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IMAGES OF MOTHERS IN ADOLESCENT LITERATURE

by

Rhoda J. Maxwell

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of English

1986

777?

fl/O'

ABSTRACT

IMAGES OF MOTHERS IN ADOLESCENT LITERATURE

BY

Rhoda J. Maxwell

The purpose of this study was to discover if the images
of mothers in realistic adolescent literature published since
1975 reflected real-life mothers. In the past twenty years
many social and political changes have occurred giving women
opportunities for better jobs, provisions for child care and
assistance for education. Were the mothers in adolescent
literature undergoing similar changes?

I selected the adolescent literature from the yearly
list of "Best Books for Young Adults" published in Booklist
by the American Library Association. I analyzed the images
of mothers according to attributes derived from literature on
mothers in present-day society. The attributes were: the
mother's opportunity and ability to make decisions that
affected her family; her rapport with and understanding of
her teenage children; her relationship with her husband (if
he was present); her effectiveness in a work situation; her
ability to balance personal interests with family
responsibilities. The analyses provided four categories:

1. Mothers in a period of transition.

2. Mothers who are passive and/or unable to cope.

3. Mothers limited to an adult perspective.

Rhoda J. Maxwell

4. Mothers who are empathic, yet independent.

The results of my investigation showed that images of
mothers were varied and realistic. Although some were
described in negative terms, many were in a period of
transition, trying to become more independent and
responsible. A few books depicted mothers who were loving
and supportive, with excellent self concepts. Many held
responsible jobs and were learning to balance personal
interests with the needs of their family. The images
provided by the selection of books used in the study
reflected the images in society more closely than did books

published prior to 1975.

DEDICATION

to Bill and Becky

ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to thank my committee chair, Dr. Linda Wagner,
and the committee members, Dr. Candida Gillis, Dr. Jay
Ludwig, and Dr. Stephen Tchudi, for all their guidance and
support. I am grateful, in particular, to Candy and Linda
for their careful reading and suggested revisions at several
stages of the work. My thanks to Tom for all his help with
typing and editing the manuscript. And a thanks to my

friends for their encouragement and faith, especially Lev

Raphael and Barb Zynda. Finally, I wish to express my
gratitude to Becky for her suggestions, support, and

patience.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .............................................. 1
1. WOMEN IN SOCIETY AND LITERATURE ........................ 6
2. MOTHERS IN A PERIOD OF TRANSITION ..................... 24
3. MOTHERS WHO ARE PASSIVE AND/OR UNABLE TO COPE ......... 68
4. MOTHERS LIMITED TO AN ADULT PERSPECTIVE ............... 96
5. MOTHERS WHO ARE EMPATHIC YET INDEPENDENT ............. 122
6. CONCLUSIONS .......................................... 139
APPENDIX ................................................ 147

BIBLIOGRAPHY .0...OO00.....0...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 149

iv

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Characteristics of Books. ......................144

INTRODUCTI ON

The purpose of this study was to discover if the images
of mothers in realistic adolescent literature published since
1975 reflect those of real-life mothers. Adolescence is a
time when young people critically analyze their own beliefs
and begin to define for themselves the roles they will assume
as adults. Adolescent literature is one of the sources that
may help young people decide who and what they will become.

I chose realistic fiction for the study because the image of
mother portrayed in this genre would be most apt to resemble
mothers in present-day society. I analyzed the books to
determine how the mothers were portrayed. Were they capable
of making competent decisions and accepting responsibility
for these decisions? Did they establish rapport with their
children? Did they balance personal interests with family
responsibilities and needs? Were they able to become

independent and yet be loving, supportive mothers?

The procedure I used in analyzing the books was to
examine several characteristics of the mother: her
opportunity and ability to make decisions that affected her
family, her rapport with and understanding of her teenage
children, her relationship with her husband (if he was
present), her effectiveness in a work situation (either in or
out of the home), her ability to balance personal interests
with family responsibilities. These attributes provided a

l

2

more complete description of the mothers than one provided by
the statistical information on whether the mother worked
outside the home or whether the family portrayed traditional
role models. A mother may work outside the home and yet
remain passive or dependent at home, or not work outside the
home and be active and independent. Consequently I analyzed
contemporary adolescent literature to ascertain if the mother
was not only becoming more independent, but did she also
retain a good rapport with her children. Information on the
mother as wage earner does not present a complete image of
her degree of independence or self confidence. A literary
analysis of how the mother acts in relation to other family
members seemed a stronger indicator of the type of person she
was than a strict and systematic content-analysis approach.

I selected adolescent literature from the yearly list of

"Best Books for Young Adults" in Booklist, published by the

 

American Library Association. This annual list of books is
compiled by a committee of the Young Adult Services Division
of the American Library Association. The books are selected
on the basis of each book's proven or potential appeal to
young adult readers and provide a variety of subjects for
different reading tastes as well as a broad range of reading

level." (Booklist, March 15, 1984) The lists include

 

non-fiction as well as a variety of fiction, but I chose only
realistic fiction that had a contemporary setting and
included a mother as one of the characters. Librarians rely

heavily on the Association's recommendations when choosing

3
books for their libraries. The ALA‘s recommended books are
usually available to adolescent readers in both their school
and public libraries, thus, adolescents are likely to read
these books. In order to narrow the list I examined lists
published in HBEEuEEEEL English Journal, New.12££.1122§ and
reviewed bibliographies from books on adolescent literature.
I chose only books that received the most favorable reviews
not because they would be the best in a literary sense
(although they may be) but that they would be the most widely
read and therefore have more potential influence on young

people.

Definitions 2f Terms

 

Adolescent literature is literature widely read by young

 

adults between the ages of twelve to eighteen or in grades
six through twelve and is published usually by the juvenile
division of the publishing company. The books "may be found
in either the adult or young people's sections of public
libraries.” (Donelson and Nilsen, p. 5) Some adolescent
literature was not written primarily for adolescents, but
because of the theme or characters the books become popular
with young people. An example of this type of book is

Ordinary People by Judith Guest. For purposes of this study,

 

adolescent literature was further defined as those having

adolescents as the primary characters.

4

Contemporary realistic fiction is fiction that is

 

convincingly true to life; everything that happens in the
story could happen in real life. Contemporary, in this
study, refers to books published since 1975, with a setting
no later than the late 1960's. No science fiction or fantasy
was used because I wanted the images of mother to be similar
to those encountered by the readers in their own lives.

Image, as used in this study, means the mental
impression or visual picture the reader acquires from the
text. The image could be formed from the way the mother
character is described, what she says and how she acts, as
well as her relationship and interactions with other family
members, and what they say to her and about her. Image may
also depend on nuance of tone, on heightened physical

details, or on other techniques germane to a single work.

Organization 2f the Study

 

 

Chapter One is in two sections. The first includes a
review of the literature concerning the changing roles of
women in present-day society, and problems women face in
acquiring roles that meet their needs without sacrificing
motherhood. The second section is a review of the images of
women, particularly mothers, as presented in literature.

Chapter Two through Five contain the literary analyses
of the adolescent books, grouped into the four categories.

The first category "Mothers in a period of transition" is in

5
Chapter Two. Chapter Three is "Mothers who are passive
and/or unable to cope." Chapter Four is "Mothers limited to
an adult perspective." The final category "Mothers who are
empathic yet independent" is in Chapter Five. The

conclusions derived from the study are in Chapter Six.

CHAPTER 1
WOMEN IN SOCIETY AND LITERATURE

Women's Roles in Present—day Society

 

Women's roles, and in particular, the role of mothers,
have undergone gradual changes in recent years. Although
today the media occasionally show mindless homemakers who
have a consuming interest in cleanliness and are unable to
act intelligently, more often mothers are portrayed as
personable characters with the ability to make informed
decisions. In commercials for home cleaning products, women
wear slacks, men help with the housework, and the "I think
I'll keep her" mentality has for the most part disappeared
from the television screen. Are the mothers in adolescent
fiction undergoing similar changes?

To establish a background for the changing image of
mother, I turned to the work of sociologists and feminists
who have been concerned with the problems and difficulties
mothers have in meeting their own needs, as well as those of
their children and husband. When Betty Friedan wrote The

Feminine Mystique in 1963 she gave a name, the feminine

 

mystique, to the guilt and frustration women felt when they
wanted to become more than a housewife. There were, and are,
women for whom this was not true, but as Friedan conducted
studies she become increasingly aware of how widespread the

6

7
feminine mystique was. Her book became a classic of the
feminist movement as women realized their feelings were not
unique and they shouldn't have to be satisfied with a
situation where they could not reach their full potential.
Friedan's book was not a political statement, but a raising
of consciousness; it was the beginning of the women's
movement. Friedan founded the National Organization for
Women (NOW) in 1964 when it became clear that the federal
government would not enforce the Equal Rights Amendment. In
the twenty years since then many social and political changes
have occurred, giving women opportunities for better jobs,
provisions for child care and assistance for education.

Important as the women's movement became, radical change
did not occur overnight. For most women the changes had to
begin first in their homes, with their children, and, if
married, with their husbands. Ten years after The Feminine
Mystique was published, Friedan wrote "that the assumption of
your own identity, equality, and even political power does
not mean you stop needing to love, and be loved by, a man, or
that you stop caring for your kids." (1975, p. 389) Many
women sought this balance.

One of the most difficult stumbling blocks to a balance
between a mother's needs and those of her family is the
pedestal that mothers in our society have been placed on.
Motherhood, as an institution, has been revered and veiled in

sentimentality. Jessie Bernard in The Future of Motherhood

 

described the idealized version of mothers as "loving,

8
gentle, tender, self sacrificing, devoted," almost a parody.
(1974, p. 12) Other feminist writers agree. Angela McBride
described this image of mother as a metaphor, a projection of
an ideal with behaviors that no one could achieve. (1975, p.
117) In My Mother / EX.§El£L Nancy Friday described the love
that an idealized mother would have as different from other
kinds of love. It would never be open to doubt, error, or
ambivalence. (1977, p. 3) Adrienne Rich concurred: "Mother
love is supposed to be continuous, unconditioned." (1976,
p.29) These attributes characterized not individuals but an
institution, and if taken seriously, mothers would always
appear to be less than they should. Friedan claimed that
once women took themselves seriously as real and fallible
people with needs of their own, they could see that actually
being put on a pedestal was being put down. (1973, p. 4) If
mothers were idealized, they were therefore different from
other people, and should not (or could not) engage in life as
fully as men, e.g., be assertive, take responsibility, make
decisions, earn money.

Even today many women perpetuate the myth that they are
not capable enough to assume responsibility in an adult
world. Colette Dowling called this attitude the Cinderella
Complex, and described it as women "waiting for something
external to transform their lives.” (1981, p. 30) These
women expect their husbands to take care of them, physically
and psychologically. Dowling claimed that this attitude

stems from the socialization girls receive as they learn

9
gender roles. If females are not taught to be assertive and
independent, it is natural for them to believe they should be
protected and cared for. This social conditioning is
particularily dominant when women marry and become mothers.

Throughout The Cinderella Complex, Dowling described case

 

histories of intelligent, active career women who accepted
passive roles once they married. She believed women have
been programmed to prevent themselves from advancing. (1981,
p. 103) To escape such a limited view, women must cast off
the Cinderella role, learn to take chances and accept the
responsibility for their own successes and failures.

The idea that mothers need to be competent and
responsible is not a new one. Mary Wollstonecraft in

Vindication pf the Rights 2E Women, wrote in 1792:

 

 

To be a good mother, a woman must have sense,
and that independence of mind which few women
possess who are taught to depend entirely on their
husbands. Meek wives are, in general, foolish
mothers. Unless the understanding of women be
enlarged, and her character rendered more firm, by
being allowed to govern her own conduct, she will
never have sufficient sense of command of temper to
govern her children properly. (p. 152)

And in our present-day society, a mother needs to have "sense
and the independence of mind" to govern her own life so that
her self worth and competence continue to develop.

Many feminists believe that for mothers to become more
capable and independent they must work outside of the home.
One reason for this belief is that child care is considered

to be a very low-skilled job. In the Dictionary 23

 

Occupational Titles, published by the federal government,

 

10
22,000 occupations are rated on a scale of skill—level
requirements (1 = highest, 887 = lowest). Homemaker, foster
mother, child care attendant and nursery school teacher were
all rated at 878. It seems surprising that the care of
children is believed to require so little skill when
competent mothers must be well versed in nursing, psychology,
teaching, physical education, and nutrition, as well as what
is usually considered child care -- feeding and dressing
children, and keeping them out of trouble. If what mothers
are responsible for is considered low in skills and,
therefore, low in value, it is difficult for mothers to
achieve a high self esteem.

Elizabeth Janeway in Man's World, Woman's Place

 

describes mothers who remain homemakers as limiting their
power. She believes mothers are better off as wage earners
even if the job is boring with low pay because going off to
work gives them control over their own lives. They have
someone to talk to other than their children and gain a sense
of independence. (1971, p. 178-9) Agreeing with this
opinion, Nancy Chodorow characterizes a homemaker's life as
one of isolation. All her energy is focused on her children,
and she looks to them for her self esteem. (1978, p. 64)
Relying on others for development of self worth is not a
stable situation. For mothers to become competent assertive
women, they must value themselves, not only as mothers, but
as people.

However, for many mothers, becoming a wage earner

11
outside the home does not mean a lessening of home care
duties. Jessie Bernard wrote that mothers usually remain the
major caretakers of the families while they continue their
former responsibilities along with the new jobs. If a
husband does help, the mother is responsible for helping him
to see the work and show him how to do it. (1975, p. 155,
161) Since the only sphere of influence a mother has had is
in the house, it can be difficult for her to turn even a
share of the responsibility for its maintenance over to other
family members. In some families, no one may be willing to
assume any of the household duties believing it is mom's job.
With the necessary education and experience though, mothers
can learn to see themselves as important members of the labor
force, and begin to take themselves more seriously.

Not all feminists believe it is necessary to work
outside the home to gain a sense of self worth. Sara Ruddick
disagreed with Janeway and Chodorow, and described a mother
at home as a member of a community. This community provides
warmth and support far beyond other working situations.

Also, the mother has control over her working day. (1980, p.
344) Child care rarely requires all of the time and energy
of a mother. If a mother develops a sense of purpose for her
life and values the work she does at home, she can have a
strong self image and esteem.

In spite of the fact that writers in the field of
sociology and women's studies disagree about the methods by

which women should gain a higher self esteem, they all agree

12
on the desired attributes of women. In the introduction of

her book, The Growth and Development gf Mothers, Angela

 

McBride describes the necessity for mothers to consider their
lives in terms of their own needs. They must move beyond the
romantic idealism of the motherhood mystique. "For a mother
to mature she has to come to terms with society's
expectations of her and the expectations she has for herself,
her husband, and her children." (1975) Adrienne Rich wrote
that a mother must believe in herself, become a fighter for
her own needs and desires, and create "livable space" around
herself. (1976, p. 250) Developing a strong sense of self is
not a decree that mothers abdicate their rights and
responsibilities for child care. What does it mean to become
a strong person? Dowling summed up what many have written.
It means to take on responsibility for one's own existence,
create one's own life, rely on one's self and be self loving.
(1981, p. 225)

Sociologists have described the present-day mother as
being in a time of transition. There are more options
available to women now than there were twenty, even ten,
years ago. What is important for women is choice. If they
do not have to become wage earners for economic reasons,
their work at home should be valued. But every mother,
regardless of her circumstances, should become competent as a
person -- able to make thoughtful decisions and to accept
responsiblity for her own life. Do the mothers in adolescent

literature exhibit these characteristics? Do they reject

13
being idealized? Do they attempt to assert themselves in
worlds beyond the household? And as they take on more
responsibility for their own lives do they continue to be

loving mothers?

Images 23 Women in Literature

 

During the 1800's a mother in young peoples' literature
was depicted as being genteel, kind, well mannered, and at
all times, a "lady". According to a study by Gordon Kelly of
children's periodicals published from 1865-1890, the mother
was the central figure in the family. By comparison, the
fathers in the stories exerted little or no moral force.

They were dead, dulled by alcohol, or never referred to at
all. (p. 78) The family was the social microcosm with the
mother being the dispenser of knowledge. All of the stories
published in the 19th century centered around children
discovering for themselves the truth of their "mothers'
definition of the world as fundamentally ordered by benign
law." (p. 105) Problems encountered by the young characters
were caused by the mother dying and leaving the children
bereft and isolated. (p. 41) Difficult conditions were never
caused by actions of a living mother. On the contrary,
mothers helped their children overcome danger and temptation.
It was the mother who transmitted basic social values. (p.
109, 147) Kelly concluded that, "Mother was a lady --

vigorous, decisive, strong." (p. 166) Although the work of

14
the mother was limited to the house, because she was held in
high regard, so was her work. Housework was considered a
valuable occupation. Throughout the first half of this
century, mothers continued to be depicted in literature for
young people as having a stable influence on their children's
lives, although their sphere of power was limited to the
home.

Literature for adolescents did not come into its own
until the 50's. Both mothers and fathers in this genre in
the 50's were usually portrayed as loving and helpful.

During the social upheaval of the Sixties the roles of
parents in adolescent fiction were drastically changed.
(Lukenbill, 1981) Sheila Egnoff explained the change this
way:

The stability of family life was taken for granted

in children's literature until changes in life

style and the liberated attitudes of the sixties

made the convention seem mythical. (1981, p. 65)

Egnoff ignores the fact that although family life changed for
some people, there remained many stable families. The
acceptability of writing more realistic portrayals of parents
in books for young people resulted in characterizing parents
negatively light. In contrast to the characterizations
during the 50's and before, Egnoff described parents in the
adolescent novels published during the 60's as contributing
to the teenager's problems, rather than as caring adults who
helped their children. The parents were often portrayed as

the enemy -- the major cause of the problems. They were

15
characterized as "confused, inept, insecure, self-centered,
cynical, violent or sadistic." (1981, p. 69) In a study of
family stories published during the 60's, Anne W. Ellis found
a similar pattern. She summarized the overriding images of
mothers as being more concerned with themselves than with
their children. They appeared to be anxious for their
children to reach the age of independence so that they might
be free of them. (1970, p. 26—27) While mothers were
depicted as being self-centered and heartless, their role in
the family was not changing. Although more women were
entering the work force, the mothers in novels for young
people remained at home in traditional roles. And the
traditional role of housekeeper had become less valued.

The Council on Interracial Books for Children, founded
in 1966 for the purpose of affecting a change in books and
media, deplored the rigid role structure of mothers. The
Council claimed that the value system present in books for
young people was "very contemptuous of females except in
traditional roles." (1976, p. 2) And in that traditional
role, mothers were responsible for tasks considered inferior.
Housework appeared to have less value and importance than
work outside the home.

Linguist Mary Ritchie Key reviewed several studies on
books for young people conducted between 1969 and 1971. She
concluded that all of these studies "overwhelmingly document
discrimination and prejudice against females." (1971, p. 168)

She discussed a study by Marjorie U'Ren of the basal readers

16

used in California schools. U'Ren found that 75% of the main
characters were male, and, specifically, that the mother
figure was presented as typically a "pleasant, hardworking,
but basically uninteresting person. She had no effect upon
the world beyond her family, and even within the family her
contribution is limited to that of a housekeeper and cook."
(p. 170) The mother plays foil to the father, setting him up
for his line. She asks the questions; he gives the
information and direction. The strength of the mother as
depicted in the 1800's was lost. Key concluded that females
in the late 60's and early 70's were shown as unimportant,
non-productive, non-adventurous and unintelligent beings.

Mothers fared even less well in a study conducted by
Diane Gersoni Stavn. She analyzed books known to be popular
with boys, written by noted and prolific authors published
since the mid 50's. The mothers were "almost always
unrealized or unpleasant characters -- one-dimensional,
idealized, insipid, bitchy, or castrating -- while sexually
neutral characters, such as little sisters and old ladies,
are most often well conceived and likable.“ (1971, p. 66)
Good Old Mom was often depicted as:."an insipid lady who
flutters around chronically worrying and inanely commenting."
(p. 67) If the mother wasn't vapid, she is cruelly
domineering or lax in her maternal obligations. (p. 68)
Stavn laments the fact that fiction for young people was not
keeping up with the changes in societal consciousness.

Feminists on Children's Literature, a collective of

17
women who prepare lists of non-sexist books for children,
examined the Notable Book list for 1969, prepared by the
American Library Association, the annual recommendations by
the Child Study Association, and the Newbery Award winners.
Few of the books from these prestigious lists featured
females. The mother was defined by the man she married and
the children she bore. (1971, p. 20) Women were shown as
working outside the home only if they had been denied the
status of wife and mother. This study was concerned with
fiction books that young people would probably find in school
and public libraries; that is, the books would not
necessarily be required reading. Similar conclusions,
though, were found in a study of elementary school readers,
required reading for all students.

Women on Words and Images, a twenty-five member task
force of the Central New Jersey National Organization for
Women, conducted a study of 134 books published by fourteen
major publishing companies. The majority of the findings
centered on how boys and girls were depicted, but some
conclusions concerning mothers were drawn:

Mothers move through these pages like so much

ectoplasm. (p. 167) In a story about a bully his

abnormal behavior is attributed solely to the fact
that his mother works in contrast to the good boy

whose mother is home all day. (p. 171)

Adult males in the stories were job holders, as well as
fathers. In all of the 134 books, only three working mothers

appeared, though at the time of this study, the early 70's,

the United States Office of Labor reported that thirty-eight

18

percent of all working women had children under eighteen.
The group concluded that the mothers in the readers were
limited and colorless, concerned only with housework, and
showed no creativity in solving family problems.

In a comparable study of children's readers, conducted
at approximately the same time, 1973, Marjorie Taylor, a
librarian, came to corresponding conclusions. Her study
concerned basal readers used in California for grades one
through six. Looking at females across age categories, she
found that they were portrayed in negative stereotyped roles.
The females were "basically uninteresting, emotionally
flighty or ridiculous." (p. 1045) When examining the mother
role specifically she reported that mothers were "never
portrayed as competent, efficient or showing concern with the
world outside." (p. 1046) "Real mothers read books, move
furniture, drive cars, work outside the home, go to school at
night, balance the checkbook, participate in community
affairs, and vote. Mothers in the readers do not do these
things." (p. 1046) These studies of school anthologies
illustrate the point that while real-life mothers were
becoming more involved in the world beyond their homes
through jobs, politics, volunteer work, and education, the
literature young people were required to read in school did
not reflect these changes.

