Nancy Katyani
English Literature
September 2025
: From the beginning of human history, motherhood has been regarded as one of the most sacred and defining roles for women. Across cultures and generations, a mother has been expected to embody patience, sacrifice, compassion, and unconditional love. While social, political, and economic changes have redefined women’s roles, the expectation of selfless motherhood has remained largely unchanged. With the rise of modern feminist thought, these idealized notions have been increasingly questioned, revealing the burdens and contradictions inherent in the maternal role. Literature, as a reflection of societal values, has long been a space where the complexities of motherhood are explored, exposing the tension between expectation and reality. This paper examines the portrayal of motherhood in Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Doris Lessing’s The Fifth Child, using Adrienne Rich’s feminist perspective in Of Woman Born (1976) as a critical framework.
664- 675
© Airo Journals 2021
