Renowned
feminist writer Carrie Dunn’s collections of literary sketches of the
relationships between mothers and their offspring is a must read for fans of
fiction and feminism, and for anyone who is, or has, a mother.
Dunn
takes the reader on a journey through literary history, visiting Mrs Capulet,
Mrs Bennett, Sue Bridehead and Mammy Walsh along the way. Her well-observed
portraits bring to life this often-neglected relationship, as we rethink our
attitudes to the marvellous, the mean, the flighty and devoted mothers that
populate our favourite books.
“This collection of portraits is a joy to
read. It was a great opportunity to revisit some of my favourite novels (as
well as discover some new ones) through the mother characters that we often
miss, or take for granted, or fail to appreciate. Whether it’s the horror of
Mrs Reed in Jane Eyre, or a new way of looking at Pam Jones, this book took me
on a journey through literary history and introduced me to its key players in a
new and refreshing way.”
Sian
Norris, blogger
Dunn
notes that throughout history, mothers have been silenced or ignored by
literary criticism, or else their motivations and actions have been dismissed
as trivial. Her book aims for us to take a second look at the role motherhood
has played in literature, and demands that we re-evaluate and question our
often negative reactions to mother characters – from Mrs Bennett’s superficiality
to Mrs Capulet’s abandonment of Juliet. She examines how sexism or male bias in
literary history has led to condemnation of mothers in fiction whilst failing
to recognise or evaluate the social and cultural norms of the period that
influenced or shaped these characters. Do we judge and ignore literary fathers
in the same way?
The
portraits Dunn paints in her book are very funny, very knowing and sharp. The
20 short sketches take us on a literary journey of 500 years of literature’s
mums. This book is for anyone who is, or has, a mother, and for anyone who
loves great reads.
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