However, adolescent literature published during the
early 70's did begin to reflect some of the changes that were

occurring in society, but only through the characterization

19
of young women, not adult women. Aileen Nilsen wrote in 1973
that during the past three years authors and publishers
seemed to have made a concerted effort to modernize the
concepts of young adult male and female roles. (p. 1035)
Selma Siege found the same result when she examined fourteen
books from the Notable Books List from the American Library
Association that were published from 1960-1970. She
concluded that there was an emergence of a new type of
heroine that did not conform to the concept of the
traditional heroine found in books published in the 50's.
(l973,‘p. 1039) In other words, the girls were more
assertive and were developing stronger self concepts than had
formerly been portrayed. However, this change did not extend
to the mother and father. In fact, the assertiveness the new
heroines exhibited was usually a reaction to "the family
situation or the quality of their homelife." (1973, p. 1041)
Siege wrote that the parents in the selected books she
studied were "confused, stubborn, self-centered, embittered,
and rejecting." (p. 1041) Surely not all of the mothers were
represented in this fashion. Siege doesn't report
quantitatively, but the lives of fictional mothers were not
changing as quickly as those of their daughters.

Although not all studies of adolescent literature
concluded that mothers were as negatively represented as
Siege claimed, many agreed that mothers were not portrayed in
ways that reflected what was happening in the real world:

more and more mothers were entering the work force, women, in

20
general, were becoming more assertive, opportunities for
education were increasing. Yet, mothers in adolescent
literature were not reflecting these changes. One of the
more comprehensive studies of mothers in adolescent
literature was conducted by Jane Jederman. (1973) She
analyzed 301 books written for young teenagers by comparing
the social roles of mothers in the books to the social roles
of mothers in reality. Information from the books on the
marital, maternal, and occupational status was compared to
data from the United States Census Bureau and the Department
of Labor. She concluded that a vast majority of mothers was
portrayed as passive, stereotyped and uninteresting. In
fact, only ten out of the 301 books had what Jederman defined
as "realistic“ portrayals of mothers, mothers who were
becoming interested in the world outside their home.

The studies I reviewed indicated that the portrayal of
mothers in literature had changed over the years. Mother was
characterized as competent and loving in the 1800's, as kind,
but having less power and competence in the early 1900's and
up through the 1950's, and finally as passive and
uninteresting at best, but more likely heartless or
irresponsible in the 60's. Were real mothers changing for
the worse as the fictional depictions would imply? Or was
literature for young people ignoring certain realities in
order to portray more "realistic" mothers? Historically, the
portraits are out of balance, from overly strong nurturing

mothers to self-centered heartless ones. There are

21
exceptions to this generality; however, the literature did
not address the multi-faceted dimensions of mothers. I was
interested in discovering if the adolescent literature
published since 1975 reflects more closely the realities of
mothers' lives. Are there mothers who take responsibility
for their own lives without abdicating their responsibilities
for their children? Are there mothers who are trying to
expand their interests and competencies beyond their home?
Is there more of a balance, and therefore more accuracy,
between the very positive to very negative depictions of

mothers in adolescent literature?

Analysis g£_Adolescent Literature

 

 

To understand the image of the mother as presented in
contemporary adolescent fiction, I analyzed each book for
several characteristics of the mother: her ability and
opportunity to make decisions that affected the family, her
rapport with and understanding of her teenage children, her
relationship with her husband (if one was present), her
effectiveness in a work situation (either in or out of the
home), and her interests beyond the family responsibilities.
These qualities provided an accurate picture of the
characteristics of mothers in present-day society. According
to the 1980 United States Census, 55.3% of all adult women
who have at least one child under the age of eighteen are in

the labor force. How do these mothers balance their work and

22
home responsibilities? Does working outside the home
interfere with their effectiveness as a mother? Are these
women becoming more assertive and better problem solvers
because of their jobs? Do mothers who do not work outside
the home find satisfaction and worth as a homemaker? These
questions have been the focus of sociologists and feminist
writers in order to better understand the attributes of
contemporary mothers. By applying the same questions to
adolescent literature, I could discover if real-life roles of
women were reflected in the fiction.

I analyzed thirty-three adolescent novels for the image
of mother. I chose realistic fiction published from
1975-1984 that appeared in the American Library Association
list of Best Books for Young Adults. Since I wanted to
compare fictional mothers to present-day mothers, I used
books with a contemporary setting. A list of the books used
in the study is in Appendix A.

In the chapters which follow, I describe the mother in
each novel according to how that mother was portrayed in
terms of her competence, independence, and relationships to
husband and children. I classified the mothers according to
the cluster of qualities that dominated the image created by

the author. The groups are:

l. Mothers in a period of transition

Mothers in this group take on new responsibilities that

23
changes the direction of their lives. The reasons for the
transitions vary considerably. For some it is a change from
housewife to wage earner, for others an abdication of the

mother role.

2. Mothers who are passive and/or unable to cope

The image of the passive mother is of one submissive to
her husband. She allows her husband to make all the
decisions that affected the family. Mothers unable to cope
cannot function as responsible members of society because of

alcohol or mental illness.

3. Mothers limited to an adult perspective

The image in this category is of a mother who has lost
touch with what it is like to be a teenager. She cares about
her children, but her understandings and expectations of them
are from an adult view. The adult values are usually in
conflict with those of the children. A gulf between mother

and children is often created by insensitivity.

4. Mothers who are empathic yet independent

The mothers here are independent, wise, competent and

understanding of their teenagers.

CHAPTER 2

MOTHERS IN A PERIOD OF TRANSITION

This category includes mothers who are in the process of
change. Their life styles are changing either by choice or
necessity and always involve a greater independence from
other family members. Usually acquisition of new skills is
necessary. Images of these mothers vary considerably because
the category is defined by a change in their lives not by
intent. Mothers in present-day society often face change
partly because of increased education and career
opportunities.

In two of the novels, One Fat Summer and Can You Sue

 

 

ypur Parents for Malpractice2, the mothers are married and

 

preparing to become wage earners. In Divorce Express, the

 

parents are divorced and the mother starts her own business.

The mothers in Tiger Eyes and A Place Apart, are thrust into

 

 

a time of transition because of the sudden death of their

husbands. In Notes for Another Life, the mother leaves her

 

family to pursue a career. The mothers in I; Must've Been

 

the Fish Sticks and A Solitary Blue show a lack of maturity

 

 

and an inability to accept responsibility. §g_and Catch 3

 

Flying Fish depicts a free spirit who doubts her ability to

be a responsible mother.

Throughout One Fat Summer, fourteen year-old Bobby's

24

25
mother Lenore is studying to be a teacher. She has not
worked before, but stayed home to be a full time mother to
her son and daughter. The family is middle class; the father
is the sole provider, earning enough money to support the
family. It is not clear why the mother wants to earn a
degree and begin working as a teacher, but the writer
suggests that circumstances of her family life could be the
reason -- her daughter will be entering college in the fall;
her son will be in tenth grade. Although the reasons for her
wanting the job are not stated, the mother's determination to
achieve her goal of preparing for a teaching job, in spite of
opposition from her husband, is consistent throughout the
book.

The setting for the novel is the family's summer home
with the Dad coming out on the weekends. Lenore, the mother,
is not taking classes as she stays at the summer home, but
she is often studying, which points up her determination to
succeed at her goal of becoming a teacher. Bobby, her
teenage son, becomes aware that his father is using the
appearance of the house to show his objection to his wife
studying.

Since my mother started studying to be a teacher

he's really been complaining about how she

sometimes leaves books out, open, with a pencil

between the pages she's reading. (p. 54)

Bobby is only dimly aware of his parents arguments, with
his own problems looming so large in his life. He hears the

quarreling without knowing the reason, but then one weekend

26
the seriousness of his parents' disagreements becomes
obvious. His dad doesn't come up to the summer home for the
weekend. His mother avoids telling Bobby the real reason.

She bit her lower lip. He won't be able to make it
up this weekend. Business. (p. 64)

Lenore is concerned and upset with her husband's refusal to
come home. She tries to not let his actions manipulate her
into the reaction he wants -- her not studying. Bobby
notices that she does continue to study:

...although she seemed to be walking around the

house a lot, taking breaks for tea and stepping out

on the porch to stare at the lake. (p. 67)

She does succumb to her worry and, probably guilt
feelings as well, and drives into town to see her husband.
However, she cannot admit to herself or to her son her

reasons for going. Bobby asks if she will see Dad.

Of course, I'll see him. But I'm going in to get
some more books I need. (p. 70)

Her decision to leave behind what she knows is important for
her own goals, does, at first, seem like a positive step to
her. When she calls home to talk to her children, she seems
almost carefree compared to her previous mood. She laughed,
"Well, I feel a lot better now, believe me." (p. 86) And
later, back home, tells her daughter that going into the city
to see her husband was the best thing she ever did. (p. 90)
This euphoric feeling dissipates rapidly. Nothing has
changed. Lenore has not given up her resolve to be a
teacher. Her husband comes home the following weekend, but

is withdrawn. Bobby describes his dad as being "quiet, extra

27
polite, complimenting Mom on food that wasn't all that
great." (p. 97) Lenore's husband uses the age-old arguments
to keep her from working outside the home. "I just don't
think it's fair to the kids." (p. 97) When Lenore protests
this argument because their daughter, Michelle, will be in
college, their son in tenth grade, he insists the children
"need to know someone's there for them." (p. 98) The
"someone", of course, must be the mother. Both Michelle and
Bobby are gone all day, every day now. Their father's
concern is not with them; he rarely asks them questions or
shows interest in his children's lives.

Lenore tries to turn the idea of her getting a job into
an opportunity for her husband to quit his present job and go
into some other line of work -- something he has wanted to do
for awhile, but has not, because of the resulting reduced
salary. Logically she points out that with her added income
he can now afford to make the change.

Quit Allied and take a gamble. At least that's
what you've always said you really wanted.

When I'm ready. After the kids are out of college.
That's at least another seven years.

By then you'll be Superintendent of Schools. I'll
be able to retire.

Marty, if my working is going to come between us
I'll stop studying right now. I'd much rather
spend the summer in the garden and down at the
beach. I'll just forget the whole thing.

Sure. And I'll have to spend the rest of my life
hearing how I kept you from working.

I'll never say another word.

28

That'll be the day. (p. 98)

The conversation is based on emotion not logical facts.

Marty tries to push his wife into not working, but to
assuage any guilt feelings, she must do so willingly,
happily, not in anger or in reaction to anger. Lenore's
offer to stop her program of study is satisfying to neither.
She wants to continue her efforts to become a teacher, and,
in fact does so. Her persistence, hard work, and her effort
to become more independent reflects a woman in transition;
one willing to take chances, and accept consequences for her
own decisions.

Lenore's growing independence, a positive quality, is
offset by her fostering dependent behavior in her son. She
uses food and sympathy to delay Bobby's maturity. Lenore
uses food in several ways. Food is used to interfere between
Bobby and his father. Marty tries to talk to his son about
Bobby's summer plans.

Let him finish his breakfast, Marty. (p. 17)

Marty, his eggs are getting cold, let him eat. (p.
18)

Food is used as a bribe.

Ride into town with me. I'm going to do some
shopping, we can have lunch out. (p. 18)

And, food is used to ease feelings of guilt. Bobby comes in
interrupting a talk between Mom and Michelle. He knew it
wasn't about him because, "she would have looked a little
guilty and offered me a snack before dinner." (p. 64)

Food has become almost an obsession with Bobby. At

29

fifteen years, he weighs over 200 pounds. Because of his fat
his self image is low and he has become introverted because
of the constant teasing. He won't go swimming, although he
was good at it, because a swimming suit exposes too much
body. He eats because he is fat and unhappy. Yet, his
mother continues to offer him food and encourages him to eat.

Another way she fosters dependency in her son is to
treat him as if he were younger than fifteen and to worry
excessively about his physical well being. She cautions him
about traffic (p. 18), worries that he is working too hard
(p. 89), constantly asks him how he feels, and reminds him
that there is food in the refrigerator. Because he has been
looking tired she decides to stop by where he is working.
Michelle asks her not to.

You shouldn't do that, Mom. It makes him seem like
a baby.

He is my baby.

See, that's what I mean. (p. 89)

But Lenore refuses to see what Michelle means and continues
to treat Bobby in ways more appropriate for a much younger
child.

With the physically demanding work Bobby does all
summer, he gradually loses weight and develops muscles.
Looking at himself in the bathroom mirror he discovers a vein
on top of his bicep and yells out in excitement. At once his
mother is at the door.

Bobby? Are you all right?

30
I'm fine.

You were yelling. It sounded like the word pain.
Do you have cramps? Are you sick? (p. 110)

Yet for all of this attention, she seems unaware that he is
getting in better shape, or she assumes it won't last.

Shortly before the end of summer the three, Lenore,
Marty, and Bobby, drive to town to buy school clothes for
Bobby. His father, proud of his son's improved appearance,
wants to buy him a more expensive than usual pair of pants,
but Lenore won't allow it. His father argues:

Now that he's lost some weight, he should have some
nice looking pants.

[Lenore:] He might not stay at this weight. He

might shoot up as soon as school starts and he's

not getting as much exercise.

[Bobby:] I'm not going to gain weight. (p. 124)
Lenore pays no attention to Bobby's remark, and, in fact, at
no time has she acknowledged to him that he has lost weight.

Lenore and Marty have come to an agreement about Lenore
working outside the home, albeit reluctantly on Marty's part.
"I'm willing to give it a try. but I have a right to my
opinion." (p. 126) At this point, Lenore has what she wants
-— the okay from her husband. But emotionally she is not
ready to accept responsibility for the transition from
housewife to wage earner. She wants to hang on to what has
made her feel important: washing, ironing, sewing, cleaning,
mothering. She begins to argue that Marty is throwing up
obstacles to her success, referring to his wanting to buy

Bobby a good-looking pair of pants in his trimmed down size.

31
If she's working, she wouldn't have time to let them out.
The obstacles are only in her mind. She is hanging on
unnecessarily to the rituals of housework, hedging on her bet
of being a successful teacher. If she fails, it isn't her
fault, but her husband's. She is caught at the unpleasant
crossroads of wanting to be independent, but afraid to try.
In her failure to accept Bobby's growing independency and
competent decision making, she has nudged Bobby's loyalties
toward his father. The letting go will become easier for her
if she does get a job, and perhaps she will develop into the

image of a mother who is confident and mature.

In the novel, Can You Sue Your Parents for Malpractice?
by Paula Danziger, the mother is making a transition from
housewife to wage earner in the teaching profession. The
family is organized along traditional lines: the father is
solely responsible for earning enough money to support his
wife and three daughters. In the first part of the novel the
mother fantasizes about having more money by imagining
herself on a quiz show or winning a lottery, "so we can all
live happily ever after." (p. 12) Although the father
worries about having enough money, especially now that his
oldest daughter is in college, he does not want his wife to
work. The girls realize more than a money problem would be
solved by their mother working.

If only Dad didn't think it's awful for women with

a family to work, then maybe she could go to work
and not be so bored. (p. 19)

32
The father plays a traditional role model leaving all
housework to his wife and daughters. In reference to her dad
helping out around the house, Lauren, the middle daughter and
central character of the story, explains:

Dad says that as breadwinner his job is finished
once the groceries are paid for. (p. 21)

When he doles out Lauren's allowance he does so as if he
is making a great sacrifice although she does her share of
household duties.

Don't spend it foolishly. You know how hard it is

for me to earn it and to keep this family going.

(P. 29)

The mother reacts to the domineering role of the father by
trying to keep peace in the family, acting as a go-between
for father and daughters. Lauren knows when she had her ears
pierced against her parents wishes that:

My mother will try to maintain the peace and tell

me privately that it looks nice but that I

shouldn't do things that upset my father. (p. 38)

As a peace keeper, something she rarely succeeds at, and as a
prize winner, where she never succeeds, the image of Lauren's
mother is not of a competent, effective woman making
independent decisions.

Slowly, though, she enters a period of transition
brought on first by the realization that her daughters are
growing up.

I feel like I always stay the same but my girls are
constantly changing. I guess that's part of the
deal when you're a mother. At least it is for me.

(p. 27)

Ironically, what moves her towards independence and a period

33

of growth for herself, is a fulfillment of her quiz show
fantasy. Feeling threatened by his wife stepping out of her
role as a passive housewife, her husband reacts:

'Wonderful,‘ my father says sarcastically. 'A

chance to look ridiculous in front of millions of

people. Folks are going to think I can't take care

of my own family without sending my wife on one of

those dumb shows.‘ (p. 40)
He sees himself in charge when he speaks of "sending my wife"
to be on a quiz show. She is not to be considered a free
agent, one who can make decisions for herself. Because being
on the quiz show has been one of her cherished dreams, she
makes an effort to help him realize what it means to her.

I just don't understand why you think this is so

awful. It'll be fun for me, something different.

Even if I lose. But I'm going to try to win. If I

did, we could do so much with the money. Send the

girls to college. Go on a trip. (p. 40)

But she is undermining her husband's authority.

I want nothing to do with whatever you win. We'll
take a trip with my money, from my salary. (p. 40)

This reaction of her husband's signals the beginning of a
change in the mother.

The first apparent change is her refusal to go along
with all of her husband's reactions to the girls. Keeping
the peace is no longer her primary goal. When Lauren has her
ears pierced, her father is furious; he and Lauren get into a
shouting match. Her mother stands up for Lauren. "Really
there's absolutely nothing wrong with Lauren getting her ears
pierced. Everyone's doing it." (p. 42) The "everyone"

includes the mother when, later, she decides to have her ears

34
pierced, too.

Even before the quiz show, the mother decides to try
substitute teaching. She had taught before she was married
and as she puts it, "I'm sick and tired of being home all the
time." She has made a decision that her husband won't like,
and it is the first step toward taking responsibility for her
own life.

Even if I do win all the money, I've got to do

something more with myself. I know your father

wants me to stay home, but you're all growing up so

fast. You don't need me so much anymore. You're

all growing...and I'm not. (p. 50)

In spite of Lauren's vivid descriptions of what happens to
subs, her mother is unshaken.

She smiles. 'I'll do all right, and if I don't

like it, I don't have to do it. But I want to try.

Your father and I discussed it last night and

that's what we decided. He doesn't like it much,

but he realizes how important it is to me.‘ (p. 50)

She is mistaken though about her husband's reasons for
letting her go ahead with her plans for working. He believes
it is just "a passing fancy“. (p. 59) She has made a major
step in becoming more independent.

Lauren understands now that there is more than money in
her mother's desire to sub. When Lauren's friend, Bonnie,
suggested that if her mother had been successful on the quiz
show she wouldn't be crazy enough to become a sub, Lauren

disagrees.

Don't think so. She's going crazy at home. I
think she'd do this anyway. (p. 57)

The "doing this" that Lauren's mother is embarking on is to

35
make decisions about her own life, to do something beyond the
role of housekeeper. She no longer asks her husband's
permission for buying her own clothes, but goes on a shopping
spree to "finally buy myself some things" -- "to start
subbing". (p. 69) The more independent decisions she makes
the more threatened her husband becomes.

Now that you're going back to work, I bet you're

going to be spending like mad, living outside my

salary. (p. 74)

Instead of playing her past role of peace keeper, she takes
the offensive. "Why don't you just accept it and not feel so
threatened?“ It is difficult for her husband to accept the
change in her; he senses he is losing his control over her.
"Just because you won't have to depend on me, need me
anymore, why should I worry?" (p. 74) But there is no going
back for her. The most important decision she made was to
create a new role for herself.

She is not able, yet, to always be forthright with her
husband, and still goes behind his back in matters concerning
their daughters. This is especially true when the oldest
daughter, Melissa, moves in with her boyfriend, Mike. The
father has demanded that the rest of the family have nothing
to do with Melissa, but the mother continues to see her and
help her out financially. (p. 112) The relationship between
husband and wife becomes more strained as he remains adamant
about Melissa and she continues to support Melissa's

decision. Lauren describes her mother's behavior towards her

dad as

36

...pretending he doesn't exist -- She hardly talks

to him anymore. Maybe that's not the best way to

act, but it's the only one that seems to work with

him. (p. 106)
Lauren cannot understand her father's behavior and asks her
mother:

'Why does he have to be so awful?‘

She shrugs. 'He really thinks he's doing this for

everyone's best, that he's got to make everyone's

decisions for them. For years I've been able to

get him to do things by letting him think they were

his ideas, but this time he's been impossible.‘ (p.

124)
She no longer allows him to make decisions for her, and she
is accepting the responsibility for her own decisions. With
her heightened awareness of her own worth her transition from

a passive, dependent person to an active, independent one is

almost complete.

The transition from homemaker to wage earner for the
mother in The Divorce Express, by Paula Danziger, is prompted
by a divorce. The mother makes the transition from homemaker
to wage earner smoothly, opening her own business when she
and her husband are divorced.

She is effective and competent at her work; often
difficult to reach during the day as she is consulting with
clients (p. 20), or she has gone on a business trip (p. 6).
Money is not a problem for her since the divorce, not because
she receives money from Phoebe's father, but because she has
a lucrative business. This is evident in the clothes she

buys, e.g., a sable coat for herself (p. 131), name brands

37
for Phoebe (p. 3). Phoebe explains to her friend that her
mother is "into labels and names written all over clothes.
Sometimes I think she looks like alphabet soup." (p. 34)

Having her own interior decorating service means a lot
to Phoebe's mother. Her business has taken precedence over
having Phoebe live with her, although she enjoys having her
daughter visit. Phoebe knows that to live with her mother on
a full time basis would be impossible because, "She's too
busy looking for perfect antiques for other people's houses."
(p. 11) When Phoebe does come to visit, her mother fills the
time with shopping, dinner, movies. She has all of the plans
made before Phoebe arrives. (p. 46-47) The planning and
decision making necessary in her business carries over into
the rest of her life, but at the expense of not taking her
daughter's feelings and desires into account.

Although Phoebe's mother is caught up in her own life,
she does come through in times of emergency. When a heavy
snow storm delays the bus Phoebe and her friend are traveling
to New York on, her mother, for the first time, meets the
bus. She warmly hugs Rosie, Phoebe's friend, although she
has never met her before. As they prepare to leave, her
mother says:

You two know all the kids who ride the bus alone.

Are any of them not being met by their parents?

It's not safe for them to be here alone. Let's

make sure they're all right. (p. 20)

She checks on each child in a “very logical way" and Phoebe

recognizes that this is typical of her mother.

38

That's like my mother too -- superorganized and
take-charge personality. (p. 120)

This image of a competent efficient woman changes some when
she is with Duane, the man she plans on marrying.

