughtsabout being a mother. She is completely opposed to the narrow representation of motherhood as promoted by the dominant culture. In a word, this individualistic discourse on motherhood serves as a confrontation with the patriarchal myth of motherhood. The tyranny of patriarchal power is revealed in its treatment of the alienated child. Some critics view Ben as an evil force that destroys the perfect family, but if we look at the same situation from another perspective, he is actually a victim of estrangement from mainstream society. Because of his differences and anomalies, he is denied a true identity. The whole family thinks he's an alien and calls him a "troll", "goblin", "something" or even "yeti". David is the worst of all. He simply evades his responsibility as a father and later disowns the baby. When Harriet refers to Ben as our child, he responds, "Well, he's definitely not mine." » His responsibility concerns “real children”. Ultimately, the family decides to send Ben to a nightmarish institution where he will be drugged to death. The family can't stand Ben, but the local drifters all get along well with him. Here, the contrast poses a question: Is Ben truly abnormal or is he made alien by the dominant culture? In the novel, it is the “little kingdom” built by the father which represents the dominant society. It is the father, as head of the institution of power, who defines what is normal and acceptable. And Ben, with his unusual strength and his behaviors considered by the dominant culture as bestial, instinctive and uncivilized, represents the unfit for society, the foreigner and “the other”. Because his “otherness” threatens and destabilizes the fundamental classifications of the patriarchal order, the family rejects him and attempts to push him aside. It is through the exclusion of the “other” that patriarchy maintains its order. It is also through the treatment of the child that Lessing reveals his restriction and manipulation of the mother. In order to get rid of Ben, the family forces Harriet to abandon Ben. At first, David and his parents try to convince Harriet to abandon him, but then he even resorts to "it's him or us" threats. And when the family reached an agreement to send her to the institution, “everyone laughed except Harriet.” While Ben has to be picked up by the car, David stays to "handle" her, "with the same hard face, and put his arm around her", he actually forces her to make her decision. In this case, the father represents patriarchal power while the mother represents the weak, the powerless and the loss of maternal subjectivity. Soon, normalcy begins to fill the house again. Listening to the laughter of her husband and children, Harriet gradually becomes convinced that giving Ben away is the right thing to do. It is by abandoning the foreign children that she regains her title of “good mother” towards the other children and is thus subject to the orthodox maternal paradigm. This can be seen as her submissive participation in the domination of patriarchy. The mother's awakening begins with her contradictory reflection on her relationship with Ben and the meaning of motherhood. Indeed, the existing social structure has distorted the mother-child relationship and the mother has been so influenced by the values ​​of the dominant society that when she thinks of Ben's dismissal, she even feels relieved. But at the same time, she cannot banish Ben from her mind and is overcome by a feeling of guilt and responsibility. Harriet's conflicting feelings originate in what Julia Kristeva explains as the simultaneous unity and division of mother with child. Despite strong opposition from her husband, she rescues Ben from this hellish institution and brings him home. His decision to save Ben emphasizes the.