I argue that the mother blame, “bad” mothering, and maternal ambivalence so evident in the novel and so central to discussions on the novel are the symptomatic manifestations of the essentialized, naturalized and idealized mandates and expectations of patriarchal motherhood. Although feminist criticism of the novel has examined various moth- erhood themes-including mother blame (Cusk), ideologies of good-bad mothering (Murphy Muller Robbins), maternal subjectivity and practice (Messer), and maternal ambivalence (Almond)-my reading of Kevin will seek to uncover “what lies beneath” the maternal angst discussed in the above criticism. In patriarchal motherhood, it is assumed (and expected) that all women want to be mothers (essentialization), that maternal ability and motherlove are innate to all mothers (naturalization), and that all mothers find joy and purpose in motherhood (idealization). This chapter considers how We Need to Talk about Kevin disturbs and deconstructs the patriarchal mandates of essentialization, naturalization, and idealization.
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