At one point, she and Duane break up. She calls Phoebe
to tell her how much she misses her, how lonely she is. None
of this rings true because it is out of character for her.
She did not have this reaction when she and her husband
separated, and when Phoebe went to live with her dad.
Phoebe's assessment of the situation is that:

It's almost as if my mother's forgotten that I'm
the daughter and she's the mother. (p. 99)

As competent as Phoebe's mother is, where Duane is concerned,
she becomes more dependent as she relies on his decision
making. The change as a role model angers Phoebe.

I know that she can do lots of stuff by herself,

but when she's with Duane, she lets him make all

the decisions. And he treats her like a precious

china doll. (p. 129)
Phoebe cannot understand why her mother is attracted to
Duane. Her mother explains: He offers me love and caring and
companionship. (p. 133) But there is more to it than that.
She seems to be drawn to a man who does take charge, who does
assume a male superiority.

She defends her right to love Duane when Phoebe accuses

her of liking him for his money, and tells Phoebe:

You don't have to understand. You just have to
accept it. (p. 132)

What her daughter thinks of Duane is important to her, but

she is not going to sacrifice her own happiness to satisfy

39
her daughter.

For the most part, the image projected in The Divorce
Express is of a strong competent mother. Her weaknesses lie
in her inability to make the transition from a woman who is
taken care of by a man to one who can retain her independence
in a relationship with a man. She loves her daughter, but
often her actions reflect a self centeredness that limits the

relationship between the two of them.

Gwen, the mother, in Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume is thrust

 

into a state of transition by the sudden death of her
husband. He was shot during a robbery of their store. When
the period of shock and acute mourning is over, Gwen makes an
attempt to carry on with life as usual, but her teenage
daughter, Davey, has a difficult time adjusting to her
father's death and to a new school. Davey stays in her
bedroom; her mother tries to get her back to normal (p. 20),
but when Davey agrees to go out with her boy friend again she
realizes she can't go on as usual. Davey runs home, gets
into bed and stays there for five days. (p. 21) The mother
decides she, Davey, and her young son, Jason, will go out to
New Mexico to live, for awhile, with her sister-in-law.

Once there, however, when Gwen knows she no longer has
to take on the responsibility for her children, she is unable
to cope with the sudden loss of her husband. She becomes
distant from her children, seems unaware of what is going on

around her. When Davey wants permission to ride a bike

40

around the area, her Aunt Bitsy asks Gwen:

'Is it all right with you?‘

'What? "Oh, yes ... fine,‘ my mother says. I get

the feeling she doesn't even know what we are

talking about. She seems distracted. (p. 45)
It's as if it is safe now for Gwen to step out of the mother
role, and give herself over to mourning the loss of her
husband.

Her marriage had been a happy one, filled with laughter

and love. Davey remembers the last night her dad was alive:

Mom and Dad had their arms around each other and
were in one of their touchy-feely moods. (p. 115)

Gwen's sister-in-law, Bitsy, chides her because Gwen and her
husband had made no provisions for their future. Bitsy asks:
‘What were you living on ... love?‘
‘More or less,‘ my mother answers.
Bitsy sighs. ‘Adam always was a dreamer.‘

‘Yes,’ Mom says. 'That's one of the reasons I
loved him.‘ (9. 16)

Up to this point, she had been slowly adjusting to the
traumatic change in her life. Although still grief stricken,
the image she projects is not of a weak person. Gwen has had
"plenty of experience in dealing with death" as both her
mother and father have died, as well as her brother when he
was only nineteen. (p. 61)

Gwen prepares to take the children back home, but then
she learns that their store has been vandalized. Her

carefully reconstructed strength is shattered.

The room is filled with the sound of a long, low

41

wail. It sends shivers down my back. I look

around, trying to identify it, then realize it is

coming from my mother. (p. 67)
Gwen becomes hysterical, "raving and ranting around the room,
pulling at her own hair, screaming and crying..." (p. 68)
She had never lost control before, not when her husband was
killed nor at his funeral. She finally collapses, crying.

‘I'm sorry,‘ Mom whimpers. ‘I'm sorry ... but I

just can't take any more. I just can't ...' (p.

68)
She becomes withdrawn after this. "She can't decide what to
do about the store. She can't decide what to do about
anything." (p. 69) She spends much of her time resting or
sleeping.

Mom is stretched out on the sofa, twirling a rubber
band around her fingers. (p. 79)

Davey tries to talk to her mother, but --

Mom is asleep, her mouth half open. Her breath
sounds raspy. (p. 96)

Later Davey tries again.

I wish I could talk to my mother. But when I get

back she is sound asleep again, the shades in her

room pulled down, making it as dark as night.

Sometimes I feel she has vanished from my life.

And I miss her. (p. 99)
Gwen has begun to develop severe headaches (p. 84), and the
headache medicine coupled with her depression creates a wall
between her and the rest of her family. At this point she is
overcome and unable to cope.

Her inability to cope is a grieving period she must go

through. She had put the needs of her children first, and

now must give herself over to pain in order to work through

42
it. Davey finds her mother:
...sitting on the bed, surrounded by old photos.

She is holding one of my father.. She presses it to

her face and says, 'Oh, Adam ... I miss you so

much.‘ She begins to weep quietly. (p. 87)

Gwen gradually realizes she must seek help beyond her
own resources.

'I have to get myself together,‘ Mom explains that

night at the dinner table. It is the first time in

a week that she is joining us for dinner. (p. 107)

The first step she takes in getting herself together is to go
to the family counseling center. Through therapy she
gradually rebuilds her self confidence. She begins to go out
again (p. 116), and plans on looking for work.

I've got to get into a routine. I need some place

to go every morning. A reason to get out of bed.

(p. 151)

She is beginning to make decisions again, and to accept
responsibility for them, even when Davey is upset. Gwen
knows she is not ready or able to return home yet.

'I can't go back now,‘ Mom says. 'I'm not ready.

There's still too much to deal with. I'm just

beginning to get myself together. I have a long

way to go.‘ (p. 140)

These are words from a thoughtful competent decision maker.
She gradually assumes responsibility for the children again,
although, too often, allows Bitsy and her husband Walter to
make decisions regarding Davey and Jason. This is especially
true when Davey wants to do something that might be
considered dangerous -— skiing or driving a car. In the

midst of a heated argument with Walter, Davey turns to her

mother:

43

Mom, please. I really want to take Driver's Ed.
It's very important to me.

Mom looks at me and we make eye contact for the
first time in months. (p. 164)

At this point she is still allowing Walter to assume parental
guidance. Because of the violent nature of her husband's
death, she is timid about activity that may involve physical
danger.

Her transition to strong independent mother continues as
she decides to go out with a male friend, much to Davey's
displeasure. In spite of Davey's anger, Gwen stands up for
her right to date if she wants to. She explains to her
daughter that she "needs the adult companionship." (p. 177)
More than just adult companionship, she needs to see someone
outside the family, someone to see her as a woman and not a
broken-hearted widow.

When the time comes that she is strong enough to return
home, she makes that decision on her own. Davey doesn't
realize her mother has decided to leave the safety of Bitsy's
and Walter's home.

'When are we going home, Mom?‘ I hold my breath,

afraid that she will say, 'we're never going home,

Davey.‘ Instead she says, 'I've been thinking we

should leave as soon as school is over.‘ (p. 210)

Gwen could easily have stayed in New Mexico; her male friend
has asked her to marry him. She has a job, and help and
support from Bitsy and Walter. Not only strength was needed
to make the decision to return home, but knowledge --

knowledge of herself: her own needs, strengths, desires. She

44
has decided, "It's time for us to start making a life on our
own." (p. 215) At this point her transition to a competent

thoughtful decision maker is complete.

As in Tiger Eyes, the mother in A Place Apart by Paula

 

 

Fox is thrown into a transition by the death of her husband
(the mother is unnamed, as is the case in many of the
adolescent novels). Because he died suddenly of a heart
attack, she and her daughter, Tory, had no time to prepare
for the sudden loss and grief. They both retreated into a
numbness, waiting for the pain to ease. Tory said that all
the minutes hurt.

Ma and I hardly spoke to each other. Every time I

looked at her, she had a cigarette in her mouth.

She was getting thinner by the day. (p. 6)
The mother was unsure of herself and their future. One night
she came into Tory's room and shook her awake.

We stared at each other, neither of us saying a

word. I remember how terrible the feeling was that
we weren't anywhere we had been before -- and

morning wasn't going to come, and we were in

danger. Suddenly, Ma had said, 'We'll be all

right.’ But that time she'd grabbed my hands and

asked, 'Won't we?‘ (p. 4)

Because Tory's mother and father did not plan for the
future, it is necessary to sell their house in Boston. Her
mother explains to Tory, "Papa had not been practical.“ (p.
6) The mother is used to being taken care of. She assumes
that planning for the future was her husband's

responsibility. Her reaction is anger:

She sounded angry, as though it was Papa's fault

45

for not knowing he would die so suddenly and when
he was still young. She sounded strange and hard,
as though she were having a fight with someone and
knew she was losing. (p. 6-7)

For a while she needs someone to lean on, and she asks her

brother to come and stay. But she slowly emerges from her

grief, and encourages her daughter to have faith that life

will

When

become better, happier, for them.

'We are going to have to make it all right here,‘
she said. (p. 10)

Tory realizes their house in Boston will be torn down

for an apartment complex she comments:

'We've burned our ships.‘
Her mother responds with a quiet 'yes.‘
Then she smiled at me, and I smiled back. It was

as if a fever had dropped, a fever we had both had
for the last two months. (p. 10)

The fever of despair does gradually leave, and the mother

begins to take more control of her and Tory's future.

She had not worked outside the home before and is not

trained for employment. She begins looking at college

catalogues.

Tory

'I'd like to earn a living,‘ she said. 'I have to.
But I'd especially like to be skilled at
something.‘

tells her that she'll take care of her.
'I don't want to be taken care of,‘ she said, and

she looked away from me at a table where my
father's picture sat in a silver frame. (p. 14)

Accepting responsibilty for her own life is a major step

towards independence.

Smoking becomes a symbol for her self confidence. The

46

better she feels about her ability to cope and make
responsible decisions, the fewer cigarettes she smokes. Her
dependence on tobacco is obvious even when she is trying to
look ahead with optimism.

'Wait until spring! We can make it better. And

the apple trees will bloom. Wait till you can see

what fresh paint can do!‘ She put down her fork

and lit her hundredth cigarette of the day. (p. 9)
Gradually she becomes a stronger, more competent woman. The
image for her daughter is of one who takes charge and gets
things done.

Ma put her hand on my arm. I looked at her

fingers, the strong clean nails, the skin reddish

from all the painting and carpentering she'd been

doing. (p. 24)
She constantly fights the battle of stopping smoking, which
causes her to do some ridiculous things, like using a plastic
cigarette (p. 23), hiding in Tory's closet to have a
forbidden smoke.

There was Ma, sitting on the floor among a lot of

old sneakers, puffing away on a cigarette. I never

saw anyone look so embarassed. (p. 103)
Sometimes the image of her mother as someone who relies on
cigarettes is of a pathetic nature.

When I got home, I found Ma in the kitchen. Ashes

fell from her cigarette onto her sweater. She was

slicing a potato so clumsily it was as if she'd

never seen one before. (p. 36)
The cigarettes are with her constantly -— while playing the
piano (p.52), refinishing furniture (p. 68) and riding on a

bus (p. 79). As she becomes more competent she pushes

herself to stop smoking.

47
'Witness this,‘ she said, and dropped the pack into
a trash bin. 'Now, if you see me sneaking into a
tobacco store, you can make a citizen's arrest.‘

'Do you mean it?‘

'I don't know,‘ she replied. 'But I'll try.‘ (p.
94) -

Although she does smoke some later, she eventually gives it
up and becomes more and more a person who is responsible for
her own actions.

Accepting responsibility for behavior is evident when
she meets Lawrence Grady, a man she eventually plans on
marrying. From the first, Tory objects to her mother having
a male interest, and the fact that her mother wants them to
be friends.

Mr. Grady didn't pay much attention to me, and I

was relieved at that. Ma tried to get him to. I

could see her trying and I didn't want her to. (p.

75)

Tory is happy to see her Ma cheerful, but she describes it as
a "distant gladness." (p. 76) The feeling of distance comes
from Tory, not her mother. To Tory no one can take her
father's place. She cries out "He's not Papa," but her
mother only responds, "No one is." (p. 77) Ma does not feel
guilty about her growing love for Lawrence. She would like
Tory to accept the relationship, but insists on her right to
care, love, and even remarry if she wants to. When Tory acts
unfriendly to Lawrence, her mother is annoyed.

Ma was stern with me, speaking in short sentences

like a telegram. I knew she wished I was more

responsive. (p. 89)

Ma realizes she can't explain this relationship to her

48
daughter's satisfaction.

But I can't explain it to you, and I'm not going to
try. (p. 79)

She's not insensitive to Tory, rather the image of mother
that develops is of one who believes she has a right to make
decisions about her life and will accept responsibility for
the consequences of the decisions.

She cares a great deal for her daughter, but will not
let her daughter make decisions for her. "It's not really
you who's taking the chance. Lawrence and I are." (p. 101)
She wants Tory to know what is going on.

'What would you think if I got married again?" she
asked. 'Would you find it very hard to take?‘

'I don't know how I feel about your getting
married,‘ I said. 'I guess its not up to me.‘

'No. It isn't,‘ she said. 'But I care about the
way you feel.‘ (p. 97-98)

Caring about Tory extends beyond if she marries or not. Tory
knows she can rely on her mother for love and support.

When Tory and a friend earn money during the summer, her
ma understands the feeling of independence that Tory is
enjoying.

It feels good, doesn't it? To earn your own money.
(P- 78)

She is probably projecting her own desires, but she doesn't
take away from her daughter's success. She is sensitive to
Tory's problems and feelings. When Tory is distraught during
a phone call, her mother goes to her immediately. Tory has

the sense that her mother would never let her down; she's the

49
one person in the world she can always count on. (p. 118) Ma
will take time to watch an old movie with her, go on a week's
vacation, talk about problems, and discuss solutions. Tory
knows her ma can help; "she always had." (p. 131) But Ma
doesn't pretend to have all the answers, and explains that we
never outgrow problems and the need for difficult decisions.

Tory, it's as hard to be grown-up as to grow up.
(p. 149)

Ma has grown much during this transition period.

From someone who was angry because her husband didn‘t
provide for her, she has changed to one who is taking change
of her own life. Although she plans on remarrying she is
resolute about learning new skills so that she can take care
of herself. The image is of a loving responsible mother not

afraid to meet new challenges.

Karen, the mother, in Notes for Another Life by Sue

 

Ellen Bridgers feels that she has made a mistake in marrying
when she was young and an even bigger mistake in having
children. Throughout the story she vacillates between
feelings of guilt and justification for leaving her children
in the care of their grandparents while she has pursued a
career. It is not only the children she has left, however;
her husband has a serious mental illness and he, too, lives
with the grandparents when he is out of the hospital. The
image that emerges is of a mother who gradually, but

unerringly makes a transition from a woman who stays at home

50
caring for children and husband to one who is concerned only
with her career.

From the first years of her marriage, Karen was uneasy
about fulfilling the typical mother role. She had married
because it was expected and easy.

And then it wasn't what she wanted at all. How

could she have disregarded so completely that

familiar secret voice that has always demanded so

much? How could this be such a desolate life when

the days were so frantically busy? (p. 17)

Karen admits to Bliss, her mother-in-law, that she
thought "being married would be everything." (p. 127) She
had done what was expected, had made herself fit in. It had
even been what she truly wanted. (p. 152) But even so, her
feeling that she wanted more out of life continued. Being a
homemaker was not sufficient; she yearned for something more.
Karen believes that women are cheated by not being encouraged
to find self worth and fulfillment beyond the family life.
She describes to Bliss conversations she has had with men
where they recount all the significant events of their
college life and job, and then almost as an after thought
will add, "Oh, yes, and I have a wonderful wife and three
children." (p. 128) Karen wonders why women can't do that -—
why husband and children are always the primary interest, and
then if there is time and energy there will be a job.

Karen tries to explain to her daughter, Wren, her
feelings of dissatisfaction with her life as a homemaker.

I just couldn't manage it all. At first I didn't
know why because I had a good husband, two
beautiful children, a nice home. But slowly I

51

realized I was more than a little discontent. It

was as though I was misplaced and had to keep

looking for myself. (p. 169)

The "looking for myself" meant finding something to do that
she could attach value to. She wasn't sure of a career
choice, believing she had no obvious talent, but did realize
she had "a natural sort of taste, an instinct." (p. 169)
Capitalizing on the sense of taste she sought work as a
window designer. More important than what job she acquired
though, was getting a job where she could use her talents.

"I just knew I wanted to have a life that was uniquely mine."
(p. 169) She admits to Wren that she now realizes she didn't
know how to make decisions when she was first married. She
just let things happen, and warns Wren to be more conscious
about decision making that will affect her the rest of her
life.

The first yearnings for a life different from the one
Karen knew as a homemaker stirred before her husband, Tom,
became ill, although his depression made her more anxious and
impatient for a change. His illness had developed slowly,
first appearing as lethargy, and then finally as acute
depression. Karen felt helpless; she had always been so
energetic, so in control. "She knew she couldn't stay with
him like this." (p. 19) Her work outside the home became
more important than either her children or her husband. The
feeling of doing something that mattered, of being in control
was possible only through her job. She came to realize that

the kind of life her husband was attached to wasn't the right

52

one for her. "I couldn't just make do like some women can."
(p. 169) She could not attach value to her life as a
homemaker, so her self worth had to come from outside her
home. When she accepted a job designing windows for a
gigantic store six hours away, although she may not have
realized it at the time, an important decision was made. She
would leave children and husband behind to pursue the style
of life she wanted.

She had always wanted an apartment in an elegant

old building with a doorman and no lawn to mow, no

trash to take to the curb, no neighbors to be

chummy with. She wanted all the things she'd never

had, like take-out Chinese food and expensive
Italian shoes and a season ticket to the ballet.

(P. 17)

With her job these goals were attainable. But more than
material things, she desired a life that could only be
created by no family demands on her life.

For Karen it was impossible to juggle home and job.
Having the type of life she wanted meant leaving her two
children completely in the care of her husband's parents.

She seems incapable of understanding how her children feel
about her obvious preference to live apart from them.

Each time their mother comes for a visit, Wren and Kevin
respond to her in spite of their resolve not to. Even though
they are not part of their mother's life, what she does
matters to them. "Her absence counted; it was a minus, a
subtraction from the sum of their lives because it meant, no
matter how they struggled to deny it, that she didn't need

them enough, want them enough, love them enough." (p. 16)

53

Karen accepted their love, but would not give the outpouring
of love her children needed and wanted. When Karen comes for
a visit, she doesn't meet Wren at school but waits for Wren
to come home and then merely turns "her chair and body
slightly away from the table so that there was room for her
daughter to come to her." (p. 15) Wren stayed in her
mother's arms as long as she could, but "lingering there had
embarrassed her a little, as if she were showing more need
than was reasonable. She didn't want to make demands,
knowing how uncomfortably they could be met." (p. 15) Kevin
has the same sense of needing his mother more than she does
him.

'Kevinl' Karen held out her arms to him. He came

slowly, as if he would keep her there, arms

outstretched to him for as long as he could. Why

doesn't she ever come to me? he wondered -- she

never touches first, never takes steps. (p. 22)
He goes to her and stayed in her embrace

for as long as he dared, until he felt a sob

grumbling in his gut, some pitiful savage cry of

longing to be there forever. He pulled away then,

knowing he was risking too much. He knew his

mother could see it if she were willing to look at

how his mouth trembled and his chest heaved to push

down the sob. But she didn't look. (p. 23)
She never seems to really look at her children, to see beyond
their welcoming hugs, to see their need for her. She flits
in and out of their lives, acting the part of the loving
mother and then quickly leaving with no remorse. When she
had visited them last, it was at Christmas; she had stayed

over Christmas Eve and left the next day. For her children,

her visit has more significance "because her coming was a

54
happening as eventful to them as the arrival their faith
celebrated." (p. 21) She sampled their holiday baking and
exchanged presents, but holds herself apart from intimately
sharing their lives.

When Wren graduates from eighth grade and is chosen to
play the processional, Karen doesn't come to take part in
this important event. She offers to buy Wren a dress --
"something soft and pretty with a lace collar and cuffs or
those lovely little puffed sleeves the girls are wearing."
(p. 82) To Wren, she sounds like an advertisement, not a
mother. Wren realizes the distance between them is
"untraversable" (p. 8) and that "there was no keeping her."
(P- 25)

Kevin has a much harder time accepting this truth. He
wants so badly to be with his mother that he risks exposing
his need and vulnerability by asking her if he can move to
Chicago with her. He waits for her answer. "How long did it
take to say yes? Time ran slowly, running out. His vision
was curiously blurred at the edges but her face was clear to
him, as solid and contained as marble." (p. 144) When she
does answer she agrees but the pause has stretched out too
long. Kevin can't face the disappointment and attempts
suicide.

With therapy, Kevin recovers and is able to accept his
mother's absence without feeling rejected. He doesn't like
her being gone but understands that her decisions do not

reflect on him personally. The children believe that their

55
mother is closer to them now, reaching out to them more
because her defenses crumbled, too, when Kevin tried to kill
himself.

However, the image of a mother determined to complete -
her transition from homemaker to single career woman remains
strong. She has decided to divorce her husband, Tom, for no
apparent reason. He is too ill to interfere with her career
plans, and since he lives with his parents and children she
has no responsibility for him. She reassures Bliss that
there is no other man she is interested in. Since there is
no compelling reason for the divorce, Karen seems to want to
be rid of old ties and past relationships.

She is not realistic about her own motivations or goals.
When she first left the children with their grandparents she
convinced herself it was temporary.

She wasn't abandoning them. It was more a filling

in of her life than it was a clearing out. When

she was herself again, unhampered by the strain of

Tom's helplessness, she would be the mother she

wanted to be. (p. 20)

But she never arranged to have them live with her and she
came back to see them less and less often. With her move to
Chicago and the divorce she has moved out of their lives.
Yet she holds on to the sentimentality of motherhood. She
and Wren see a small child sleeping in her mother's arms.
"'Oh look,‘ Karen said softly. 'Look at her.‘ But Wren
could not." (p. 171) Wren knows her mother's reaction is

only an emotional one, and for Karen, children are not

allowed to be an integral part of her life. The image of a

56
woman in transition from homemaker to career woman unhampered

by family ties is complete.

