After our class discussion, I paid more attention to the themes of motherhood that can be seen in the book. I think this topic began more prominent in the next chapters. It is clear from the reading that the defining moment in Floren's life was being chosen by her mother as the child to leave her guardianship, and she spends much of her existance trying to validate her worth. The need for a mother stretches farther than this one character. In particular, Florens and Lina share the fate of having been raised without a mother. Their story lines are really tied together on page 73, when their stories are paralled to that of baby birds, abandoded in their nests. It reads, "Florens barely breathes. "And the eggs?' she asks. 'They hatch alone,' says Lina. 'Do they live?' Florens' whispering is urgent. 'We have,' says Lina."
I think the reason this strange group of characters is able to live together successfully is their common need for a mother figure, or any type of family. On page 69 it says, "As long as Sir was alive it was easy to veil the truth: that they were not a family--not even a like minded group. They were orphans, each and all."
The idea of motherhood in "A Mercy" seems to be a cornerstone of the novel so far. Each of the women in the book (Florens, Rebekkah, Lina, and Sorrow) are all defined by the loss of their mother, and through that loss they strive to act as one themselves (except for Sorrow). In what we've read so far, motherhood is something that Rebekkah and Lina have strived to achieve, with no success. Rebekkah has mothered 4 children, with Lina acting as a nanny for them, but all have died. I think that Morrison wanted to make a point of this to show how wayward people can be if they have to undergo the loss of their motherly figure. The main character of the novel, Florens, is also deeply affected by losing her mother through abandonment. While seems to have taken it in stride and adapted rather quickly to her new setting, she is obviously resentful and seeks to fill that void in her life by finding the blacksmith and eventually becoming a mother herself one day, albeit with a free man whose children would face no such prosecution or abandonment.
ReplyDeleteWe talked about this in class, but we definitely see Lina tak on a mother-like role towards Florens. The reason their relationship works so well is because the both share a "mother hunger-to be one or have one". On page 61, the narrator describes what I see as Lina's ideal of a mother-daughter relationship. She lists characteristics she thinks makes a good child: does not repeatedly have to be told to compete a chore, is completely trustworthy, grateful for every thread of affection, etc. I am interested to see if we will get an explanation of the ideal mother from one of our characters, since all we've gotten up until now is everything their mothers have done wrong.
ReplyDelete