Becoming a Mother: Pregnancy and Transformation in English Poems Written by Contemporary Mother Poets
Main Article Content
Abstract
This interdisciplinary research study employs Arnold van Gennep and Victor Turner’s sociological conception of liminality (or the rite of passage), as a tool through which to study mothering experiences as represented in selected American English poems about pregnancy, birthing and nursing written by contemporary white mothers. The research also follows the argument of Jean Shinoda Bolen, in arguing that becoming a mother is a sacred journey, and by way of this consideration, explaining the spiritual transformation of the various mother personas in the selected poems. The research attempts to testify that mothering experiences, despite some prevailing tension and hindrances, paradoxically enable women to delve further into their individuated consciousness of womanhood, uncovering the autonomous power already present within and enabling them to grow spiritually. It aims to honor the precious bond between mothers and their children, promote mothering as a source of female empowerment and also foster public recognition of the incipient potentiality of women’s creative power as mothers.
Article Details
Section
Articles
Copyright by the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University.
Photocopying is allowed for internal, non-commercial use only. Photocopying for other uses or for purposes other than indicated must be permitted in writing from the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University.
All views or conclusion are those of the authors of the articles and not necessarily those of the publisher or the editorial staff.References
Athan, A., & Miller, L. (2013). Motherhood as opportunity to learn spiritual values: Experiences and insights of new mothers. Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health, 27(4), 220-253.
Bloch, C. (1995). Eating babies. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 68-70). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Boland, E. (1995). Night feed. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 66-67). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Bolen, J. S. (1984). Goddesses in Everywoman: A New Psychology of Women. New York, NY: Harper Perennial.
Bolen, J. S. (1994). Crossing to Avalon. San Francisco, CA: Harper San Francisco.
Borysenko, J. (1998). A Woman's Book of Life: The Biology, Psychology, and Spirituality of the Feminine Life Cycle. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.
Cixous, H. (1976). The Laugh of the Medusa. Signs, 1(4), 875-893.
Côté-Arsenault, D., Brody, D., & Dombeck, M. (2009). Pregnancy as a rite of passage: Liminality, rituals & communitas. Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health, 24(2), 69-87.
Fraser, K. (1989). The tradition of marginality. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, 10(3), 22-27.
Fraser, K. (1995). Poems for the new. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 28-29). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Gadon, E. W. (1989). The Once and Future Goddess. San Francisco, CA: Harper San Francisco.
Gilbert, S. M., & Gubar, S. (Eds.) (1996). The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women: The Traditions in English. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Gimbutas, M. (1982). Women and culture in goddess-oriented old Europe. In C. Spretnak (Ed.), The Politics of Women’s Spirituality: Essays on the Rise of Spiritual power Within the Women’s Movement (pp. 22-31). New York, NY: Doubleday.
Green, F. J. (2015). Re-conceptualising motherhood: Reaching back to move forward. Journal of Family Studies, 21(3), 196-207.
Hall, J. (2006). Spirituality at the beginning of life. Journal of Clinical Nursing 15(7), 804-810.
Hall, J., & Taylor, M. (2004). Birth and spirituality. In S. Downes (Ed), Normal Childbirth: Evidence and Debate (pp.41-56). Edinburgh, England: Churchill Livingston.
Hrdy, S. B. (2000). Mother Nature. London, England: Random House.
Jacinto, G. A., & Buckey, J. W. (2013). Birth: A rite of passage. International Journal of Childbirth Education, 28(1), 11-14.
McPherson, S. (1995). Pregnancy. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 31-32). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Muske, C. (1995). “Sounding”. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 46-47). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Neumann, E. (1955). The Great Mother: An Analysis of the Archetype. Translated by R. Manheim. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
O’Hehir, D. (1995). Infant. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 56-57). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Olds, S. (1995). The language of the Brag. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 337-338). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Olivetti, K. (2015). The ordinary, metaphor, and depth. Jung Journal, 9(1), 104-115. doi: 10.1080/19342039.2015.988080
O’ Reilly, A. (Ed.) (2004). From Motherhood to Mothering: The Legacy of Adrienne Rich’s Of Woman Born. New York, NY: State University of New York.
Ostriker, A. (1978). The mother/child papers. Feminist Studies, 4(2), 84-90.
Ostriker, A. (1982). The thieves of language: Women poets and revisionist mythmaking. Signs, 8(1), 68-90.
Ostriker, A. (1995). The Cambridge afternoon was grey. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 54-55). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Papastavrou, M., Genitsaridi, S.M., Komodiki, E., Paliatsou, S., Midw, R., et al. (2015). Breastfeeding in the course of history. Journal of Pediatrics and Neonatal Care, 2(6), 00096. doi: 10.15406/jpnc.2015.02.00096.
Pastan, L. (1995). Notes from the delivery room. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (p. 45). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Plumwood, V. (1993). Feminism and the Mastery of Nature. London: Routledge.
Ras, B. (1995). Pregnant poets swim lake Tarleton, New Hampshire. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 40-41). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Rich, A. (1979). On Lies, Secrets, and Silence: Selected Prose 1966-1978. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Rich, A. (1986). Of Women Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution. New York, NY: Norton.
Rich, A. (1995). Night-pieces: For a child. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 83-84). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Showalter, E. (1981). Feminist Criticism in the wilderness. Critical Inquiry, 8(2), 179-205.
Spires, E. (1995). Letter in July” In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 39-40). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Thomas, T. (2001). Becoming a mother: Matrescence as spiritual formation. Religious Education, 96(1), 88-105.