Although the mother in It Must've Been the Fish Sticks

 

 

by Betty Bates follows the same pattern as Karen -- leaving
husband and child to pursue her own life -- the image of
mother is drastically different. Imogene, the mother, does
not want the responsibility of being wife and mother, but her
leaving is a sense of escape from, not a going to. She has
no plan or purpose to her life.

Brian, her son, was very young when Imogene left, and
does not remember her. In fact, he had assumed she had died,
and is shocked when he discovers the truth. He fears that he
is responsible, not able to comprehend any other reason she
would have for leaving. He becomes convinced that he must
show his mother, "that she didn't need to go off that way,"
that he is no longer "a real monster." (p. 29) Even when his
father tells Brian that his mother has never asked to see her
son since she left, Brian remains convinced that he must
visit her. (p. 29) Part of his desire comes from his
rebellion against his step mother, believing that his mother
would let him do anything he wants.

He discovers his mother living with a boy friend in a
run-down house. Her main occupation is welding large art
objects together, but she has never been successful in
selling any of her work. Although she seems capable and

independent on one level, as in her ability to weld and to

57
handle a motorcycle very proficiently, on another level she
is dependent with low self esteem. These latter qualities
are evident in the relationship she has with her boyfriend,
Kelsey. When she expresses concern for him, he replies: "I'm
sick of you whinin' and carryin' on all the time." (p. 108)
When drunk he is abusive and at one time attempts to hit her
with a lamp. (p. 108) Imogene makes excuses for him and
protects the relationship as if afraid she will be on her
own.

Her leaving Brian and his father was not to become
independent but because she could not accept the
responsibility of a child and husband. She tells Brian:

I've done everything. I mean, everything. I've

been into ceramics, astrology, ballet, folksinging,

mind control, poetry, and -- let's see, there was

something else. Heck, it doesn't matter. I've

experimented. I've lived. (p. 56)

But when her latest venture, the welded sculpture, falls
through, her life is once again without purpose or direction:

Maybe I could try upholstering. Maybe even make

money with it. Maybe I could take a course

somewhere. Maybe if I moved to Columbus. In

Columbus I could go see that furnace man, the one

who wanted to help me. Maybe I could... (p. 125)

Her lack of independence is obvious with her thinking of the
future in terms of getting help from a man she knows only
slightly. Although she claims to have made the transition
from wife and mother to a single woman because she needed
freedom, or as she explains to Brian, "I needed space. She

throws her arms out wide. Space. Can you see that?” (p.

55), her life is limited and confining. Her effort in making

58
a transition to a independent capable woman was unsuccessful
because she is immature and unrealistic.

Melody, Jeff's mother in A_Solita§y Blue by Cynthia

 

Voigt follows a pattern of transition similar to that of
Imogene. Melody leaves her seven year old son and husband.
The image of Melody as a young wife and mother was of a
frivolous light-hearted woman, one who didn't take
responsibilities very seriously. She played the role of
child more than adult, partly because she was fifteen years
younger than her professor husband. Later, Jeff remembered
his mother as sharing his childish fears and delights:
...Melody was sitting beside him, being scared and

excited, laughing out loud when the car rolled down

an incline, holding him within her arm. (p. 11)
Seeing her husband as rigid and unapproachable, Melody
conveyed the idea to Jeff that his father was afraid of
change, so after she left, Jeff "made sure that the
Professor's life was what the Professor wanted." (p. 13) In
an effort to keep his father's life worry-free, Jeff learns
to cook and clean, tasks his mother had not been interested
in. A friend, Brother Thomas, comments on Jeff's good
cooking:

'He certainly didn't get it from you -- was his
mother a good cook?‘

Jeff kept his eyes on his plate and his face still
as he listened to what his father would answer.

'No, she hated housework of any kind.‘ (p. 13)
When Melody leaves Jeff and the Professor she returns to

her family home in the South. It isn't until Jeff is twelve

59
that Melody asks him to come to visit. He is overcome with
her beauty and outgoing warm nature.

He felt like a man must who has been kept in a

dungeon for years and years, and he steps out into

the sunlight, for the first time. (p. 24)

It takes Jeff awhile to see his mother as she really is. He
wants desperately for her to be the wonderful image he has
constructed in his mind.

Actually Melody is quite different from Jeff's image of
her. Her transition from wife to single woman was not one
from being dependent to independent. She left her husband to
live with her grandmother, a wealthy woman whom Melody hopes
to ingratiate. (p. 37) Because Jeff is the last male in the
family line he is in a position of acquiring an inheritance,
the reason Melody invited him to visit. Melody's lack of
interest in being a mother is evident in her relationship
with Jeff. During the first visit she spends a moderate
amount of time with him, but does not make an effort to take
him places a boy might like. "I hope you don't want me to
take you over the boats; I hope you don't expect that." (p.
33)

When Jeff is back home with his father, Melody does not
write or call in spite of the letters and gifts Jeff sends to
her. (p. 55) Melody has made a point of telling Jeff how
painful for her his birth had been. (9. 35) Later, in anger,
she tells him: "I wanted a girl. You didn't know that did
you, but you should have figured it out. If you'd been a

girl I'd have taken you with me when I walked out on him."

60
(p. 87) When Jeff asks his father about his mother's desire
for a girl, the Professor tells him she is lying; she never
was interested in having a baby in the first place. (p. 101)
Melody's image is not that of a loving caring mother, not
solely because she left Jeff, but because of her behavior
when she is with him.

During the first visit Jeff and his great-grandmother
developed a loving relationship, so that when Jeff arrives
the following summer Melody no longer has to worry about Jeff
being in Grandmother's good graces. As a result, she leaves
with her boy friend the day after Jeff comes to visit and,
although she tells him she'll be back in a week, is gone a
month. (p. 75)

Melody's overriding ambition is to acquire money -- on a
large scale from her Grandmother's inheritance through Jeff
but in small petty ways, too. During Jeff's first summer
with his mother, she has him pay for their lunch out. (p. 39)
Later she turns in the return airline ticker his father
purchased for a bus ticket, and keeps the difference in
money. She doesn't give Jeff any of the money, and since
Melody has spent all the money he arrived with, he makes the
sixteen hour bus trip unable to buy food. Melody laughs it
off. "Oh, Jeffie, what a bad mother I've been." (p. 45) In
spite of her laugh, acquiring money is a serious concern of
Melody's. She had always complained to her husband that her
engagement ring wasn't large enough, and she wanted a bigger,

fancier house. She ran up enormously high debts that, five

61

years after the divorce, her husband is still paying off.

Jeff finally gives up his childish dream of a wonderful
loving mother who in some way couldn't help leaving her son.
He realizes if he had to choose between living with his
father or mother that:

He wouldn't choose Melody, not now. He knew

that, but he tried to think about why: he'd liked

her being beautiful and the sound of her voice, but

he didn't trust her and he didn't like the way she

talked about need. He suspected that it made her

feel good to feel sorry for people. She was

dangerous, the way she pulled at your emotions.

No, he wouldn't choose her now. (p. 134)

He understands now that Melody lied about her life with the
Professor. The dissolution of the marriage came about, not
because of her husband's rigidity, but because of her
behavior. The Professor tells Jeff:

When I found out how many lies she was telling me,

I finally realized that she had always lied to me.

About my lectures. About boyfriends; and even

after she knew I knew, she'd still lie about it. I

hated her... (p. 101)
With Jeff, too, Melody persists in lying after it is clear
that he has seen through her charade of a loving mother.

Melody comes to see Jeff to plead with him to return to
South Carolina with her. She insists she has broken off the
relationship with her boy friend because he was jealous of
Jeff, but Jeff can see his car hidden behind the trees. (p.
164) The real reason she wants Jeff to come back is that
Grandmother is dying, and if Jeff were there he might be the

recipient of her inheritance. As much as Jeff loves his

Grandmother, he cannot agree to be used as Melody's pawn. "I

62
don't want to live with you. Not all the time, not for the
summer, not for a week. Not ever." (p. 166) Melody is
furious because Jeff refuses to help her acquire
Grandmother's wealth. "You used to love me, I know you did.
But you chose your father because he's the rich and famous
one." (p. 187) She is incapable of understanding emotions
unassociated with greed. The lighthearted immature image has
changed to one of a mother obsessed with money. Her extreme

self centeredness has destroyed her love for her son.

On the surface, the image of mother in fig and Catch a

 

Flying Fish by Mary Stolz is exactly like Melody. She, too,

 

decides the responsibilities of wife and mother are not for
her, and she leaves behind three children. Yet, the image
that emerges from the novel is one of a sensitive unhappy
woman, insecure in her capabilities as mother, unsure of what
she wants from life.

Junie feels dominated by her husband, Tony. Since he is
the sole wage earner, she must depend on him for money, and
money becomes a major topic for argument. Junie goes to
auctions and estate sales, buying things Tony believes they
don't need and can't afford. (p. 6) Junie's argument is that
she always chooses beautiful items. But, then, she doesn't
cherish them once she brings them home. Tony's mother
comments:

What's the point of June's buying a beautiful piece

like that table...if then it's covered to
overflowing with ashtrays and magazines and dear

63
only knows what else, to say nothing of glasses and
mugs being left on it all the time. There are
water stains on it. And at least one cigarette
burn. (p. 99)
Junie's compulsion to buy is symptomatic of her feeling of
frustration, of being trapped by her marriage.
I thought marriage was a partnership. Isn't that
what you told me when you wanted so badly to have
me for a partner? Share and share alike. (p. 9)
Her husband, Tony, continually uses money as a source of
control. When he insists on returning an antique screen,
Junie lashes out:
Do you realize, do you ever stop to think at all
what a humiliating, miserable, antediluvian, filthy
position it puts me in, to have to share a checking
account with you? Do you know what it does to me,
having you know to the penny every damn penny I
spend? Do you know what it makes me feel like? (p.
70)
Neither one makes any attempt to understand the other's
position. Junie had been writing large checks so that the
bank account was often overdrawn. Tony's response is to
close out the joint checking account and open one in his name

only.

Tony: You are going to learn to live on what I give
you for household expenses --

Junie: Listen to me, you -- you imbecile. I'm not
your household helot and I will not be doled out
household expenses. (p. 71)
Junie's anger comes from being boxed in by Tony's control.
He will not allow her to get a job, threatening to quit his
if she works outside the home. Yet, he uses the fact that he

is the wage earner to berate her: ”Who earns the money around

here?" (p. 71) Junie's emotional reaction is anger:

64

Earns? Earns! I am fed fed up with your mingy

tacky ways. And I'm tired while I'm at it, of

Junie the cat threw up in the living room and Junie

the bulb blew out in the bedroom and Junie we've

run out of shaving cream and Junie the phone's

ringing and Junie this and Junie that and Junie

take care of everything. Earn? I'm the one who

earns around here. (p. 71)

Junie sums up her feelings about housework when she tells her
daughter, Taylor, "when a man marries, he gets a housekeeper.
When a woman marries, she becomes one." (p. 82)

Although the three children understand their mother's
frustration over the household work and the money, they also
realize that Junie does not fit the image of mother that
seems prevalent in society. To Jem, her son, she was
beautiful:

She was like a garden. She'd run along the beach

with a kite string and get a kite into the air in

seconds flat if there was a breeze at all. She

looked like a girl, speeding down the sand in her

bikini. Sometimes he wondered if it'd be maybe

easier to have a mother like Dan's. Mrs. Howard

wore stockings even in the summertime. Jem didn't
think his mother even owned a pair of stockings.

(P- 11)
Even Junie's daughter, Taylor, and the oldest of the
children, doesn't understand her mother's unwillingness to
become a "typical" mother. To Taylor, Junie's lack of coping
with the limitations of marriage is a sign of immaturity. (p.
53)

Junie's individualistic approach to household duties was
most apparent when Tony's mother came to visit. Grandmother
enjoyed cleaning and mending. Junie either stapled ripped

clothing or threw it out. When Grandmother visited, Junie

65

made an attempt, but once she left Junie's reaction was one
of joy.

Junie had thrown her shoes and shirt off the dock,

tossed her arms in the air and shouted, 'there she

goes!‘ (p. 44)
In spite of what Grandmother thought, though, Junie did many
of the things mothers are expected to do -- cleaning,
shopping, seeing that kids got to appointments, looking at
report cards. "But it seemed she was left emptied of spirit
and energy by the effort. More so each year." (p. 45)

Taylor wondered sometimes if her mother had really
wanted children. Before B.J., the youngest child, was born
Taylor had told her mother about a friend's mother expecting
a baby. Junie's response was, "Is she, poor soul." (p. 65)
And to Taylor it seemed that since B.J. was born her parents'
fights had increased in frequency and intensity. Junie told
Taylor once that some people "just shouldn't be mothers," and
admitted that she was "not a good mother.“ Taylor asks,
"then why did you marry somebody and have kids, if you think
you shouldn't have been a mother?"

Taylor, I want to tell you something -- lots and

lots of women find that what they're least afraid

of being is married and the mother of children. It

seems such a normal, right, sanctified unrisky

course to take. (p. 79)
To Junie, marriage is the end of a woman's personal growth.
She explains her view to Taylor:

Marriage is a compromise, Taylor. Always remember

that. Two people get married, and the woman starts

compromising. (p. 179)

Junie feels less and less able to make the compromises she

66
believes she must to stay in her present situation. Although
she loves her home, she is often gone. (p. 42) To the
children, she becomes more of a free spirit than a mother.

She never walked anywhere. She ran. She never sat

still but darted like a lovely lizard in and out of

the house in and out of the water in and out of

their lives. (p. 45)

She wants a change:

I do not want a safe harbor! I want to do

something that's fun. I want to go someplace and

hear some music and look at paintings, I want to go

someplace and dance. (p. 77)

After another fight with Tony, Junie does leave, but she
will not admit to Jem that she is leaving for good. As Jem
watches her pack he attempts to get an explanation from her,
some sense of what his mother is doing. But she reacts in
anger.

Jem -- don't you think I have any rights? Don't

you think a woman is entitled to do something on

her own, just once in a while? (p. 154)

She leaves without saying goodby to Taylor or her
two-year-old son, B.J. It takes B.J. two days to understand
that his mother is not returning and he is devastated. Junie
has become blinded by her own desire for a change in her life
and has ignored her children's needs. However, she does not
want her relationship with her children to terminate. After
she is settled in New York City she writes telling them she
wants to visit them in the future, and wants them to visit
her. But she clearly has made a choice between her children

and her life. She has put her own needs first, and either

can't or won't look at other avenues for creating a

67
satisfying life for herself. She creates an image of a
mother who believes she cannot succeed at personal growth if

she remains in the role of mother.

These, then, are mothers who are in the process of
making a transition from a homemaker to a wage earner. The
balance between independence and dependence is difficult for
each to attain. In struggling for this balance, their
relationships with other family members are affected. How
they achieve a compromise, satisfying to their particular
needs, depends on their values. To some, family
responsibilities are incompatible with the development of
self interests; others find they can continue close

relationships with their children while developing a career.

CHAPTER 3

MOTHERS WHO ARE PASSIVE AND/OR UNABLE TO COPE

The second category of images that emerges from the book
analyses is that of women who are unable to make decisions
and accept the responsibilities that will enable them to be
competent mothers. Unlike the mothers in the first category
they fail to make a transition to a more satisfying life. In
some cases, because of alcoholism or mental illness, they are
unable to function as responsible members of society. The
mothers in all of the books in this category have a general
lack of control over their own lives. They lack in Mary
Wollstonecraft's words "sense and independence of mind."

In three of the books, Qply My Mgggh lg Smiling,

Homecoming, and Dicey's Song, the mothers are mentally ill.

 

 

They are portrayed as alcoholics in Garden pf Broken Glass,

 

The Disappearance, and Pardon Me, You're Stepping gg_my

 

 

Eyeball. The image in Very Far Away from Anywhere Else is

 

the most positive one in this category, but she does not take
responsibility for making decisions. The last three books,

Second Heaven, Seems Like this Road Goes 22 Forever, and I

 

Will Call 13 Georgie's Blues, all portray passive mothers who

 

 

have no rapport with their children.

Elaine, the mother, in Only my Mouth 15 Smiling by
Jocelyn Riley is mentally ill. She had two severe nervous

68

69
breakdowns in the past, but has been well for a while. "The
first time, when we three kids didn't know about nervous
breakdowns, was the scariest; it sort of made us wonder if we
really knew who we were. You'd expect your own mother to
recognize you, after all." (p. 10) The children, Merle, Ron,
and Diana, had hoped that their mother was cured this time.
"She'd even been working full-time as a bookkeeper for almost
two years at the same job, a record for her. She'd kept her
job, she seemed to be sleeping at night, her face was pretty
clear, and she'd been paying rent to Grandma." (p. 13) But
she had begun to refer to "they" again. They were playing
Monopoly and as Merle handed her mother the play money she
commented that her mother could buy more hotels for Park
Place. "Ha!" Mother said. "My property. Fat funny joke.
They'll take everything away from me if they get the chance."
(p. 11) Merle's reaction is "Oh, God, not they again.”
Diana, who is nine years old and the youngest, says, "Don't
say things like that, Mom," hoping that if her mother just
tried hard enough she could keep from going crazy, and Ron
reacts with cynicism, "Who is they?" he asks in his most
obnoxious tone. (p. 13) The children are powerless; they
cannot help their mother retain her sanity.

It is difficult to acquire a clear picture of what
Elaine is like when she is not ill, because one of the main
focusses of the story is the disintegration of her mental
health. The novel concludes with her complete breakdown.

The children are too caught up in the present situation, too

70
dependent on a mother not capable of rational thought, to
reminisce and reflect on what life was like when she was
healthy. They are more apt to remember her bizarre behavior
when she was previously ill. The image of mother here was
that of one who has a tenuous hold on reality.

Elaine had been deserted by her husband soon after Diana
was born, and had been sharing a house with her mother since
then, although the two women did not get along well. Grandma
(she wasn't named in the novel) doesn't understand her
daughter's illness, nor is she sympathetic. She ridicules
Elaine: "I'm not the one who practically lives in a loony
bin." (p. 18) Because of her lack of patience and empathy
she often makes matters worse. Merle comments as she watches
the two fight:

Imagine two adults acting like that. Grandma

thinking Mother would just stop acting crazy if she

asked her to, and Mother screeching so she wouldn't

have to hear what Grandma had to say. (p. 18)

The fight progresses until Elaine is on the floor and Grandma
is kicking her. Neither her husband's desertion, nor her
mother's agressiveness is the primary cause of Elaine's
mental illness, but certainly both added stress to an already
difficult situation. The children don't remember their
father well enough to see any relationship between him and
their mother's illness, but they do understand Grandma's
contribution.

If only she and Mother could have talked to each

other like regular people, instead of acting as if

they were each other's worse enemies. Besides, if
Grandma is so sane, why doesn't she see that she

71

always sets Mother off with the things she says?

Grandma should try a little warmth on Mother;

instead, she's cold toward her, and then she acts

surprised when Mother stiffens up. (p. 65)

It is not until Elaine runs away with the children and,
ultimately, has her third and worst mental breakdown, that
Grandma better understands Elaine's illness and the necessity
for the family to work out their problems together. Grandma
wants them to come back home, but Merle objects.

How can we come back and live with you after what

we saw you do to Mother? You did kick mother. How

do you know it's not your fault she ran away to

Lake Lune and got crazy?

But Grandma is wiser now. She knows she could not prevent
Elaine's illness nor did she cause it.

'I guess I don't know much about anything,‘ Grandma

said. 'But I do know that a perfect saint couldn't

keep your mother from going crazy, Merle, and I've

never been a candidate for sainthood.‘ (p. 201)

Grandma had been talking to a social worker and had arranged
for the family to get help from a family counseling center.
(p. 202) She is ready to face their problems.

Elaine has had great difficulty in comprehending
problems or understanding the reality of situations. She
wanted life to be different, but seemed unaware and unable to
make the necessary changes.

We once saw a movie called "The Second Time Around"

three times in a row... I think Mother just wanted

to stay in the dark and imagine herself as the

mother on the screen who was getting married a

second time and would live happily ever after. (p.

21)

She seems incapable of taking charge of her life.

Among the many things Mother can't do, she's never

72

learned to drive. Whenever she starts squirreling

away money, she always says that she's going to buy

a car, and she probably never will. (p. 21)
Elaine's expectations are that at some point things will work
out for her. Being out of touch with reality, she and the
children have reversed roles. The children protect their
mother from the realization of her illness as long as they
are able.

As though Mother shouldn't know things that we know

are true. As though for some reason we have to

help her hang on to a sort of innocence that we

aren't allowed to have. (p. 143)
But Elaine can't be protected from the ravages of her illness
and is taken away, wrapped in a straight jacket. The

children have been unable to help her. Grandma tells Merle:

'It's not easy to do what's best for someone like
your mother, you know.‘

'Yeah,‘ I said, 'before you can, you have to figure
out what it is she wants...or needs.‘ (p. 203)

The image of Elaine as a mother is of a woman who can meet
neither her own or her children's needs. She is unable to
live a normal life or to function as an independent loving

person.

The mother in Homecoming and Dicey's Song by Cynthia
Voigt (the second a sequel to the first) also suffers from
mental illness. The mother is unable to function as an
independent capable woman, but the image is more sympathetic

in the Voigt novels than in Only My Mouth is Smiling.

73

In Homecoming, Liza, the mother, is remembered with

 

empathy and tenderness. One of the reasons for the
difference is that Liza abandons her children, so they do not
witness the deterioration of their mother's mental health
except for the initial symptoms.

Liza had been a loving mother, one who played with her
children and taught them songs. She is never portrayed as a
strong confident person, but as kind and gentle, someone who
will not fight back. (p. 296) One of her sons characterizes
her as "drifty and moony." (p. 39)

She and the children's father never married, partly
because she saw how marriage had changed her mother. Gram
explained to the four children:

“I loved my children. I had a lot of love to give

in those days, to my husband too. But it got

turned around. I got turned around. I let myself

get turned around. (p. 29)

But not getting married didn't save Liza from losing the kind
of life she had hoped for. Dicey, thirteen and the oldest
child, remembers her father's anger when her mother became
pregnant with Sammy, the fourth child. And before Sammy was
born, her father left. They had not seen him since.

On her own, with four children, Liza tried to care for
them, both emotionally and financially, too proud to ask her
family for help. Her parents had told her not to come back
until she was married, and either because of pride or shame,
she would not ask for their help although she was desperately

in need.

74

The image of one who lets life happen to her instead of
planning and making decisions is most obvious when she leaves
her children in the parking lot of a mall. Several weeks
later she is discovered in a catatonic state, miles from
their home. Because the novel begins with her leaving, the
image is created only through other's viewpoints. Unlike the
situation in Only My Mouth lg Smiling, Liza's children view
their mother sympathetically.

