IS ABNORMAL CHILD SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF A MOTHER? THE FIFTH CHILD: DISCUSSION ON THE SOCIAL STATUS OF A MOTHER WITH ABNORMAL CHILD
How many of us have seen in our surrounding a father sitting a baby? Naturally, very few. Moreover, what would be the scenario if the child is born with abnormalities? Then the number becomes even more negligible. We live in so-called civilized society where people are embarrassed to accept the children with abnormalities physical, mental or sexual. Society has drawn a periphery of the normality beyond which nothing is acceptable. The biggest question arise what is that equilibrium of normality? How many of us can say that we are really normal? And the biggest question ever- who is responsible for such abnormal birth? And in answering this question the eyebrows are raised with shrewd look at the mother, as whatever or whoever had been responsible the mother is unspoken victim of such birth. She cannot overcome the unconditional love that she has for her child and the prize that she pays is immeasurable over the life span of the abnormal child.
The trauma is born equally by both mother and child and the empathy of it can be observed in answer to a simple question- How the child is? To …show more content…
The timing seems to be important, even though on one level the story is an old prototype of the normal parent who already have four children who are normal and the fifth child which seems to be rather monstrous. ‘David and Harriet are a couple of borderline social misfits’(FC-10) or more benevolently, simply not in tune with their times – ‘who meet at an office party and quickly strike a chord and settle down. And by quickly I mean that Lessing’s pacing is eccentric to say the least: no wasting time letting the characters bed in when you can just get them in bed and married in literally a couple of lines.” (John
How many of us have seen in our surrounding a father sitting a baby? Naturally, very few. Moreover, what would be the scenario if the child is born with abnormalities? Then the number becomes even more negligible. We live in so-called civilized society where people are embarrassed to accept the children with abnormalities physical, mental or sexual. Society has drawn a periphery of the normality beyond which nothing is acceptable. The biggest question arise what is that equilibrium of normality? How many of us can say that we are really normal? And the biggest question ever- who is responsible for such abnormal birth? And in answering this question the eyebrows are raised with shrewd look at the mother, as whatever or whoever had been responsible the mother is unspoken victim of such birth. She cannot overcome the unconditional love that she has for her child and the prize that she pays is immeasurable over the life span of the abnormal child.
The trauma is born equally by both mother and child and the empathy of it can be observed in answer to a simple question- How the child is? To …show more content…
The timing seems to be important, even though on one level the story is an old prototype of the normal parent who already have four children who are normal and the fifth child which seems to be rather monstrous. ‘David and Harriet are a couple of borderline social misfits’(FC-10) or more benevolently, simply not in tune with their times – ‘who meet at an office party and quickly strike a chord and settle down. And by quickly I mean that Lessing’s pacing is eccentric to say the least: no wasting time letting the characters bed in when you can just get them in bed and married in literally a couple of lines.” (John