The Unique Role of the Mother

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The Unique Role of the Mother

The discussion about our mother always evokes strong emotions in us. And it should! After all, we lived in her womb for nine months even before we experienced the light of this world. When we try to explain to others what she means to us, or what a mother should be like or do, each of us has a different expression. Each mother is, after all, different. The unique role of the mother will be viewed through the inspection of three short stories: "Boys and Girls" by Alice Munro, "The Boarding House" by James Joyce, and "I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen.

The old, traditional view on the role of the mother is that of the female parent taking primary care of the children and the household. The mother is the hub of the wheel within the home, making sure everything runs smoothly. In "Boys and Girls" by Alice Munro, the mother actively plays this part. Although she has no apparent dynamic role within this story, the nameless caretaker has a vital function within each of her family member's life, and plays the role of the socially accepted neutral fixture of the household. It is her job to be the continuous keeper of the home. Throughout the story, the mother remains in the background, buzzing about, taking care of everything around the house:

My mother was too tired and preoccupied to talk to me, she had no heart to tell me about the Normal School Graduation Dance; sweat trickled over her face and she was always counting under her breath, pointing at the jars, dumping cups of sugar. It seemed to me that work done in the house was endless, dreary and peculiarly depressing…. (530)1

It is apparent from the reader's point of view that the mother's place was in the home.

It was an odd thing to ...

... middle of paper ...

...hat the role of the mother is unique for each woman who carries this title.

Bibliography:

Endnotes

1 Alice Munro, 'Boys and Girls' in Introduction to Literature, eds. Thomas, Perkyns, MacKinnon, and Katz (Toronto, 1995), 530. Hereafter, all citations from 'Boys and Girls' will be from this edition and will appear in page numbers in the text.

2 James Joyce, 'The Boarding House' in Introduction to Literature, eds. Thomas, Perkyns, MacKinnon, and Katz (Toronto, 1995), 427. Hereafter, all citations from 'The Boarding House' will be from this edition and will appear in page numbers in the text.

3 Tillie Olsen, 'I Stand Here Ironing' in Introduction to Literature, eds. Thomas, Perkyns, MacKinnon, and Katz (Toronto, 1995), 474. Hereafter, all citations from 'I Stand Here Ironing' will be from this edition and will appear in page numbers in the text.

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