Momma didn't talk to them any more, not even to

scold, or sing, or make up games the way she used

to. Except Sammy. She talked to Sammy, but even

then they sounded like two six-year-olds talking,

not one six-year-old and his mother. (p. 7)
Thinking back on those times, Dicey realized what it must
have been like for her mother after she lost her job, and the
responsibility of being the sole caretaker was more than she
could bear. Dicey explains to her brothers and sister:

I think she got so worried about so many things

about money and us, about what she could do to take

care of us, about not being able to do anything to

make things better -- I think it all piled up

inside her so that she just quit...and all the

things that had piled up inside her head sort of

exploded there. And she just forgot us. (p. 110)
The children defended their mother when authorities
questioned their mother's marital state. "She didn't have
boyfriends, she didn't even go out on dates. She's nice.
She's good. She loves us." (p. 120) And later when a priest
questioned their home life, "--but she (Momma) gave us a good
home in Provincetown. She took good care of us, as good as

she could." (p. 139) There was never any doubt in the

children's minds that their mother loved them. Sammy tells

75
his grandmother that their mother wanted to return to them.
"How do you know that?"
"Because she loved me. Didn't she, Dicey?"
"Yes, she did. She loved all of us." (p. 65)
James, the oldest son concurs as he explains to Sammy:
"...she might have been crazy in some ways but she was never
crazy when it came to loving her kids." (p. 299-300) The
image of a loving mother able to provide security and
happiness to her children even against great odds changes to
one of a pathetic woman overcome by life's difficulties. As
Lisa left her children in the parking lot "she slung her
purse over her shoulder and walked away, her stride made
uneven by broken sandal thongs;, thin elbows showing through
holes in the oversized sweater, her jeans faded and baggy."
(p. S) The next time Dicey sees her mother is in a
photograph taken at the mental hospital.
Her face looked so flat and empty, so far away, as
if it hung miles above the earth and could not be
bothered by anything happening on the little planet
below. (p. 159)

In Dicey's Song, the children come to realize that their

 

mother is critically ill. "The sadness of Momma lost to
them, maybe forever, was something Dicey carried around deep
inside her all the time..." (p. 18) The mother, however,
remains free of blame. As Dicey explains to Sammy it was no
one's fault that Momma was ill, "not even Momma's. It was
just the way things happened." (p. 83) Through the process

of writing an essay describing her mother, Dicey is able to

76

see her objectively, yet with the sensitivity that comes from

love.

She had reasons to turn into a mean woman, but Mrs.
Liza just couldn't. She had long hair, the color
of warm honey in winter, the color of evening
sunlight in the summer. She walked easy, high
narrow shoulders, but loose, as if the joints of
her body never got quite put together. She walked
like a song with accompaniment. (p. 111)

Then Dicey describes the changes in her mother:
Her eyes stopped smiling first, and then her mouth.
The holes in her sweaters got bigger. Meanwhile,
people talked and she didn't know what to say so
they could understand. Meanwhile, quarters and
dimes got lighter, smaller. Meanwhile, her
children were growing bigger and they needed more
food, more clothes. Meanwhile, nothing she did
seemed to make any difference. (p. 111)
This sense of hopelessness that Dicey describes never lifts
from Liza.
Shortly before her mother dies, the doctor explains to
Dicey:
We did everything that could be done with the
resources we had. She never really responded...She
never tried. (p. 167)
When Dicey sees her mother for the last time, "Momma lay
absolutely still, with her arms down beside her body." (p.
163) The image is that of a person who has quietly given
up. Lisa was unable to withstand the harsh circumstances of
her life.

Lisa had no inner strength to help her through difficult

times. If she had been able to react with anger, to rebel

against life's inequalities, perhaps she could have

recovered. Her self concept must have been low or she would

77
have fought back. She, obviously, loved her children, but
even they could not save her.
The three books in the study that portray mothers as
alcoholics have very different images, although in each case
the mother is seriously ill. None of the mothers functions

normally. In Garden pf Broken Glass the image of the mother

 

is harsh and cruel, while the mother in The Disappearance is

 

described with pity and understanding. The image in Pardon
Me, You're Stepping 22_My Eyeball is of a person who's life
was destroyed by alcohol and mental illness.

Brian, the teenager in Garden pf Broken Glass by Emily

 

Cheney Neville, lives in terror of his mother. She is
abusive to him when drinking, and since that is a daily
occurrence, he stays away from home as much as possible.
When he discovers that his friend, Fat Martha, has a large
family his response is: "It must be pretty tough living with
all those people." But Martha defends them. "That's my
family you're talking about." For Brian though, the concept
of family is very different. "I hate my family. I hate my
mother most of all." (p. 13)

Brian can't remember a time when his mother didn't
drink. Martha asks him if his mother drank before his father
left the family. "I remember it was before he left! She's
always been that way -- you can't ever tell when she's going
to holler and when she's not." (p. 23) Brian reacts the same
way to his mother's drinking as his father did -- he often

leaves. Once when his mother asks him where he is going he

78
answers, "Just out. I'll be back." Eve his older sister
notices her mother's face tightening.

It came back to her then, a quick picture from

childhood: the screen door slamming behind her

father, his voice calling, 'Just out.‘ and the hard

line of her mother's mouth. (p. 107)

The father had left his three children and wife a long time
ago, and for Brian there is only a remembered ache, not a
clear mental image. (p. 6) Brian believed his mother, by her
behavior, drove his father away.

Living with his mother becomes more difficult as her
drinking increases. Brian makes friends with a stray dog,
but his mother drives the dog away. Brian explains to
Martha:

I was on the floor, and she was kicking me, and

then the dog yelped. You know, like he was really

hurt. And then he ran away. (p. 59)

Through her cruelty his mother destroys, not only Brian's
opportunity to befriend a dog, but his chances for a normal
life.

He lives in a constant fear of her and is unable to feel

pity towards her.

The crazy laugh broke out again, scaring Brian, and
then it suddenly changed to sobs...

Finally he edged up the stairs. He looked down at
her. Her eyes were half closed, and fat tears
trickled down her cheeks. His fingers crossed on
his cold, sweaty palms, and he stiffened all over.
Even her tears couldn't make him feel sorry for
her. He couldn't think of her as an ordinary
person; she just meant danger. (p. 75)

The image of the mother as a source of danger is so strong

that when she falls and is taken to the hospital, Brian's

79
primary reaction is one of relief. He has a momentary fear
that she wouldn't return (p. 90), but that comes from the
uncertainty of what would happen to them as a family without
a mother. When he thinks about the possibility of his mother
dying he, "didn't feel anything. Just blank." (p. 102)

Later when she returns home, only to begin drinking
again, she continues to treat Brian badly. Finally he lashes
out at her. "Go ahead, get drunk, why don't you? Go ahead
and kill yourself!" (p. 172) There is no remembered
tenderness from their mother for any of the children.

Because she is their mother they are victims of her illness.
Eve tells Brian and Andy that they have to make the best of
it. "Sometimes she'll be better, sometimes she'll be worse."
(p. 203) The children draw closer together protecting
themselves from the image of a mother who offers no solace,
only danger.

The mother in The Disappearance by Rosa Guy is, also, an

 

alcoholic, but the image reflects a pitiful, rather than
dangerous, woman. Imamu's mother has given her life over to
drink since the death of his father. The apartment she and
Imamu share is filthy, permeated by the smell of a "mixture
of decay and stale wine." (p. l, 69) As he goes to her room
to look for her, he stumbles over empty wine bottles, unable
to turn on the broken lightswitch. Her bed is in disorder, a
pile of sheets that had turned dark gray. (p. 2)

Although Imamu needs and wants his mother's love,

because he is an older teenager he is not dependent on her

80

for food and shelter. He feels he is the strong one and
wants to protect and nurture her. Even when his mother makes
abusive remarks to him, he reacts with pity and tenderness.

Imamu remembers a time when she was a loving tender
mother, "putting him to bed, tickling his feet." (p. 7)
Flashes of remembered happiness remind him of the good
relationship they once had. But now he tries to protect her,
to keep her home, away from her source of liquor. (p. 6) She
not only resents him, but is afraid of him, and lashes out at
every opportunity.

When his mother sees him she says, 'What the hell

you want here now?’ His reaction is that he wants

to embrace her, feeling her need for him. Like his
gather he wants to care for this frail woman. (p.
Refusing to believe she no longer loves him, Imamu interprets
her nasty comments as reflections of her caring. When he
stops by to see her before going to a foster home she asks,
"She done put you out?" (p. 6) He believes she asks because
she loves him. "Yeah, she loved him, but she was too drunk
to know it." (p. 7) Outside of Imamu's few remembrances,
there is nothing about his mother that evokes tenderness.
She never exhibits any understanding or sympathy for
difficulties he is in.

When he is falsely accused of harming his foster
mother's daughter, his mother, too, accuses him of harming
the little girl, Perk. His mother arrived at the police

station drunk, muttering, "No good -- no damn good. Keep in

some damn trouble." She asks Imamu "who they got you for

81
killing this time?" (p. 134)

Although he defends her in front of others:

This here a great lady. Great lady. She can't

hardly walk, yet she made it all the way from

Harlem to get me. The lady loves me. (p. 137)
he is defeated by her. Imamu has a desire to scream at his
mother: "I didn't born myself. I didn't put myself in this
crap -- I found myself here." (p. 140) He wants to drag her
to the bathroom, push her face in the toilet bowl, washing
it, force her to break the mountain of fear she hides behind
and make her responsible for what she says. But he walks
away, knowing he can do nothing. (p. 140)

He tries to see his mother as she was before --
"sweet-faced, clear-eyed, smelling of soap." Instead he
could only see the abused face and smell the sour liquor. (p.
54) He cannot understand what she could be looking for in a
bottle "that is greater than his loving and caring." (p. 203)
He cannot turn his back on her though, and goes back to their
apartment to take care of her. "Anyway, she needs me." (p.
245) The image of the mother is of a weak dependent woman,
unable to care for herself or others. Since she is never
sober, the image is blurred and distorted by alcohol. Unlike

the mothers in Tiger Eyes and A Place Apart, she was unable

 

 

to recover from the loss of her husband.

Of the novels in this study, Pardon Me, You're Stepping
‘22 My Eyeball by Paul Zindel, portrays one of the more
negative images of a mother. Marsh has nicknamed his mother

Schizo Suzy, and she is referred to in this manner throughout

82

the novel. She is an alcoholic; to her son, a drunk. (p. 25)
Marsh's descriptions create the image of a madwoman.

It was like when she had just that little but too

much that a buzzer would go off in her head and

she'd become another person. (p. 9)
The "other person" Marsh is describing would raise her voice
three octaves and then "start talking like she needed an
exorcist." (p. 9) Marsh thinks his mother looks "like Lady
Macbeth with half a load on." (p. 8) Marsh's girl friend,
Edna, sees her, too, as changing in personality. Suzy chases
Edna from her house.

It was as if Schizo Suzy had suddenly become

another person, -— yelling like a hysterical

ventriloquist's dummy erupting filthy and obscene

language. (p. 114)
What she is changing from is never made clear. When Suzy

isn't screaming insults she is passed out, looking "like she

was an extra from The Snake Pit. (p. 66)

 

There was no indication that Marsh and his mother ever
had a close relationship. In one of her drunken rages, Suzy
shouts, "You're a rotting, disgusting, revolting little son.
And if you ask me, I should have had an abortion." (p. 10)
For Marsh, there is no reciprocal feeling of anger. He
describes Suzy as stupid, recalling a time when she had to
call her husband for directions to return home when she was
only a block away. (p. 76) Also, he believes she is ”really
useless" because she hated washing clothes, didn't do dishes,
and never learned how to cook. (p. 77) He blames all this on

the way she was raised.

83

Her parents always told her she was this precious

little thing, and everybody should take care of

her. She couldn't wise up that she was supposed to

take care of herself. (p. 76)

Because the image is drawn only from Marsh's point of view,
the accuracy of Suzy's lack of abilities is left in question.

The relationship between Suzy and her husband, Pete, is
seen, too, from Marsh's limited and biased view. He talks
about his father protecting Suzy, but, also, relates physical
abuse.

One time he even kicked Schizo Suzy; and let me

tell you, she was a lot better off for it. After

that he used to kick her around regularly. It was

kind of therapeutic. She'd be sweet for a week.

(P. 53)

The image that is created is of a pathetic woman unable, for
whatever reasons, to be a competent mother. Though her son
dismisses her as worthless, a woman's life has been wasted;
dependent first on a husband and then alcohol, she has
abdicated responsibilities for herself, as well as her son.

These last three books portrayed mothers as alcoholics.
None were able to function normally. All were a major cause
of difficulty for their children, and they could not accept
responsibility for them.

The next group of books in this category portrays
mothers who allow their husbands to make all the decisions
affecting the family. They do not cope with the
responsibility of helping their children develop into mature,

independent, well-adjusted adults. The more positive image

in this group is the mother in Vepy Far Away from Anywhere

 

 

84
Mlgg, Because of her belief in a traditional patriarchal
family, she goes along with whatever decisions the father
makes, whether she agrees or not. What saves the family is
the father, who although dogmatic, loves his son and wants
what is best for him. No so fortunate are the children in

Second Heaven, Seems Like this Road Goes 23 Forever, and l

 

will Call 13 Georgie's Blues, where the wives bend to the

 

 

father's will, not only because of the structure of a
traditional family, but because of fear. The fathers are
extremely dominating, more concerned with a strict adherence
to rules and behavior than with the well-being of their
children.

The mother in Very Far Away from Anywhere Else, by
Ursula LeGuin, is described by Owen, her son and only child,
as a good wife and mother.

She never lets my father down. ... What he does is

right. And she keeps the house clean and cooks

really well. She works hard and uses her head at

it. (p. 19)

The division of work in the home is along traditional lines.
Owen relates the jobs he has had around the house -- working
in the garden, caring for the lawn, carrying out the trash.

Male jobs only, of course. I never learned how to

work the washer and dryer till the time she had to

have an operation and couldn't climb stairs for two

weeks. I don't think my father knows how to work

them yet. That's woman's work. (p. 20)

What she does for relaxation follows the same pattern. "She

can't even take off the time it takes to read a novel.” (p.

19) Owen believes that any activity that would take her mind

85
off of her narrowly defined role, his mother would think was
wrong.

So all she ever reads are some magazines about food

and interior decorating and one about extremely

expensive holiday travel to places she doesn't want

to go. My father watches a lot of TV, but she

never pays much attention to it; she may be sitting

there with him in the living room, but she's sewing

or doing crewel work or figuring out household

stuff or working on March of Dimes lists. (p. 20)

This type of limited life has an effect on her willingness to
try new ventures. Owen believes she feels she always has to
be there. It is the only life she has known since she was
twenty. She married before finishing college and has
remained a wife and mother, working at home.

She fears change and wants Owen to attend a nearby
college, the one she went to: "She knew State. It was safe."
(p. 23) Staying with the familiar is of such importance to
her that she refuses to consider other college possibilities
for her son, even though he is extremely intelligent and
wants to pursue a career in science. What she wants is for
her son to be healthy, normal, and happy. (p. 63) Changes
for him or herself frighten her.

When Owen receives a scholarship for MIT and decides to
go, his mother "began to get very upset, really angry, as if
I was pulling a dirty trick on her." (p. 85) Relying, as she
does, on the structure of their family life unchanging, she
has great difficulty in accepting the new situation. She

turns her uncertainty and dependence into anger. "My mother

felt really betrayed and refused to go along with the plan

86
gracefully" (p. 85) But ultimately she had to go along with
it because, as Owen explains:
... despite the fact that she runs our household,

she had always played this game that the man is the

one who makes the decisions, and so she has cut

herself out from decision-making, ... (p. 85)
She is intelligent, competent, and thoughtful, yet because
she accepts the role of woman as inferior to men she has
limited her potential. "She left herself no option but
resentment." (p. 86) Gradually she accepts Owen's decision
to attend MIT, as she has before accepted decisions made by
her husband. But the frustration of having no or little
control in decision making probably remains just below her
conscious thought. Although she is a responsible and
effective worker, she has limited her growth as a person by

not developing personal interests and independence.

The mothers in Seems Like This Road Goes 22 Forever and

 

{I Will Call 13 Georgie's Blues are both married to ministers,

 

 

and have not only subjugated their personal interests and
talents to their husbands, but to the church as well.

Louise, Mary Alice's mother, in Seems Like This Road

 

Egg§.gp Forever, by Jean Van Leeuwen, has devoted her life to
the church. "She was just as involved with the church as
Mary Alice's father." (p. 83) Mary Alice remembers from the
time she was a little girl, her mother talking to the members
after church, "her mouth frozen in a perpetual smile.” (p.
49) "She always complimented them on their new clothes,

always remembered to inquire about their illnesses, always

87
thanked them five or six times for anything they had done for
the church. She was always so friendly, so nice." (p. 88)
Her mother never missed a Sunday service, or a meeting of any
of the church organizations. Yet, there is a sense that she
does all of the church activities not because she enjoys it
or has a personal interest in the people. She talked about
the people on the way home from church:

Did you see Marge Trumbull's hair this morning? I

don't know how someone her age has the nerve to

wear her hair like a teen-ager. ... I just couldn't

get away from Gladys Rivlin. And all she wants to

talk about is her arthritis. (p. 88)

Comments such as these make the care and interest she
expresses when talking with members of the congregation seem
shallow and dishonest.

Her mother's involvement with the church "seemed more on
the outside." (p. 89) Mary Alice realizes that her mother
never talked about religion, "only about the church." (p. 83)

She doesn't talk about it like my father does. She

does all the things a minister's wife is supposed

to do, but -- I don't know. It seems like a

ritual, like she's doing what is expected of her.

(p. 83)

Her concern with the expectations of her role as a minister's
wife affects her relationship with her children. She cares
more about what people think of her than developing a rapport
with Peter and Mary Alice. When she took the children
shopping, when they were younger, she would be overcome with
embarrassment if they crawled under the clothes racks

pretending to hide in a cave.

'Come out of there this minute!‘ their mother would

88

hiss, looking over her shoulder to see if any of

the salesladies were watching, her face flushing

bright pink. 'Whatever will people think of you?‘

(P- 84)

What she really cares about is the way people will judge her
as a mother.

Mary Alice could remember the first time they ever

went to a restaurant -- it was on a Mother's Day,

after church -- and Peter dropped his pickle in his

milk. Their mother got all upset. 'I just knew we

shouldn't have come,‘ she said to their father.

'They're too young to take to a restaurant. Now

everyone is looking at us.‘ (p. 84)

She believed people watched them because they were the
minister's family.

She carried the concern of what other people thought to
an extreme. (p. 87) When Mary Alice is in the hospital, her
mother cares about her daughter's physical condition, but
still worries about other people's opinions. "Really, Mary
Alice, you must do something with your hair. What will the
doctor and nurses think?" (p. 17) She refuses to take Mary
Alice's emotional breakdown seriously. Peter tells Mary
Alice that “Mother thinks there is nothing wrong with you at
all, it's just the shock of the accident." (p. 21)

Because of her over-riding concern with what others
think, she cannot help her daughter, even by admitting there
is a problem. "As she says, there have never been any mental
problems in our family." (p. 22) Because the doctor believes
that Mary Alice will have to be admitted to a mental hospital

if her condition doesn't improve, Louise reluctantly agrees

to having a psychologist treat Mary Alice. However, she

89

refers to the psychologist as a counselor, and is relieved
that the congregation won't hear about it. Peter explains to
Mary Alice:

And the best part of it from Mother's point of view

is that if you see her [the psychologist] while

you're in the hospital here in Munson, there isn't

much chance of the congregation over in West

Greenville hearing about it. The disgrace and

shame of it all won't get out. (p. 22)
Although concern for other's opinions is a primary factor for
Louise's uncaring attitude towards her daughter, she
manifested a lack of emotional support throughout their
relationship. She refused to let Mary Alice help her with
household tasks, using the excuse Mary Alice might hurt
herself, but actually just wanting her daughter out of the
way. (p. 24) Even when Mary Alice, as a young child, hurt
herself, Louise's concern was not about her daughter.

"Oh, my, just look at all that blood. I can't get

it on my dress, Mary Alice. John, come quickly!

Mary Alice has skinned her knees." Her mother

looked down at the floor. "Oh, no!" Her eyes

filled with horror. "It's dripped on the rug. And

the Middletons are due here in ten minutes. Now

what are we going to do?" (p. 96)
Louise has defined her role by the expectations of her
husband and the members of his congregation. She is unable
to create or restore any rapport with her children.

All Mary Alice's life, her mother has made assumptions
about what her daughter thought or wanted. If Mary Alice
said she disliked something, her mother would say, "Now, Mary

Alice, you don't really." "Disliking things was frowned upon

in her parents' house." (p. 36) Louise was overjoyed when

90

people would send over hand-me-downs, although Mary Alice
thought the clothes were ugly.

"They smell funny," she finally said one time, and

her mother replied briskly, "why, it's just a

little mildew. I'll put them through the machine a

couple of times and they'll be as good as new." (9.

69)
The clothes she made for Mary Alice were dark colored and ill
fitting. (p. 151) In spite of second-hand and dark clothing
provided for Mary Alice, when she earned her own money and
was able to purchase new pretty clothes "...they hardly
seemed to notice, they were both so busy with her father's
new Lenten Bible study course and preparations for the Spring
Fair." (p. 151) Louise was unable to be empathetic with her
daughter or even to see a little of what life was like for a
child. She assumed Mary Alice didn't mind when she opened
her mail. (p. 98) Both she and her husband assumed Mary
Alice wanted to go to the university they had chosen for her,
although Mary Alice hated the thought of going there. (p.
109)

Louise seems unable to cope with the simultaneous roles
of wife and mother. She remains passive in her relationship
with her children, never developing a strong independent

image for herself.

The mother in 3 Will Call lE Georgie's Blues, by Suzanne

 

 

Newton, is married to a minister who is fifteen years older
than she. (p. 13) Although she worries some about how the
behavior of the children reflects on the community's view of

them as a minister's family, she is not caught up in role

91

expectations determined by what others think of them, as was
the mother in Seems Like This Road Goes 92 Forever. Her son
Neal, through whose eyes we see her, believes, "She doesn't
enjoy her life very much, I guess -- at least her mouth is
set in a straight line most of the time." (p. 9) Her main
reaction to the three children is irritation. When her
seven-year-old son, Georgie comes home from school she never
greets him in a warm loving way.

