Imagining Motherhood in Contemporary Irish and Caribbean Literature

__Imagining Motherhood in Contemporary Irish and Caribbean Literature__ undertakes a comparative transnational reading to develop more expansive literary models of good mothering. Abigail L. Palko argues that Irish and Caribbean literary representations of non-normative mothering practices do not reflect transgressive or dangerous mothering but are rather cultural negotiations of the definition of a good mother. This original book demonstrates the sustained commitment to countering the dominant ideologies of maternal self-sacrifice foundational to both Irish and Caribbean nationalist rhetoric, offering instead the possibility of integrating maternal agency into an effective model of female citizenship. "Dedication "--"Acknowledgments"--"Contents" -- "Chapter 1: Introduction: Embryonic Beginnings" -- "Theorizing a Transatlantic Irishâ#x80;#x93;Caribbean Connection" -- "Considering Difference" -- "Complicating the Image of Mother Ireland and Mother Africa: Literary Revisions of the Good Mother Trope in Irish and Caribbean Novels" -- "Notes" -- "Chapter 2: â#x80;#x9C;A Mother-of-Suffererâ#x80;#x9D;: Subversive Mothering in the Caribbean and Irish Traditions" -- " The Maternal Imaginary" -- "Maternal Fictions" -- "Twentieth-Century Irish Maternity" -- "Motherhood in the Caribbean Context" -- "â#x80;#x9C;Mother-of-Suffererâ#x80;#x9D;" -- "Notes" -- "Part I: Rejecting Motherhood" -- "Chapter 3: The Traumatized Not-Mother" -- " Motherless Daughters" -- "Exploring a â#x80;#x9C;female kind of darknessâ#x80;#x9D;: Mary Morrissyâ#x80;#x99;s Mother of Pearl (1996)" -- "â#x80;#x9C;A long ways from homeâ#x80;#x9D;: Edwidge Danticatâ#x80;#x99;s Breath, Eyes, Memory (1994)" -- "The Traumatized Not-Mother" -- "Notes" -- "Chapter 4: The Motherless Not-Mother" -- " Daughterless Mothers" -- "Catapulted from the Nursery: Clairr Oâ#x80;#x99;Connorâ#x80;#x99;s Belonging (1991)" -- "I Am of the Defeated: Jamaica Kincaidâ#x80;#x99;s The Autobiography of My Mother (1996)" -- "The Motherless Not-Mother" -- "Notes" -- "Part II: Redefining Motherhood" -- "Chapter 5: The Lesbian Daughter" -- " Speaking Silenced Sexualities" -- "Coming to Country: Michelle Cliffâ#x80;#x99;s No Telephone to Heaven (1987)" -- "Confrontations with the Maternal Imago: Emma Donoghueâ#x80;#x99;s Hood (1995)" -- "The Lesbian Daughter" -- "Notes" -- "Chapter 6: The Lesbian Mother" -- " Maternal Sexualities" -- "Mr. Lowe, the Grieving Birth Mother: Patricia Powellâ#x80;#x99;s The Pagoda (1998)" -- "Queering the Mother: Mary Dorceyâ#x80;#x99;s Biography of Desire (1997)" -- "The Lesbian Mother" -- "Notes." Imagining Motherhood In Contemporary Irish And Caribbean Literature Undertakes A Comparative Transnational Reading To Develop More Expansive Literary Models Of Good Mothering. Abigail L. Palko Argues That Irish And Caribbean Literary Representations Of Non-normative Mothering Practices Do Not Reflect Transgressive Or Dangerous Mothering But Are Rather Cultural Negotiations Of The Definition Of A Good Mother. This Original Book Demonstrates The Sustained Commitment To Countering The Dominant Ideologies Of Maternal Self-sacrifice Foundational To Both Irish And Caribbean Nationalist Rhetoric, Offering Instead The Possibility Of Integrating Maternal Agency Into An Effective Model Of Female Citizenship.-- Machine Generated Contents Note: 1. Introduction: Embryonic Beginnings -- 2. A Mother-of-sufferer: Subversive Mothering In The Caribbean And Irish Traditions -- Pt. I Rejecting Motherhood -- 3. The Traumatized Not-mother -- 4. The Motherless Not-mother -- Pt. Ii Redefining Motherhood -- 5. The Lesbian Daughter -- 6. The Lesbian Mother -- 7. Conclusion: If You Can't Trust Me With Choice, How Can You Trust Me With A Child?. Abigail L. Palko. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 227-247) And Index. "Imagining Motherhood in Contemporary Irish and Caribbean Literature undertakes a comparative transnational reading to develop more expansive literary models of good mothering. Abigail L. Palko argues that Irish and Caribbean literary representations of non-normative mothering practices do not reflect transgressive or dangerous mothering but are rather cultural negotiations of the definition of a good mother. This original book demonstrates the sustained commitment to countering the dominant ideologies of maternal self-sacrifice foundational to both Irish and Caribbean nationalist rhetoric, offering instead the possibility of integrating maternal agency into an effective model of female citizenship."-- Provided by publisher Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction: Embryonic Beginnings....Pages 1-30 “A Mother-of-Sufferer”: Subversive Mothering in the Caribbean and Irish Traditions....Pages 31-56 Front Matter....Pages 57-57 The Traumatized Not-Mother....Pages 59-103 The Motherless Not-Mother....Pages 105-144 Front Matter....Pages 145-145 The Lesbian Daughter....Pages 147-183 The Lesbian Mother....Pages 185-220 Conclusion: “If You Can’t Trust Me with Choice, How Can You Trust Me with a Child?”*....Pages 221-226 Back Matter....Pages 227-256