Parallels between being a writer and a mother. Depictions of mothering and writing in Kate Zambreno’s life-writing
Author
Summary, in English
Researchers of contemporary literature have noticed a surge in motherhood memoirs and literature that reflects on contemporary motherhood. Kate Zambreno’s three literary works – Book of Mutter (2017), Drifts (2020) and The Light Room (2023) – are examples of contemporary life-writing. In different but prominent and clear ways, these three works acknowledge and contemplate mothering, the act of writing and the sense of self in between these practices. In this Master’s thesis, these literary works are analysed through the lens of matrifocal feminist theory by employing a close-reading method. This thesis aims to conceptualise and show how the acts of mothering and writing are depicted and constructed in these three literary works. To analyse temporality and the narrator’s connection to her mother, Julia Kristeva’s notion of women’s time, her thoughts on the pregnant body, and Naomi Ladowsky’s concept of the motherline are employed. The analysis shows that by connecting to the lost motherline the narrator(s) accept not only the generational feminist knowledge of the deceased mother but also follow similar stereotypical and traditional acts of performative femininity. The act of writing becomes a mirroring act of embodying experiences of mothering.
Department/s
- Master's Programme: Literature - Culture - Media
Publishing year
2024
Language
English
Full text
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Document type
Student publication for Master's degree (two years)
Topic
- Languages and Literatures
Keywords
- Kate Zambreno
- motherhood studies
- life-writing
- matrifocal narrative
- temporalities
- motherline
Supervisor
- Cristine Sarrimo (senior lecturer)