Usually Mom is on his back as soon as he walks in.

It's "tell me what you did at school," or "sit down

and do your homework right now," or "why did you do

what I specifically told you not to?" (p. 8)
Even with her older daughter, Aileen, there is no
mother-daughter closeness. Aileen thinks her mother is
concerned only with the possibility of being embarassed by
her. "All you care about is that you've got to explain why
your bright daughter didn't manage to graduate with others
her age." (p. 19) Neal agrees that his parents "don't care
about what we think or what we want or what we hope! All
they care is that we don't act in any way that will disgrace
them in this town!" (p. 30) Although the children feel the
weight of the responsibility of being preacher's kids, that
comes more from their father than their mother. ”We just
didn't fit Dad's idea of what a minister's family ought to
be. None of us. Mom tried to conform, but she was losing
heart." (p. 158) His mother explains to Neal, in a rare
moment of camaraderie:

I was determined to be the perfect minister's wife.
I would do everything that was expected because I

92
wanted him to be proud of me and I wanted the

congregations to be satisfied. ... I don't suppose
I've ever given up trying, but I've never measured

up.

[Neal:] Who could? It's unreal for regular human
beings.

[Mother:] I've come to that conclusion myself.
(P- 74)

Her unhappiness with herself and her life is expressed
in constant irritation with her children, always asking
sharply where they have been, repeating the same
admonishments over and over. Neal's reaction is "She says
that every day. I hardly hear it anymore." (p. 9) It is not
so easy for Georgie to ignore the unfriendly, unfeeling
comments his mother makes, and he comes to believe that she
does not love him. (p. 6)

Because she is afraid of her husband, she does not act
irritated with him, but uses the excuse of a headache to
separate herself from him. (p. 40) She admits to Neal once,
"I'm planning to be in bed with one of my headaches." (p. 97)

Gradually as Georgie becomes more unhappy and withdrawn,
she realizes her passive behavior can no longer continue.

She has always been submissive to her husband, even when she
disagreed with him. Neal realizes that his Mom “for some
reason is afraid to stand up to him." (p. 103) She cannot
cope with his anger. Knowing how ill Georgie is she has
talked to their family doctor "to see whether he could
recommend some help." (p. 127) Neal is relieved and asks

what his father has said. "She clamped her fingers into a

93

fist, like someone who has a sudden, sharp pain. 'I haven't
told him yet. I'm going to.'" (p. 128) But she puts off
talking to her husband, letting her fear keep her from making
an important decision to help Georgie. (p. 157) In spite of
her resolve, when Georgie needs her the most she is unable to
cope with the husband's anger.

I kept seeing Mom crying while she watched Dad haul

Georgie over the coals. As much as she hated it,

she seemed powerless to act against him. (p. 171)
She knows she must take control over her actions for
Georgie's sake, but not until he lapses into a trance caused
by severe emotional depression is she able to accept the

responsibility for her actions.

In Second Heaven, by Judith Guest, the mother is

 

completely submissive to her husband, even though he is
extremely abusive to their sons, doing great physical harm to
them. The older son, Kevin, left home as soon as possible.
So the father's cruel behavior is directed solely against
sixteen-year-old Gale. Gale's mother never makes any effort
to stop his father from harming him. Gale believes, ”She's
afraid of him. She does what he tells her." (p. 63) More
than fear controls her behavior though. She has come to
believe everything her husband does is right. "He never does
anything wrong." (p. 300) She accepts no responsibility for
caring and loving her children. Her life is lived through
her husband. She believes what he tells her to. She sees

what he wants her to see. (p. 346)

Even though she has always been present when his father

94

has injured Gale, she is incapable of knowing reality. When
Gale was eleven, his father threw him down the basement
stairs. On the way to the hospital, she tells Gale, "When
they ask, you must tell them the truth, that you slipped and
fell, because that's what happened, you know that." (p. 200)
Whenever his father mistreated Gale, his mother's response
was, "He loves you. He only wants what's best for you." (p.
199) She told Kevin after his father had slammed him against
the wall that he was lucky to have a father who really cared
about him enough to teach him these hard lessons. (p. 301)

Gale had run away several times; when his mother
discovered where he was, she would call him. He heard "his
mother's voice, tearful and pleading: you have to come home
now." (p. 199) She had so submerged herself into her
husband's personality, that the only times she felt
emotionally involved was when her husband wanted something --
like Gale returning home. She believes that:

Thomas is a good father. My husband is a man who

loves his children very much. He has tried to

teach them to be good citizens ... (p. 342)
Earlier images of her are not described, so it is unclear if
she always ignored her children's needs, or if she had
opportunities, at one time, to protect them. She has lost
any ability to make decisions that would affect her and her
children's lives, and seems to have no sense of
responsibility for them.

None of the mothers who are portrayed as alcoholic or

mentally ill are now married. In The Disappearance,

95

Homecoming and Dicey's Song, the mothers' problems probably

 

 

stem from the absence of their husbands. In Only My Mouth is

Smiling, Garden pf Broken Glass, and Pardon Mg You're

 

 

Stepping pp_My Eyeball, there is the suggestion that the
mothers' problems were the cause of their husbands leaving.
The mothers who were passive and did not make thoughtful
decisions important to their children, were all married.
None of them were wage earners. They were submissive to
their husbands, allowing them to control their lives and

their children's.

Chapter 4

MOTHERS LIMITED TO AN ADULT PESPECTIVE

The mothers in the third category of images have a
self-centered attitude. They relate with difficulty to their
children, forgetting what it was like when they themselves
were teenagers. Their personal interests and values take
precedence over, and are usually in conflict with, those of
their children. In §£E.X22.l2 the House Alone, Langpage pf

Goldfish, and Ordinagy People, the mothers are more

 

 

interested in themselves than their children. They attempt
to control their children's lives and fit them to a

preconceived idea of behavior. Confessions of 2 Teenage

 

Baboon and Them That Glitter and Them That Don't portray

 

mothers who are insensitive to their children's needs. In

Bridge £2 Terabithia and pp 12 Seth's Room the mothers are

 

 

less self-centered, but are limited to an adult perspective.
They have difficulty empathizing with their children. The

final book, Hey, That's My Soul You're Stamping On,

 

characterizes the mother as irresponsible because of

immaturity.

Peck has a traditional format with the husband the sole wage
earner for his wife and daughter. When he loses his job as
an architect for a building firm, he doesn't tell his

96

97
daughter, Gail. Not until Gail cuts school and goes into the
city to talk to him does she discover he has been laid off.
She wonders then if her mother knows.

And then I remembered that Mother was taking that

real estate salesmanship course -- hoping she could

bring in some money. (p. 67)

If there had been discussion about her mother becoming a wage
earner, Gail had not been aware of it.

Rather than an image of a woman struggling to become a
decision maker taking on responsibilities beyond caring for
the family, Gail's mother is aggressive, a social climber,
and more concerned with herself than her daughter. When Gail
is invited to the Lawvers', the venerable family in town
representative of "old" money, her mother is concerned only
with Gail making an impression.

While I was trying to get dressed for the ordeal,

my mother was in and out of my room twenty times.

(p. 11) [She] kept appearing in the mirror over my

shoulder every two seconds. (p. 12)

She fusses around worrying about what Gail will wear, making
the comment, "Well, at least you're not in Levi's", wanting
her to wear a long black evening skirt. Gail had dressed
appropriately in a blouse, V-neck sweater, and short skirt.
Her mother does not make any favorable comment about Gail's
appearance. (p. 11)

The mother's jealousy of the Lawvers is apparent in a
conversation between her and her husband.

'Of course, it's very nice -- and gracious.

(having the sixteen year olds over for a dinner

party) I suppose we'd do the same thing if Gail
was -- seeing -- a suitable boy.‘

98

'I hope we wouldn't do anything just because the
Lawvers do it.‘ Dad's voice sounded weary.

'I know we can't hope to copy the grandeur of
peOple like them.‘ (p. 13)

The father wouldn't want to copy the Lawvers if they could,
but the mother has a yearning to be part of that social
scene, and since she hasn't been invited, she wants to
vicariously have the experience. Thus, she wishes Gail were
going with Phil Lawver instead of Steve, who is from a
working class family. The mother has never approved of
Steve, and Gail wonders sometimes if she is "going with Steve
mainly to spite my mother." (p. 13) When she and Steve had
first started going together, her mother had asked, "Would
you be half as interested in this boy if he weren't the
plumber's son? You surely know how clannish these local
families can be." (p. 22) Gail could have turned the
question around and asked her mother if she would be as
against Steve if his family had money, or if his last name
was Lawver. The mother's dislike of Steve has nothing to do
with Gail's happiness, but stems from her own prejudices.

The mother's unwillingness to accept Steve as an
appropriate boy friend for her daughter prevents Gail from
confiding in her mother when Gail begins receiving the
obscene notes. Distraught after finding such a note in her
locker, Gail runs home; her mother's immediate reaction is to
say "You're trying not to cry. What has that Steve Pastorini
done to you?" (p. 50)

I couldn't tell my mother about that note. I could

99

feel the filth of it smeared on me. And nobody was
going to see that, especially her. (p. 51)

Gail had not confided in her mother for a long time and now
when she should have, she couldn't. Her mother's
"pulled-together coolness" (p. 51) put a distance between the
two of them. Gail felt that her mother "had turned blind
eyes and deaf ears to me." (p. 136)

"Uncaring" and "unsympathetic" describe Gail's mother's
reaction to Gail's fright as a result of the threatening
notes. Gail, alone at home, receives an obscene phone call,
and in terror runs through the house locking all the windows
and doors, very uncharacteristic behavior. But when her
folks come home later, the only thing her mother says is:

For heaven's sake, Gail, why did you leave the

phone off the hook? It's absolutely squawking. (p.

55)

Afraid to stay at home alone now, Gail tells her mother that
she wants to go out with Steve on a school night. Her mother
does not respond to Gail's saying she does not want to stay
alone.

Oh, Gail, not on a school night. You know how your
dad feels about --

[Gail:] You're the one who doesn't want me going
out with Steve, Mother. (p. 72)

The mother uses this dialogue to initiate a talk about
whether or not Gail uses birth control pills. When she
discovers Gail does take them, she describes her concern with
the side effects. Gail responds to her mother's hypocrisy:

But you take them, Mother. The only difference is
yours are in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom,

100

and I keep mine under my scrapbook in that drawer
over there where you must have found them. (p. 73)

Gail's mother is more interested in who knows that Gail uses
the pill than in any guidance she may give her. When Gail
explains that Mrs. Raymond, a volunteer from Planned
Parenthood, had talked to her, her mother responds:

You don't mean Eleanor Raymond in my garden club!
(P- 74)

All of her reactions during the conversation with Gail
reflect only an adult perspective with no understanding of a
teenager's point of view.

After Gail is raped, and she regains consciousness in
the hospital she is aware of hearing a man crying, slowly
realizing it is her father. He asks her if she is going to
be able to talk to some people.

'What people?‘ I didn't think I could cope with
anybody else. I just wanted Dad there. (p. 117)

In this time of great stress for Gail she doesn't even wonder
where her mother is. Her father tells Gail that sooner or
later she will have to talk to the police.

'Shall we get it over with?‘ I said, wanting to and
not wanting to.

'Whatever you say, sweetheart,‘ he said in a husky
whisper.

'No.‘ It was Mother's voice. 'She's not ready.‘
(p. 117)

Gail hadn't realized her mother was in the room, too. Gail's
reaction was that she "wished she'd go away." But then she
realizes her mother had been there all night -- there were

smudges under her eyes and her hair wasn't combed. At that

101
moment Gail feels the closeness of her family, a sense of
security. "It was the three of us, grouped tight." (p. 117)
That closeness is shattered, however, when Gail tells them it
was Phil Lawver who raped her.

'Not a word to anybody,‘ Mother said quickly,
'until we're sure.‘ (p. 118)

Gail was sure, but her mother withdrew, thinking not of Gail,
but of how this would affect her own standing in the
community.

Gail's mother had no remorse, no guilt about not
listening to Gail when she was first trying to tell her about
the notes -- the terror. Her mother didn't talk about the
rape. "Mother limited her side of conversations strictly to
concussion and scarless stiches." (p. 139) She didn't want
Gail to talk about the rape, or tell anyone who had raped
her. It was as if by hushing it up she could make it go
away. She wants Gail to go away to a boarding school, which
would be a plan, "we can all live with." Since her dad
doesn't know about the plan and Gail doesn't like it, the
only one she is concerned with is herself.

Later in winter, Mother said, 'It could all have

been worse.‘ I guess that was meant to sum

everything up, file it neatly away. She'd made her

first real estate sale. (p. 172)

For Gail's mother, the crisis is past. The gossip about the
rape has died out. The image of this mother is of one who is

detached from and uninvolved with the life of her teenage

daughter.

102

The mother in the Language pf Goldfish by Zibby Oneal
interferes in the life of Carrie, her thirteen-year-old
daughter, by making decisions that Carrie would rather make
for herself. She seems to have an image in her mind of what
Carrie should be like.

"Carrie, we've got to do something about your

hair," her mother said. “It needs a shaping." (p.

13)
Carrie only nods, but when her mother tells her she'll make
the appointment for Saturday, Carrie says no; she will miss

her art lesson.

I can't miss my lesson. Drawing is very important
to me.

Well, I'm not asking you to give up drawing. Just
one lesson, for Heaven's sake.

I can't. (p. 15)
But her mother acted as if she hadn't heard her. She seems
unable to understand why Carrie does not want her mother to
arrange her life for her. Her mother wants what is best for
Carrie, and she then decides, for Carrie, what is best. Some
of those decisions, like the wallpaper her mother chose for
her bedroom and Carrie hates (p. 11), can be tolerated.
However, when her mother insists Carrie attend the school
dances she looks at her mother incredulously. "But we talked
about that! I didn't want to go to those dances." (p. 15)
Her mother ignores the anguished plea. "I'm afraid Daddy and
I are going to insist. It's time you began doing these
things, Carrie.” (p. 15) Her mother decides Carrie needs new

clothes for the dances and takes her on a shopping trip.

103

"Something simple," her mother was saying. "I

don't mean it has to be elaborate, but there isn't

a thing in your closet that't suitable..." "A nice

bright color..." "Carrie, are you listening?" (p.

61-62)
Carrie's mother doesn't ask her what she would want or
attempt to talk over what Carrie might like. Her adult—only
perspective blinds her to what Carrie is really like. She
tells a friend, "Carrie's first dance is next week," when
Carrie has been adamant about not attending the dances. More
importantly she doesn't hear what Carrie is telling her.

"Saturday we're having people for cocktails. I was

thinking that Friday we'd go into Saks and find you
a dress."

"I think I'm going crazy," Carrie said softly.
"What?"
"Something's wrong."

"If you'd get to bed earlier and eat a proper
breakfast, you wouldn't have these dizzy spells."

"Why don't you listen to what I'm telling you?" (p.
57)

Carrie becomes so distraught, with the inevitable sexual
changes occurring as she grows up and her inability to handle
these changes, that she attempts suicide. Even an act as
drastic as her daughter's trying to kill herself does not
disrupt the mother's image that she has of Carrie. When she
asks Carrie to tell people at school that she was absent
because she wasn't feeling well, Carrie protests.

"But it's not like a cold. You know what happened.
I tried to kill myself." Her mother turned and
walked to the window. "Oh, Carrie, I think it was
more that you got mixed up, wasn't it? Thought you
were taking an aspirin or two? That's what I

104

think." (P. 81)
She refuses to deal with the problems Carrie has. Her
personal values and expectations of having Carrie be the kind
of daughter she wants keep her from believing what has
happened. As Carrie tries to make her understand, the
following exchange takes place:

"I took a whole bottle of pills," Carrie said.

"Duncan got a ninety-eight on his spelling test
yesterday. I was so relieved. I think he's
finally learning something."

"I took handfuls."

"I meant to bring you a bed jacket. Remember the
one with the blue flowers we bought at Saks years
ago?"

"I took them because I couldn't help myself any
longer."

Her mother turned to face her. Her hands were

shaking, pressed against the window sill. "Carrie,

I won't accept what you are saying." (p. 82)
When Carrie asks her why she won't accept the truth, there is
no real answer, except that Carrie doesn't fit the program
her mother has established for her. Yet she loves her
daughter and they have tender loving moments together. (p.
104, 106) Carrie discovers later that her mother did
acknowledge to herself and a friend that she was very worried
about her. Carrie is amazed. "She won't even talk to me
about it." "Maybe she will someday," Mrs. Ramsay said. "She
loves you very much." (p. 117) Love, however, isn't enough

to establish a rapport between mother and daughter. Never

does Carrie's mother come to terms with the suicide attempt.

105
Instead she wants to put it behind them. "Let's call it an
unfortunate incident." (p. 89) Only in this way could she
handle the truth. Her image is of one who, although not
unloving, cannot set aside her self-centeredness to be of any

help to a daughter who is in great need.

The teenager in Ordinary People by Judith Guest also
attempts suicide, and Beth, the mother, like the one in

Language pf Goldfish, does not want to dwell on it. Beth,

 

however, is a less sympathetic mother and her motivation for
not talking about the suicide attempt seems to come from a
determination that her son will not interfere with her life.

Beth rarely talks with Conrad, except for superficial
comments.

She is almost to her door and he calls after her,

"I swam pretty well today. Salan wants me to stay

later and work out. I might be starting in the

fifty." "Good." The door closes behind her. (p.

23)

She tries to pressure Cal into speaking for her.

"Will you talk to him this morning? About the

clothes. He's got a closetful of decent things and

he goes off every day looking like a bum, Cal." (p.

6)
Her concern about the way Conrad dresses seems inappropriate
considering his emotional condition. Jordon, his older
brother whom he idolized, was killed in a boating accident
the year before. Besides the terrible sense of loss that he

feels, he is overcome with guilt. Conrad and Jordon were

together when the boat capsized, and only Conrad was able to

106
hang on until help arrived. Conrad's inability to recover
emotionally leads to the attempt to kill himself.

For Beth, too, the death of her older son has been
traumatic. She has difficulty expressing grief, but it is
her lack of empathy for Conrad that clouds an image of a
caring mother. She wants this suicide attempt forgotten, and
makes no effort to help Conrad become emotionally stable.

Her major concern is that her life goes on as before.

Shortly after Conrad is released from the hospital, Beth

discusses Christmas plans with Cal.

"Listen," he says, "I don't think we should plan to
go away for Christmas this year."

She looks at him over the rim of her glass. "We go
away for Christmas every year."

...“I know. But not this year. The timing just
isn't right."

"The timing isn't right," she says. "What does
that mean?"

"You know what it means." (p. 26)
She interprets Cal's concern as an expression of guilt. "I
don't think it's a good idea for us to blame ourselves for
what happened, Cal." (p. 27) Although Cal tries to explain
that he is not talking about blame, but about being available
if Conrad needs them, Beth will not accept this idea. To
her, allowing a child to interfere with adult plans is
inappropriate.

Beth is not cruel to Conrad; she is polite and mildly
interested in what he does, but she wants life back the way

it was. When friends inquire about Conrad she tells them he

107
is fine. "There is something final and forbidding about the
answer." (p. 61) It is as if the suicide attempt never
happened. "If things could just be normal again." (p. 44)
For Beth, "normal" means not thinking about Jordon's death or
Conrad's attempted suicide. Her sons are not an integral
part of her life.

When the boys were small, she took good care of them,
but even then her overriding concern was having control over
how she ordered her life. For example, keeping the house
neat, even with two little boys, was of paramount importance
to her. Cal remembers:

her figure, tense with fury as she scrubbed the

fingermarks from the walls; she bursting suddenly

into tears because of a toy left out of place, or a

spoonful of food thrown onto the floor from the

high chair. (p. 83)

As the boys became older they learned what to do to avoid her
anger. When they were teenagers, Beth could arrange her life
the way she wanted, playing golf and tennis, keeping the
house immaculate, being the wife of a successful lawyer.

What happened to her sons didn't fit into her overall plan.

Beth reacts with fury when her husband and son do not
behave according to her preconceived ideas. When Conrad quit
the swim team, he did not tell his parents, fearing that they
would pressure him into continuing. Beth finds out from a

friend and confronts Conrad who reacts with anger.

"I'm sure I would have told you," Conrad says, "if
I thought you gave a damn!" (p. 101)

Beth's reaction is not one of remorse or even sympathy for

108
her son. Her self-centered attitude allows her to see his
pain only in terms of herself.

"I wish I knew, Conrad, why it is still so
important for you to try to hurt me!" (p. 101)

The fight between Beth and Conrad ends with Conrad rushing up
to his room. Knowing how upset Conrad is and how much he
needs his parents' support, Cal wants Beth to go up to
Conrad's room with him.

"Beth. Please. Let's just go upstairs!"

"No. I will not be pushed! I will not be
manipulated." (p. 103)

If she changes her life for her son -- staying home over
Christmas, talking to him when he needs her, sharing his joys
and griefs -- she feels she has lost control. Her self

interest prevents her from being a loving, caring mother.

In Confessions pf‘g Teenage Baboon, by Paul Zindel, the

 

 

mother is insensitive to the needs of her teenage son, Chris.
Helen, the mother, is a practical nurse and works in private
homes. Her husband had left her and Chris some time ago.
Chris explains:

Once upon time I did have a father, and my father

and Helen really loved each other very much for the

first seven years they were married, and then after

that they hated each other so much that my father

pulled that old trick of saying he was going out to

buy the evening paper but went to Mexico. (p. 6)
Since his father left when Chris was quite young, and Helen
is described only through Chris, what broke up their marriage

is not explained.

109

The image of Helen as a practical nurse is of one who is
competent and assertive. Leaving with a new charge, she is
told she can't take suitcases on the ambulance. "'I'll take
whatever I want,‘ Helen blasted, and then both ambulance
attendants knew they weren't dealing with any ordinary
nurse's aide." (p. 7) Once at the home she establishes her
role.

Helen started some of her nursing chores just to

establish her position right from the start that
she was the nurse and nurses like to take charge.

(p. 17)

Her main concern is her patient, and she cares for the
elderly woman with empathy and patience. (p. 9, 18)

With her son, though, she is not so understanding.
Because of her work, they live in other people's homes, and
Helen does not like Chris to use the bathroom. To solve the
obvious difficulty, she insists he uses a milk bottle that
she packs and moves with them. Chris is fifteen and feels
that:

Maybe it's all right to make a kid do things like

that when they don't know any better, but by now I

was certainly old enough to know. (p. 34)

When he tries to convince his mother he is too old to have to
continue using the milk bottle, she ignores him, successfully
making him go along with her wishes.

