The Fire-dwellers, a novel by Margaret Laurence demonstrates Susan Maushart’s theory of the Mask of Motherhood, through the portrayal of the main character Stacey MacAindra. Stacey is the mother of four children, age of thirty-nine and has been married to Mac (Clifford) MacAindra for sixteen years, from the outside world everything seems fine in her life but at a closer look one can see the daily internal and external struggles Stacey goes through. The Mask of Motherhood is a theory that attempts to explain the suppression women deal with after having a child. The biggest change in one’s life is after their first child, their life changes completely and they find themselves with a new identity. This change hits women more than men because it
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The Fire-Dwellers demonstrates The Mask of Motherhood because Stacey’s throughout the novel has been going through an enormous struggle with trying to find her identity after her marriage with Mac and having children. Laurence describes Stacey’s struggle with flashbacks to her past, her thoughts and third point narrative. This essay will demonstrate how Stacey’s life is an ideal representative of the theory of the Mask of Motherhood by illustrating her camouflage through her struggle within, her responsibility of being a mother and wife and overall the suppression she feels.
The Mask of Motherhood described by Susan Maushart is a theory that is defined as a socially constructed representative of Motherhood. The mask is a misconception of how mothers should act, think, look and all around be. The idealized representative of a mother is impossible. No mother is the perfect mother because no mother can be the mother that society has constructed but all mothers put on a charade and pretend they are the perfect mother, which is the Mask of Motherhood. Mothers are silenced because they do not want to seem like they cannot play their part as a mother but most if not all mothers have the same concern. Maushart talks to journalist
The Fire-Dwellers demonstrates The Mask of Motherhood because Stacey’s throughout the novel has been going through an enormous struggle with trying to find her identity after her marriage with Mac and having children. Laurence describes Stacey’s struggle with flashbacks to her past, her thoughts and third point narrative. This essay will demonstrate how Stacey’s life is an ideal representative of the theory of the Mask of Motherhood by illustrating her camouflage through her struggle within, her responsibility of being a mother and wife and overall the suppression she feels.
The Mask of Motherhood described by Susan Maushart is a theory that is defined as a socially constructed representative of Motherhood. The mask is a misconception of how mothers should act, think, look and all around be. The idealized representative of a mother is impossible. No mother is the perfect mother because no mother can be the mother that society has constructed but all mothers put on a charade and pretend they are the perfect mother, which is the Mask of Motherhood. Mothers are silenced because they do not want to seem like they cannot play their part as a mother but most if not all mothers have the same concern. Maushart talks to journalist