Turner, V. W. (1969). The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. Chicago, IL: Aldine Publishing Company.
Walker, B.G. (1988). The Woman’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects. Edison, NJ: Castle Books.
Walker, J. M. (1995). Seizure. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 86-87). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Warren, K.J. (1990). The power and the promise of ecological feminism. Environmental Ethic. 12: 125-144.
Winters, A. (1995). Night light. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (p. 60). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Winters, A. (1995). The chair by the window”. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 60-61). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Winters, A. (1995). The Stethoscope. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (p. 34). New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Bloch, C. (1995). Eating babies. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 68-70). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Boland, E. (1995). Night feed. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 66-67). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Bolen, J. S. (1984). Goddesses in Everywoman: A New Psychology of Women. New York, NY: Harper Perennial.
Bolen, J. S. (1994). Crossing to Avalon. San Francisco, CA: Harper San Francisco.
Borysenko, J. (1998). A Woman's Book of Life: The Biology, Psychology, and Spirituality of the Feminine Life Cycle. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.
Cixous, H. (1976). The Laugh of the Medusa. Signs, 1(4), 875-893.
Côté-Arsenault, D., Brody, D., & Dombeck, M. (2009). Pregnancy as a rite of passage: Liminality, rituals & communitas. Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health, 24(2), 69-87.
Fraser, K. (1989). The tradition of marginality. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, 10(3), 22-27.
Fraser, K. (1995). Poems for the new. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 28-29). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Gadon, E. W. (1989). The Once and Future Goddess. San Francisco, CA: Harper San Francisco.
Gilbert, S. M., & Gubar, S. (Eds.) (1996). The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women: The Traditions in English. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Gimbutas, M. (1982). Women and culture in goddess-oriented old Europe. In C. Spretnak (Ed.), The Politics of Women’s Spirituality: Essays on the Rise of Spiritual power Within the Women’s Movement (pp. 22-31). New York, NY: Doubleday.
Green, F. J. (2015). Re-conceptualising motherhood: Reaching back to move forward. Journal of Family Studies, 21(3), 196-207.
Hall, J. (2006). Spirituality at the beginning of life. Journal of Clinical Nursing 15(7), 804-810.
Hall, J., & Taylor, M. (2004). Birth and spirituality. In S. Downes (Ed), Normal Childbirth: Evidence and Debate (pp.41-56). Edinburgh, England: Churchill Livingston.
Hrdy, S. B. (2000). Mother Nature. London, England: Random House.
Jacinto, G. A., & Buckey, J. W. (2013). Birth: A rite of passage. International Journal of Childbirth Education, 28(1), 11-14.
McPherson, S. (1995). Pregnancy. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 31-32). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Muske, C. (1995). “Sounding”. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 46-47). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Neumann, E. (1955). The Great Mother: An Analysis of the Archetype. Translated by R. Manheim. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
O’Hehir, D. (1995). Infant. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 56-57). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Olds, S. (1995). The language of the Brag. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 337-338). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Olivetti, K. (2015). The ordinary, metaphor, and depth. Jung Journal, 9(1), 104-115. doi: 10.1080/19342039.2015.988080
O’ Reilly, A. (Ed.) (2004). From Motherhood to Mothering: The Legacy of Adrienne Rich’s Of Woman Born. New York, NY: State University of New York.
Ostriker, A. (1978). The mother/child papers. Feminist Studies, 4(2), 84-90.
Ostriker, A. (1982). The thieves of language: Women poets and revisionist mythmaking. Signs, 8(1), 68-90.
Ostriker, A. (1995). The Cambridge afternoon was grey. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 54-55). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Papastavrou, M., Genitsaridi, S.M., Komodiki, E., Paliatsou, S., Midw, R., et al. (2015). Breastfeeding in the course of history. Journal of Pediatrics and Neonatal Care, 2(6), 00096. doi: 10.15406/jpnc.2015.02.00096.
Pastan, L. (1995). Notes from the delivery room. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (p. 45). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Plumwood, V. (1993). Feminism and the Mastery of Nature. London: Routledge.
Ras, B. (1995). Pregnant poets swim lake Tarleton, New Hampshire. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 40-41). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Rich, A. (1979). On Lies, Secrets, and Silence: Selected Prose 1966-1978. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Rich, A. (1986). Of Women Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution. New York, NY: Norton.
Rich, A. (1995). Night-pieces: For a child. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 83-84). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Showalter, E. (1981). Feminist Criticism in the wilderness. Critical Inquiry, 8(2), 179-205.
Spires, E. (1995). Letter in July” In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 39-40). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Thomas, T. (2001). Becoming a mother: Matrescence as spiritual formation. Religious Education, 96(1), 88-105.
Turner, V. W. (1969). The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. Chicago, IL: Aldine Publishing Company.
Walker, B.G. (1988). The Woman’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects. Edison, NJ: Castle Books.
Walker, J. M. (1995). Seizure. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 86-87). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Warren, K.J. (1990). The power and the promise of ecological feminism. Environmental Ethic. 12: 125-144.
Winters, A. (1995). Night light. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (p. 60). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Winters, A. (1995). The chair by the window”. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (pp. 60-61). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Winters, A. (1995). The Stethoscope. In S. M. Gilbert, S. Gubar, & D. O’Hehir (Eds.), Mother Songs: Poems for, by and About Mothers (p. 34). New York: W.W. Norton & Company.