In other ways, too, she treats Chris as if he were much
younger. She orders him, in front of other teenagers, to go
to bed. Then, "Helen backed me into the hall like a lion

tamer rescuing someone from a cage," and 'shooed' him up the

110

stairs. (p. 65) Helen seems to equate her care of Chris with
her care of her patients. For the latter she must make
decisions for them and somewhat control their behavior, but
she is unable to understand that Chris is no longer a child. He
needs to break away from her to establish himself as an
individual, responsible for his own behavior. Lloyd, the man
whose house they are living in tells Chris:

You can cut the power line your mother has plugged

into you, and stop blaming her for your failures.

(p. 117)
The image of the mother is of one who does not help her son
to become independent. She uses him to bolster her own sense

of self-worth. Because her perspective is only from her own

view point, she is unable to help her son mature.

In Them That Glitter and Them That Don't by Bette Greene

 

the image of the mother is of an extremely self-centered,
woman. Consistently, in the novel, she uses her teenage
daughter to further her own ambitions. Mama, as Carol Ann
calls her and the only name she is given in the novel, is a
Gypsy, and the family survives on what money she makes
telling fortunes and presenting side shows. Carol Ann
realizes that Mama is the force that drives the family.

In a way that I had never before looked at her, I

looked at her now. What I saw was that in spite of

the long flowered skirt that went bouncing around

her ankles, she wore the pants in this family. (p.

111)

Mama is able to convince her husband to go along with her

schemes, even to the extent of digging up a grave to steal a

lll
child-sized coffin. (p. 106)

However, Carol Ann is less and less willing to go along
with Mama's plans. She no longer believes that Mama can see
the future in her crystal ball.

Mama was all the time wanting -— maybe even needing

-- me to believe in her words and prophecies just

like I used to when I was little. But I was no

longer little, and so believing just seemed to all

the time get harder and harder. (p. 3)

When Carol Ann asks why, if she did predict the future, they
don't know what will happen in their lives, Mama tells her,
"It's like ... like watching television. Sometimes you watch
one channel and not the other." (p. 10) Mama explains that
it is Carol Ann's lack of understanding, not her inability,
that is confusing. The increasing doubt creates a gulf
between the two of them. Carol Ann believes that Mama will
"never forgive me for letting go of make-believe and I'll
never forgive her for hanging on to it." (p. 10)

Throughout the novel, Mama is not responsible for her
three children. If it weren't for Carol Ann, the two
youngsters would often be hungry and always uncared for.

Even Carol Ann "needed my mother to be that -- a mother. A
caring, seeing-to—everything, taking-charge mother." (p. 13)
Mama wasn't deliberately cruel to the children, but she
ignored them and relied on Carol Ann to take on the
responsibility for the family. (p. 30)

Even for events of major importance, Mama did not bother
to fulfill her role as a mother. Carol Ann was asked to sing

at her high school graduation but her mother did not attend

112
the ceremony. Carol Ann is distraught.

Mama... Mama... there's been static aplenty between

us, but just the same we love each other. Don't we

love each other? And don't you know that without

you, I'm both alone and lonely? (p. 173)

Her mother had no reason for not coming to the graduation.
"Reckon I just didn't wanna." (p. 186) Carol Ann realizes
then, that in some ways, her mother has deserted her. When
she was little she had recurring nightmares about her family
leaving town without her. (p. 72) Although her mother never
physically left, she has in an important sense abandoned
Carol Ann.

Mama's self interests have always come before those of
her children. Her interest in Carol Ann's music is not
because of Carol Ann herself, but because the music helps to
attract customers. (p. 157) Her own ambitions are always
first in her mind. When Carol Ann tells her mother that the
son of a local farmer has asked her to marry him, Mama's
first reaction is one of disbelief. Finally, "she began
laughing."

Through the marriage of her daughter, she would

enter into the world of the respectable. But by

the shrill sound of her laughter, I began to wonder

just how she planned on treating all the others,

all the outsiders ... Wrapping her arms around her

body, she hugged herself tightly. "Mymymy ... now

it's going to be our turn." (p. 137)

Because Carol Ann had not agreed to the proposal immediately,
Mama becomes angry and demands that she accept at once. "...

like I already done said, you ain't rich and you ain't

pretty, so it sure ain't up to you to think things over." (p.

113
141) Mama does not seriously consider Carol Ann's ambition
to become a musician, nor does she even wonder if Carol Ann
would be happy as Will's wife.

The image of this mother is similar to the
characterizations described by Sheila Egnoff in adolescent
novels published during the sixties. The parent(s)
contributed to the teenager's problems rather than helping
their children. (Egnoff, 1981) Mama was concerned far more
with herself than with her children.

The remaining books in this category portray mothers
limited to an adult perspective. They all have difficulty
empathizing with their children. However, the reasons for

the lack of rapport vary.

In Bridge 52 Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, the

 

mother is overworked, and because Jesse is the only boy out
of five children, she expects him to do more than his share
of jobs around home. Jesse is a quiet ten-year-old whose
mother doesn't create problems for him, but she doesn't help
with them either.

Jesse's mother favored the two older girls. They could
always get Jesse in trouble by complaining to their mother
about something he did or said. An example is when Jesse
comes in from running and Brenda, his oldest sister,
complains: "0000, Mama, he stinks. Make him wash." (p. 5)
Mama's response is automatic.

"Get over here to the sink and wash yourself," his

114

mother said without taking her eyes from the stove.
"And step on it." (p. 5)

She always made the assumption that Jesse was in the wrong.

Although Jesse was a talented artist, his mother did not
respect his need to have time to draw. In fact, his littlest
sister, Joyce Ann

...got a devilish delight out of sitting smack

down on his rump when he was stretched out working.

If he yelled at her to get the heck off him, she'd

stick her index finger in the corner of her mouth

and holler.

Mama's reaction was always to yell at Jesse.

Jesse Oliver! You leave that baby alone. Whatcha

mean lying there in the middle of the floor doing

nothing anyway? (p. 67)

His mother seemed incapable of understanding what life must
be like for her son. She prefers yelling at him to helping
him to find some time alone.

The bulk of the chores fell on Jesse's shoulders. The
older sisters could usually talk their mother into letting
them off for the day. Ellie pleads with her mother:

Miz Timmons is coming by to pick us up. I told

Lollie sunday you said it was OK. I feel dumb

calling her and saying you changed your mind. (p.

6)

Mama not only let them go, but allowed them to wheedle five
dollars from her. ”Which left Jess to do the work as usual."
(p. 7) As the girls left, Mama turned to him.

All right, Jesse. Get you lazy self off that

bench. Miss Bessie's bag is probably dragging

ground by now. And you still got beans to pick.

(P. 8)

By not making an effort to empathize with her only son, she

115
established a barrier between the two of them, so that Jesse
saw her as someone to avoid as much as possible. He is
especially wary of her anger (p. 1, 9, 78), although she
never is physically abusive, just bad tempered.

When Jesse became close friends with Leslie, a new girl
in the neighborhood, Mama scoffed at her. She referred to
Leslie's clothes as tacky, her parents as hippies. She told
Jesse that his father didn't like him to play with a girl.
(p. 46) Jesse had needed a close friend desperately, but
again his mother had not seen his need, nor did she share his
pleasure at having found a friend.

Yet, when Leslie is killed, his mother does react with
pity and understanding, although not with words, "her eyes
full of pain, saying nothing." (p. 109) She stOps the girls
from harrassing him. "I'm telling you, Brenda, if you don't
shut your mouth..." (p. 109) Because of the state of shock
he was in, Jess forgot to milk Bessie, but his mother was not
angry. "'Your daddy did it for you.‘ But it wasn't an
accusation." (p. 108)

After the tragedy of Leslie's death, the image of an
unsympathetic mother has softened because of her behavior at
the conclusion of the novel; however, the composite image is
of a mother who, because of an adult perspective, does not
establish a rapport with her children, especially with her

only son.

The mother in pp 13 Seth's Room by Norma Fox Mazer was

116

married and worked outside the home. The whole family had
been quite close, until Maggie, the older daughter, moved out
to live with her boy friend. At that point, the mother cut
off all contact with Maggie. Finn, the fifteen-year-old
daughter, tried to explain to Maggie that their mother missed
her.

"I've heard Mom crying at night."

"Why doesn't she come over here?" Maggie said.

"You know -- " Finn said.

"She's afraid she'll be contaminated," Maggie said.
"The sin I'm living in might be catching." (p. 8)

Their mother had expressed no understanding for Maggie. When
her husband said he would tolerate no relationship with
Maggie, she had agreed, at least by her actions.

It was not because of fear of her husband that the
mother agreed to his ultimatum. They had an excellent
relationship. "Her parents had one of the best marriages
Finn knew. They really loved each other." (p. 18) The
daughters had often seen them being affectionate with one
another. The mother wasn't overly dependent on the father,
either. Because of his job as a truck driver, he was often
gone for days at a time. She ran the household by herself,
as well as worked outside the home as a nurse. Refusing to
see the situation from her daughter's perspective came from
her traditional view of life. (p. 18)

When her youngest daughter, Finn, begins dating an older

boy, the mother expressed the same lack of understanding.

117
Finn's past behavior had been above reproach, yet when Finn
asked her mother if she could go out with Seth, the mother
reacted with no thought or empathy.
"I don't want to know him, Finn."
"Jesus! You're so unfair."

"Life's not fair," her mother said. "Look at what
Maggie did -- is that fair to me and your father?"

(Po 62)
Later she tried to explain to Finn why she refused to let her
go out with Seth.

I want you to understand that I'm not keeping you

from seeing him to hurt you. I thought you

understood that. I'm older and I look at things

differently. I have -- well, call it wisdom, you

don't have. (p. 66)
She used the truism that to be older meant to know more.

Ironically, the boy Finn's mother would have permitted
her to go out with, because he was Finn's age, had a
reputation for dating girls only for sex. (p. 162) She gave
Finn no credit for knowing what the boys were like or for
trusting her to use good judgment. Finn told her parents:

"I can take care of myself. I'm almost sixteen.”

"You're not sixteen for a good while," her mother
said.

"What happens when I am?" she said.

"Maybe we'll all be lucky, and you'll have better
sense." (p. 94)

Frustrated by her mother's unyielding position and lack of
trust, Finn fought back.
"You don't let me pick my own friends. It's not

right. I'm a person. You can't tell me everything
to do or not do."

118

"We leave plenty of things up to you," her mother
said.

"Sure!" Finn turned on her mother. "What to wear

to school, and if I want a hat or a cold

breakfast!" (p. 143)
By not making an attempt to understand her daughter's
perspective, the mother destroyed the rapport she and Finn
had once had. The image was of a mother, although competent

and independent, unwilling to develop a close helpful

relationship with her children.

Betty, the mother in Hey, That's My Soul You're Stamping

 

 

pp, by Barbara Carcoran, fits into the category of
self-centered mothers because of her immature, irresponsible
attitude toward her husband and two children. Because the
arguments between husband and wife became serious, the father
arranges for the daughter, Rachel, to spend the summer in
California with Betty's parents.

Betty's self-centeredness is most obvious in the way she
tries to claim her husband's and children's complete
attention. Rachel describes her mother as "a big squashy
quilt" that tried to smother their lives. (p. 2) She is a
loving mother, but very possessive. (p. 118) If her husband
doesn't tell her every move he made, everybody he spoke to
throughout the day, every day, she is suspicious and angry.
(p. 3) Rachel realizes that her mother is ”a hungry kind of
person," ready "to gobble up everybody around her.” (p. 3)

Yet, Betty wants to have a good relationship with her family.

119
She seems unable to understand how her behavior is
destructive to the very thing she wants -- a close-knit
family.

Rachel's grandparents explain, at least in part, why her
mother behaves so irrationally. Betty had been engaged to
marry. "The date was set, big church wedding, reception at
the Bel Air," but the groom never showed up. (p. 18) When
Rachel hears this, she believes her mother is "always kind of
scared that Dad is going to melt away right under her nose,
and I could never see why she worried. I mean he's always so
there." (p. 19) Betty's inability to grow beyond this
experience is reflected in other immature behavior.

For example, when she calls Rachel in California it is
typical of her to call when the rates are high even though
she criticizes people for throwing their money away at the
slot machines in Reno. Knowing her mother, Rachel comments
that, "It's a good thing she doesn't approve of gambling; the
way she averreacts, she'd go broke in a couple of days." (p.
111)

Betty suggests that Rachel call her grandparents by
their first names, an idea that makes Granddad react with
anger. "all this stuff about trying to act younger than you
are. I think it's sick." (p. 13) At no other time was there
a suggestion of Betty's concern with age, so this too is an
example of her immature judgment and erroneous conclusions.

Betty seems incapable of accepting the responsibilities

of a mature, independent mother. After her mother and father

120

separate, Rachel worries about how her mother will get along.

Mother loved to give orders, but she was not an

organized person. It would be just like her to

have dashed off to Reno without telling Mrs. Bagley

(the cleaning woman). (p. 116)
When Betty loses her Diners Club Card, she has no idea what
to do, and tells Rachel that "your father always took care of
things like that." (p. 117) Rachel has no sympathy for her
though, and believes that "she's got to face up things for
herself, for once. Dad has spoiled her." (p. 96) The

Grandparents agree that Betty is spoiled.

Everybody spoils her, always has. We did. She
invites spoiling somehow." (p. 96)

Betty has not grown beyond the spoiled child stage; has not
accepted responsibility as a mature adult. She reflects the
image of a self-centered, unfulfilled mother, unable to

create her own happiness.

All of the mothers in this category are self-centered
and have difficulty relating with their children. Even when
their children because of special problems need their
support, the mothers cannot empathize or, in some cases,
admit there even was a problem. Most of them are unsure of
themselves and hesitate to make decisions on their own. The

and Them that Glitter and Them that Don't. In both of these

 

cases, the mothers have not accomplished goals that might
lead them to have such a high opinion of themselves; their

self-centeredness alone makes them feel sure of themselves.

121
Similar to the mothers' images in books published during the
60's, these mothers contribute to the teenagers' problems
because they are more concerned with self than their

children.

Chapter 5

MOTHERS WHO ARE EMPATHIC, YET INDEPENDENT

The images of women in this final category are of
competent laving mothers who also have interests beyond the
family. They accept responsibility for their own lives as
well as their children's. They try to make thoughtful
decisions although they are sometimes mistaken. Yet because
of their self respect they learn from these mistakes. Even
though the mothers in this category differ in personalities,
careers, and life styles, they all help their children learn
to accept responsibility for their decisions and behavior.
The mothers remember what life was like from the perspective
of a teenager and through empathy help their children become
independent and develop self-confidence.

The mother in Killing Mr. Griffin is loving and

 

competent. She helps her daughter become responsible and

independent. In Memo: 22 Myself When I Have 2 Teenage Kid,

 

 

the mother successfully balances interest in her children

with interest in her career. The mother in Long Time Between

 

Kisses is also serious about her career. She is loving and

capable, not afraid to make decisions. l_Love You, Stupid

 

portrays a mother who has a positive self-concept and is
confident of her ability to make thoughtful decisions. In
IOU's the mother is capable and independent, with a wonderful

sense of humor. The mother in Happy Endings Are All Alike is

 

 

122

123

caring, supportive and assertive.

Mrs. McConnell, the mother in Killing Mr. Griffin, by

 

Lois Duncan, is portrayed as competent and supportive. She
manages the family with good humor and friendly bantering.
(p. 6, 183) She has three sons and one daughter, Susan, the
main character in the novel. Susan is shy and the target for
her brothers' teasing. Mrs. McConnell helps her by keeping
the boys in line, being supportive, but not exerting pressure
on her daughter to be more outgoing.

When Susan is asked out for the first time, Mrs.
McConnell is happy for her daughter. She has empathy for
Susan, knowing what life is like from the perspective of a
teenager.

My goodness, Sue, who is this boy?

He's the president of the senior class!

And you're only a junior! How exiting! (p. 43)

She helps Susan plan and prepare food to take along for the
picnic, and, more importantly, reassures her.

Oh, Mother, what if it's awful? I mean, what if I
can't thing of anything to talk to him about?

You'll think of something. That's the sort of
thing that takes care of itself. He'll probably
have things he wants to talk about. He must like
you, honey, or he wouldn't have called. (p. 44)
By treating the occasion of the date as a natural and
pleasant occurrence, she helps Susan to gain confidence.

Later, Susan's behavior leads her to believe that Susan

124

is ill. Actually Susan is overcome with feelings of guilt
and remorse for her part in the accidental killing of a high
school teacher. Mrs. McConnell is solicitious at all times,
concerned, but not overly anxious about her daughter's
behavior. When David, the young man Susan has been dating
comes to see if she will go out, her mother is encouraging.

"Why don't you, dear?" Mrs. McConnell said. "You

hardly ate any dinner. Go get a sandwich or

something, and then come back and get a good

night's sleep." (p. 91)
When Susan's condition does not improve, her mother becomes

increasingly worried.

Your cold must be worse, Sue. You look just awful.
Are you sure you want to go to school? (p. 127)

However concerned she is, though, she allows Susan to decide
for herself if she should go out or to school.

The wife of the teacher who died comes to the
McConnell's house and accuses Susan of lying. Mrs. McConnell
comes quickly to her defense.

"That's ridiculous!" Mrs. McConnell said. There

was a note of anger in her normally gentle voice.

"Susan does not lie." (p. 156)

Even when she discovers that Susan has been lying, she
remains supportive.

After the story is out and everyone knows her part in
the accident, Susan retreats to her room, unwilling to
discuss the events. Her mother allows her some time to
recover emotionally, but eventually tells her:

Sue, you can't go on like this. It's only by

facing things that you ever put them behind you.
(p. 217)

125
Mrs. McConnell is willing to assume some of the
responsibility for Susan's situation. She and her husband
have a counseling session with a psychologist, trying to
understand how it had all happened. (p. 219) She never
becomes angry with Susan, but tries to help her put the
experience in perspective. She explains to Susan that they
are going
...to get family counseling to help us all through

this difficult time. We're in this together,

aren't we? Whatever happens to you happens to all

of us. (p. 221)
Instead of accusing Susan or worrying about what others think
of them, Mrs. McConnell believes that the experience might
help them all to understand each other better. The image of
this mother is of a loving, competent woman able to make

decisions which helps her children to become responsible and

independent.

Memo: £2 Myself When I Have ngeenagg Kid by Carol

 

 

 

Snyder portrays a woman who is a caring, supportive mother,
but is, also, very serious about her career as a writer.
There are three children in the family, all girls; Karen, the
main character is the oldest. The children know not to
bother their mother when she is writing. "She has a writing
rule about that, the only exception being cuts and bruises."
(p. 150) She takes herself seriously, and consequently, so
do her children.

Although Mrs. Berman tells Karen when to wear boots and

126
complains that her room is messy, she insists Karen accept
responsibility for decisions appropriate for a
thirteen-year-old. When they argue about Karen's wearing
boots, her mother says, "Do what you want. But if you go out
without boots, it's your decision." (p. 15) And she does not
mention it to Karen again. When Karen invites friends over
for a party without first asking permission she tells her
parents that, "I seem to have made some big decisions all by
myself." Her mother's reaction is supportive. "We encourage
you to do that." (p. 13) Even after she hears about the
party plans, and does not like them, she agrees to allow
Karen to have her friends over "because we want you to make
your own decisions..." (p. 115) She tells the two younger
girls they are not allowed to come to Karen‘s party.
"Karen's growing up and needs her own space." (p. 116) But
she sets the parameters by telling Karen "And we'll let
everyone know we're here, but then we'll stay out of your
way. That's my rule." (p. 116) She does not hesitate to set
guidelines for her daughters, and takes responsibility for
their behavior.

If the children do not like a rule or have an important
matter to discuss, they are expected to call a family
meeting. This provides a forum where everyone has an equal
opportunity to be heard. (p. 112) Thus, there is never an

excuse for not talking things over. Because of the trust her

127
parents place in her, Karen is able to stand up to peer
pressure when she knows she is asked to do something unwise.
(p. 140)

Mrs. Berman becomes angry when she believes the children
act foolishly.

Okay, Karen. Only I want an explanation, and it

had better be one heck of a story. I don't like

this at all. (p. 100)

After she heard that Karen invited two more friends to the
party, "she was not pleased. No more surprises, okay?
Enough is enough." (p. 130) Her anger is always directed at
a particular action, and once she speaks to Karen about it,
the subject is dropped.

Because Karen is going through all the normal trauma of
adolescence, Mrs. Berman gives her the diary she kept when
she was as teenager. The diary makes Karen realize that her
mother had many of the same experiences, and, also, it is a
way of telling Karen -- I remember, I understand. (p. 31) By
sharing that part of her life with her daughter, she
expresses trust and empathy.

Although she loves fulfilling the role of mother to
three young girls, she realizes the importance of their
developing independence. "Karen, fight me if I hold onto you
too tightly." (p. 151) The image of this mother is one of
strength and intelligence. She recognizes the necessary
balance between her responsibility for caring for her

children and helping them to develop independence.

128

Sandra Scoppettone's Long Time Between Kisses, also has
a positive mother image. Arley, the mother, is divorced; she
has one daughter, a teenager named Billie. During the first
years of her marriage Arley was a sculptor. Billie described
her work as "huge wooden things." (p. 2) Her mother worked
hard at her art but in Billie's words, "She just stunk." (p.
3) It occurs to Arley, too, one day that her work is not
very good and she decides to become a carpenter.

The father laughed. "You're not serious?" ...

He never had much confidence in her or gave her

much support, especially when it came to things she
wanted to do that weren't things women usually do.

(Po 4)
But in spite of the lack of support, Arley does become a
highly successful carpenter. She is not afraid to make
decisions that would change the direction of her life.

Arley and Billie are fairly close, but because of her
work, Arley is not able to spend as much time with her
daughter as she likes. Billie is at the age where she
prefers friends to family. When a close friend of Billie's
dies she does not think of her mother as a source of comfort.

Oh, Billie, why didn't you come and get me?

Get you? Why?

Because I'm your mother. I mean, you needed help
and I would have helped you. (p. 151)

Arley blames herself for Billie's not seeking help from her.

You never thought of me. That's my fault. I guess
I haven't been very present. (p. 151)

She holds Billie in her arms, and Billie is finally able to

129
grieve for her friend. Although they are rarely
demonstrative with each other, Arley is a loving mother and
gives support when Billie needs it.
Against her daughter's wishes, Arley starts a serious
relation$hip with an artist. Billie notices that her mother
seems happier.

"So, it takes a man to make your life fulfilled," I
said, baiting her. (p. 139)

But Arley has a strong self-concept and knows that isn't
true. She explains to her daughter:

If I didn't have a sense of myself no man could

make me feel good. You have to have yourself

first, and then another person enhances everything.

(p. 139)
Arley's relationship with her friend is not based on a need
to depend on someone. But, on the other hand, her
independence does not prevent her from sharing her life with
someone.

Arley projects an image of a strong capable mother not
afraid of making decisions. She is responsible for her
actions, and could admit to sometimes making mistakes. She

is successful as a career woman without neglecting her

daughter.

In 1 Love You, Stupid! by Harry Mazen the image is of a
self-confident woman who enjoys being a mother. Sally
divorced Marcus' father shortly after Marcus was born, and
raised him by herself. (p. 25)

Sally gives Marcus guidance but allows him to make his

130
own plans and decisions, too. When he was fourteen he "spent
a whole summer backpacking -- living outdoors, canoeing
through Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada." (p. 9)
Sally made sure he had the experiences appropriate for a boy,
but uses discretion when Marcus has a wild scheme. With
three months left in his senior year in high school, Marcus
decides to quit school to become a writer. Her first
reaction is to not take him seriously and the discussion ends
with Marcus walking out. But Sally persists and brings the
matter up again. She suggests that he rearrange his
schedule.

Drop the course you don't need, keep the ones you

do need. Can't you take the classes you need in

the morning, say, then have your afternoons free

for writing? (p. 55)

She could have let the matter drop, especially because Marcus
acts so immaturely, but she wants her son to have the
opportunity to spend more time writing, if he doesn't have to
quit school to accomplish this.

Marcus is hot-headed and cocky but Sally keeps calm and
reasonable, and by doing so, encourages Marcus to become more
mature. When his behavior is out of bounds, she refuses to
argue.

"I'm leaving," she said. "I'm not going to talk to
you the way you're acting." (p. 54)

She is right about his inability to use the afternoons
productively. Instead of writing he accepts a baby sitting
job because he fantasizes about being in love with the young

mother who hires him. Sally, though upset, takes a

131
reasonable attitude.
You changed our agreement without consulting me. I

don't understand why you've done this. Is it money
you need? I'll be glad to discuss your allowance.

(p. 78)
Her influence has an impact on Marcus. He rails at her in
his mind, but he trusts and respects her.

Sally has a positive self concept. She knows she has
done the right thing in divorcing Marcus' father. To bait
his mother Marcus says:

Just think how much better your life would have
been if you'd stuck with George.

It would have been stupid. I wouldn't have stayed
with that unfeeling character, not in a million
years. (p. 25)
Because of her self confidence, Sally does not respond to
Marcus' inane remarks with anger.

Sally sets guidelines for her son and does not change
them. For example, he has to help with dishes even when he
invites a girl friend for dinner. (p. 154) And when he
scraped the paint off the side of his mother's car he knew
"there was no more borrowing his mother's car after that
evening." (p. 159) Because her rules are fair, he accepts
them without rancor. Sally is a competent mother, able to
meet the demands of a career while raising her son on her

own. She is confident of her ability to make thoughtful

decisions and accepts the responsibilities of her actions.

Annie, the mother in 100's by Ouida Sebestyen is capable

and independent, although the circumstances of her life are

132
difficult. As a child, she had a close relationship with her
father, but her younger brother gradually took her place.
Her father vehemently opposed her marriage and refused to
some to the wedding. Her brother did attend, but was killed
in a car accident returning home. Annie's father held her
responsible and broke off the relationship with his daughter.
(pp. 85-86) Annie is a sensitive caring person and,
although, hurt by her father's actions, understands and
empathizes with his feelings.

She carries this ability into her relationship with her
thirteen-year-old son Stowe. Although she does not always
agree with him, she does understand how he feels. Stowe and
his friend, Brownie, built a dam in a creek swollen by the
spring thaw, creating a deep pool. They visualized using it
all summer, but Annie discovers their project.

"The Noah Brothers, I presume," she said. "Quite a

flood you've got here." ... "An engineering

marvel." (p. 43)

She smiled at them. "The dam's got to go." (p. 44)

The boys argue and try to counter every reason she gives.

"1 know," Annie said. "So, okay, you guys have had

your fun. It's a beautiful job, it really is. I'm

sorry. But take it down." (p. 45)

Although Annie understands why they do not want to destroy
their dam, she is adamant about her decisions, even when her
son thinks she is being unreasonable.

Annie knows what it was like to have fun. Her sense of

humor carries them through many difficult situations. For

example, when Annie slammed on the brakes of her old pickup,

133

"the rearview mirror outside Annie's window fell off the
door." (p. 8)

Out of the silence came a sound Stowe loved. His

mother's little whimper slowly grew into a snicker

that finally jiggled into a laugh. (p. 8)
Her light heartedness allows her to have fun without worrying
about fulfilling a stereotypical mother role. Once she and
Stowe cut through a playground on their way home:

Instead of detouring for the slide, Annie went

right up the steps and down the sick slope. He

stared at her, and slowly followed. Cool evening

air rushed against his face. She stopped at the

seesaws smiling. They got on opposite sides their

weight balancing finally after the years of being

unequal. (p. 68)
Another time, Annie plans an all-day outing in the mountains
with Stowe and Brownie. After eating, the boys go off on
their own. Stowe looks back and sees Annie at the top of the
meadow.

All at once she dropped to her knees and rolled

down the slope like a shotgunned rustler in some

old TV rerun. (p. 80)
Annie's life is often difficult, but she does not let that
keep her from knowing the joy found in everyday occurrences.

One of the main difficulties is the family's shortage of
money. She calculates the cost of every grocery item she
chooses, but even then is often embarrassed because she
doesn't have enough money to pay for everything.

"Oh, damn," Annie exclaimed, whacking the steering

wheel. "I hate these times. It's one thing to run

out of money when you know it's at home in another

purse, or waiting for you at the bank. But damn

when it's not!" (p. 12)

Annie could have a job that brought in more money, but she

134
made a decision to work at home where she took care of
children. She tells Stowe: "...I wanted a job where I could
watch you grow up." (p. 65) Stowe, angry because he couldn't
keep a puppy he found, asks her why she doesn't get a "real
job."

"Annie's face went flat. I somehow had the

impression that I've got a real job," she said

stiffly. "I don't keep kids just to break the

monotony of my empty days." (p. 64)

She explains to Stowe that she likes what she does.

I love kids, and I love homemaking, and making the

quilts and all that. I'm living the kind of life I

want to live. (p. 64)

She does not allow a lack of money to interfere with her
independence, nor force her to make decisions that change the
way she wants to live.

Annie's strong sense of independence affects the way she
raises her son. She wants Stowe, too, to be responsible for
his own decisions. "Think, Annie was always telling him."
(p. 17) "Think ahead, he could almost hear Annie order." (p.
49) Because she refuses to do his thinking for him, and
because she trusts him to make wise decisions, he is neither
rash nor foolish. For example, Stowe and Brownie planned to
pay a girl back because she had snubbed them. Brownie wants
to know if Annie will let Stowe carry out the joke.

"I didn't ask her," Stowe said. "I don't ask her

stuff like that." The simple fact was that he

didn't have to. He knew how she reacted to most

things. He knew this was a

think-about-it-carefully-Stowe situation. (p. 104)

In spite of his good intentions, he allows Brownie to talk

135

him into the escapade. Annie's reaction is: "It's you who
have to know when something's going too far." (p. 116) She
is angry, not so much over what happened, but more that he
did not make a responsible decision.

Annie helps Stowe become mature, loving him but letting
him grow away from her too. She explains to Stowe:

"Maybe the way we love each other seems too close

for some tastes." Annie turned her smile on him.

"Even yours, Stowe. But spaces will come between

us. You'll change into a father and a middle-aged

man, and we'll love each other in a different way."

(p. 179)
She is supportive and loving but not clinging.

Annie does not allow hardships to interfere with her
strong sense of self worth. She has the strength to cope

with many difficulties. Not only is she a competent mother,

but a woman living her life with a joyful knowledge of self.

Happy Endings Are All Alike by Sandra Scoppettone,

 

portrays Kay, who is caring and supportive to her two teenage
children. The family has a traditional structure, with only
the husband working outside the home. However, Kay is not a
traditional woman but a feminist with a breezy nonchalant
manner. Her husband, Bert, wanted her to work for him,
partly because he knew she was efficient and competent, and
partly "because he was madly in love with his wife." (p. 46)
But Kay is happy working at home on pottery and painting, and
dead set against working for her husband.

Kay and her eighteen-year-old daughter, Jaret, are good

136
friends.
Jaret, from age fourteen to sixteen, had been at
terrible odds with her mother and it had scared and
hurt Kay until she remembered how she'd been with

her own mother and how they'd later become friends.
(p. 50)

She and Jaret are now very close, and she treats her daughter
as an equal.

When Kay read letters written to Jaret by her lover,
Peggy, she realizes for the first time that her daughter is a
lesbian.

Look, first let me say that I'm sorry I read them

-- I mean, I know I violated your space and all

that but I'm human. (p. 10)

She asks Jaret outright if she and Peggy are lovers. (p. 11)
Kay's response to the answer is to ask if Jaret is happy. "I
mean really happy, Jare?" (p. 13) As Jaret explains how she
feels, Kay tells her that "if you're happy, that's all that
counts" (p. 14) and accepts her daughter's homosexuality with
compassion.

The relationship between Peggy and Jaret does come
between mother and daughter, though. Kay struggles with her
own concern over Jaret's happiness.

The days of Jaret coming in from an evening out,

talking and laughing about it were over. It made
Kay feel old, lonely. She missed Jaret terribly.

(Po 73)
It is difficult for her to believe that Jaret could be happy
with a lesbian life-style. Her concern is for Jaret, not
what other people will think, but "it was not something Kay

could accept as normal, no matter how liberated she might

137
be." (p. 81) Although Kay is not happy with her daughter's
decision she believes Jaret has a right to choose for
herself.

When Jaret is raped, Kay puts all her ambivalent
thoughts aside and fully supports her daughter, even though
lesbianism is used as an excuse for the rapist, Mid Summers.
The police chief explains that: "the Summers kid is gonna say
that seeing them ... you know, intimate and all ... made him
crazy." (p. 160) Kay's response is:

First of all I don't think it's perverted, but

that's neither here nor there. ... Secondly, no

matter what their relationship is, it has

absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Jaret

was beaten and raped. (p. 160)

Kay's attitude is supportive throughout the ordeal of the
police questioning and insinuations, and the public
disclosure of Jaret's and Peggy's relationship.

Kay is upset by the attitude of the police toward her
daughter, and, also, by the attitude toward rape in general.
When the police chief insinuates the rape was probably done
by a boy friend, Kay explains that rape is not a sexual act.
The chief's response was: “Well, if rape ain't sexual then I
don't know what it is." (p. 128) Rape is an issue Kay has
strong feelings about.

"Well, I have news for you," Kay persisted, her

voice rising. "It ain't sexual. It's aggressive

and it's violent and it's based on hatred of women,

not desire for them." (p. 128)

Because of this opinion, Kay naturally wanted Mid prosecuted,

but she trusts and respects her daughter to make that

138
decision herself.

Kay always believed that for children to mature they
have to be given freedom and responsibility. She is
independent, and wants her children to be so, too. Kay has
always supported them.

Jaret remembered a day in first grade when she had

come home in tears because her teacher, Mrs.

Ackroyd, had dashed her hopes of becoming a garbage

collector. ”You can be anything you want, kid,"

Kay had said. "You tell Mrs. Ackroyd that there

are no limitations in this house." (p. 187)

Kay raised her children with that belief. As Jaret is
packing to leave for college, Kay tells her: "You'll be
anything you want to be, Jaret. You already are, thank God."
(p. 188) That remark is for Jaret "her mother's gift" (p.

188), a gift of love and acceptance that will always

strengthen and support her.

Although all of the mothers in this final category are
depicted positively, the images remain realistic. That is,
there are times the mothers make mistakes, lose their
tempers, and make poor judgments. But they all recognize and
admit mistakes, and accept responsibilities for their
decisions. They vary in economic situations, employment and
personalities, but have, in common, a willingness to listen
to their children and help them, even when the children err

in judgment.

Chapter 6

CONCLUSIONS

Results pf the Study

 

This study of adolescent literature since 1975 revealed
that mothers were depicted in a variety of ways. No one
image overshadowed all others as was true in the earlier
studies reported in Chapter One.

In studies of books published in the 60's, the mothers
were described negatively. They were often viewed as
contributing to their children's problems and being more
concerned with themselves than with their children. This
image was, also, present in the books I analyzed, but to a
lesser degree. Of the thirty-three books, eighteen (55%)
included mothers who could be classified as contributing to
their children's problems. However, these images varied
considerably. The mothers in six of the novels were mentally
ill or alcoholic and posed a threat to their children's
safety. Four mothers were portrayed as passive and unable to
make decisions that would help their children. Six of the
novels portrayed mothers who were self-centered. Their own
interests came first, an attitude which contributed to
serious problems for their children, such as suicide and
mental breakdowns. Five of the novels depicted mothers whose
involvement in interests outside the family tended to make

139

140
them insensitive to their children. They did not recognize
the problems they could have helped their children with.
Even when the teenagers asked for advice or help, the mothers
rarely took the requests seriously.

The adolescent novels published in the early 70's were
reported to show mothers in uninteresting roles; they were
seldom portrayed as competent or efficient. I found that the
images in the novels published from 1975 to 1984, however,.
did depict mothers in interesting roles. Though not all of
the mothers worked outside the home, many did volunteer work,
had interesting hobbies, and had good self—concepts. Several
of the mothers, and in one case a grandmother, were shown to
have loving relationships with their husbands. Even when the
mother was portrayed negatively, she was sometimes shown as
doing interesting things, as in the case of one who was a
gypsy, and another who welded as a hobby.

In this study 39% of the fictional mothers were wage
earners or were preparing to enter the labor force. This is
considerably lower than the United States Census of 1980 that
reported 55.3% of all adult women, who have at least one
child under the age of eighteen, are in the labor force.
However these fictional mothers reflect real-life ones more
closely in this respect than shown in a earlier study by the
National Organization for Women where less than 3% of the
fictional mothers were in the labor force.

The mothers in the novels who worked outside the home

held various jobs. Some were traditional, such as teacher,

141
nurse, secretary, or child caretaker. Other jobs included
real estate agent, writer, window designer, and interior
decorator. The most interesting job was that held by a
mother who became a carpenter and opened her own construction
company.

None of the books in this study portrayed an idealized
mother. Even in the most positive images, the mothers at
times lost their tempers, made mistaken judgments, and acted
immaturely. The too-good-to-be-true mother who appeared in
adolescent literature written in the 50's has apparently
disappeared There were, however, mothers who were depicted
as being loving as well as interesting and intelligent.
These were mothers who were competent as homemakers and/or
wage earners, made thoughtful decisions, and accepted
responsibility for their own and their children's lives. Of
the nine who fit this description, six were wage earners.
Only four were married; the others were either widowed or
divorced. Their personalities varied, as did their
interests. Some were quite traditional, while others were
feminists. There appeared to be no one pattern that
described these mothers, thus no stereotype was created. A
mother might work outside the home or not, be married,
widowed or divorced, have several children or just one and
still be described as competent, loving, and interesting.

Two patterns in the study, however, were consistent.
All six of the mothers portrayed as alcoholic or mentally ill

were unmarried. In three of these novels, the fathers

142
probably left because the mothers were alcoholics. In the
others, the mothers become ill because the fathers left and
they were unable to cope by themselves. The second pattern
occurred in the four books where the mothers were
characterized as passive and unable to cope. All the mothers
were married and none worked outside the home. They allowed
their husbands to make decisions affecting the children, even
when it was obvious that as as a result the children were
suffering. They seemed cowed by their husbands and unable to
think for themselves.

Because of the diversity of mother images in the
adolescent literature, I believe, as a whole, the fiction
mothers realistically reflected real-life mothers. The
images ran the gamut of personalities, experiences,
interests, and dreams. The literature was not in keeping
with society because of the lower percent of mothers in the
labor force and the suggestion of a stereotype in the
portrayal of every alcohlic or mentally-ill mother not having
a husband. However, the images of mothers in adolescent
literature are closer to reality than they were formerly

portrayed.

Characteristics pg the Selected Books

Of the thirty-three adolescent novels I analyzed,

sixteen were published from 1975 to 1979, seventeen from 1980

to 1984. In the first group, five were written by men,

143
eleven by women. In the second group, all but one were
written by women. Men wrote about both boys and girls as
their main characters, as did the women; in thirteen of the
books (34%) a boy was the main character. In comparing the
books published during the first five years with those
published the last five, I found the only major difference
was that out of the nine mothers who were shown as loving and
supportive to their children and either were or were becoming
assertive women and decision makers, six appeared in books
published after 1979. This, perhaps, reflects a trend toward
the depicting of mothers as competent both in and out of the
home. The characteristics are summarized in the following
table.

Five authors were represented in this study more than
once: Paula Danziger, Judith Guest, Sandra Scoppettone,
Cynthia Voigt, and Paul Zindel, and interestingly, each of
these authors was consistent in the characterization of
mothers. For example, Scoppettone described mothers as
competent, independent and loving; Zindel described mothers
as incompetent, selfish and unloving. Whether this holds
true for all of the novels written by the same author is an

interesting question for future research.

Implications

 

A variety of mother images is important to adolescent

readers. Adolescence is a time when young people are

144

Table 1. Characteristics of books. Category 1: mothers
in transition. Category 2?—pa551ve/unable to cope.
Category 3: self-centered/adult perspective. Category
4: competent/independent.

 

 

 

date of
publication 1975-1979 1980—1984
sex of
author female male female male total
sex of
character F M F M F M F M
c
a 1 2 0 0 l 4 2 0 0 9
t
e 2 l 3 0 l 3 2 0 0 l0
9
o 3 2 2 l l 2 0 0 0 8
r
y 4 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 6
totals 7 5 l 3 12 4 0 l
12 4 16 l
16 17

 

critically analyzing their parents, as well as thinking ahead
to roles they may fulfill as they grow into adulthood.
Literature that shows mothers as active and interesting may
be of help to them. On the other hand if young adults have
mothers who create difficult home lives for them, reading of
a similar experience may help them find ways to improve their
situations. For all adolescents, learning about a variety of
mother images through reading could broaden their social view

and perhaps help them to become more empathic. Therefore, it

145
is important that mothers are not characterized as
stereotypes, but that human experience is reflected in
adolescent literature. However, I am not advocating any form
of censorship. Although I would not recommend that
adolescent literature which portrays mothers in confining,
stereotypical roles be included in a curriculum, I would not
make such books inaccessable to readers. I think young
people should be helped to understand why the stereotypes
appear in literature.

A study such as this one can help teachers and
librarians choose literature both for curricula and
adolescents' personal reading that gives young people an
opportunity to understand the many dimensions of motherhood.
We who recommend books and design curricula including
literature should know how women are portrayed in the
literature; we should make accessible a range of books so as
to achieve a balance of images that reflect real life.
Hopefully, an increasing number of books will have more
realistic portrayals of mothers -- ones that reflect mothers'
new and changing roles, increased independence, and ability
to balance their own needs with those of their families.

One recommendation for further research is an
investigation of relationships between mothers and fathers.
Are love and respect shown as part of this relationship or
are parents usually characterized as sparing partners? An
analysis of behavior, as used in this study, would provide a

better description of the relationships in the novels than a

146
count of the number of divorces or separations. Whatever the
focus, though, adolescent literature deserves serious study.
With paperback editions readily available, and with the
increasing emphasis on literature in junior and senior high
schools, adolescent literature will continue to be an
important component of leisure and school reading. Teachers
and librarians need to be familiar with the novels available
for young people. This study, as well as others, can aid in

the necessary knowledge.

APPENDIX

APPENDIX

SELECTED ADOLESCENT LITERATURE FOR IMAGES OF MOTHERS

l. Bates, Betty. .lE Must've Been the Fish Sticks. (1982).

 

2. Blume, Judy. Tiger Eyes. (1981).

 

3. Bridgers, Sue Ellen. Notes for Another Life. (1981).

 

4. Corcoran, Barbara. Hey, That's My Soul You're
Stepping On. (1978).

 

 

5. Danziger, Paula. Can You Sue Your Parents for
Malpractice. (197977

 

6. Danziger, Paula. The Divorce Express. (1982).

 

7. Duncan, Lois. Killing Mr. Griffin. (1978).

 

8. Fox, Paula. ‘M Place Apart. (1980).

 

9. Green, Bette. Them that Glitter and Them that Don't.
(1983).

 

10. Guest, Judith. Ordinary People. (1976).

11. Guest, Judith. Second Heaven. (1982).

 

12. Guy, Rosa. 'The Disappearance. (1979).

 

13. Le Guin, Ursula. Very Far Away from Anywhere Else.
(1976).

14. Lipsyte, Robert. One Fat Summer. (1977),

 

15. Mazer, Harry. l_Love You, Stupid. (1981).

 

l6. Mazer, Norma Fox. Mp_ip Seth's Room. (1979).
17. Neville, Emily Cheney. Garden pf Broken Glass. (1975).

18. Newton, Suzanne. .1 Will Call 13 Georgie's Blues.
(1983).

 

19. Oneal, Zibby. The Language pf Goldfish. (1980).

 

 

20. Paterson, Katherine. Bridge pp Terabithia. (1977).

 

21. Peck, Richard. Are You $3 the House Alone. (1976).

 

22. Riley, Jocelyn. Only My Mouth lg Smiling. (1982).
147

148

23. Scoppettone, Sandra. Happy Endings Are All Alike.
(1978).

 

24. Scoppettone, Sandra. Long Time Between Kisses. (1982).

 

25. Sebestyn, Ouida. I.O.U.'s. (1982).

 

26. Snyder, Carol. Memo: 23 Myself When 1 Have 3 Teenage
Kid. (1983).

 

 

 

 

27. Stolz, Mary. ‘gp and Catch 3 Flying Fish. (1979).

28. Van Leeuwen, Jean. Seems Like this Road Goes pp
Forever. (1979).

 

 

29. Voigt, Cynthia. A Solitary Blue. (1984).

 

30. Voigt, Cynthia. Dicey's Sang. (1982).

 

31. Voigt, Cynthia. Homecoming. (1981).

 

32. Zindel, Paul. Confessions gf‘g Teenage Baboon. (1977).

 

33. Zindel, Paul. Pardon Mg You're Stepping pp My Eyeball.
(1976).

 

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