c. The Rejection to Label Mother as a Deviant
Suzan Lewis said that mothers need support – physical and material, and also emotional – to help them manage the work of mothering and come to terms
with the complex mixture of emotions that motherhood involves Lewis, 1991. There is no certain support or help for woman in that role. Women are
expected to care, nurture and have a wise and self-sacrificing attitude naturally. In Gauri’s case, she felt unsupported and frustrated with her situation. Quoted from
The Lowland: In her moments of distraction, she was angry at Udayan for dying when
he might have lived. For bringing her happiness, and then taking it away. For believing in sacrifice, only to be selfish in the end Lahiri, 2013: 164
The stereotype of the perfect mother is impossible to live up to. She felt lonely and unsupported while people her in laws and Subhash expected a lot of
things from her. She felt that she was failing at something every other woman on earth did without trying. That should not need a struggle Lahiri, 2013:164. One
day she asked Subhash if they could hire a babysitter to give her time to take a survey of German philosophy. Subhash did not agree to this on principle because
he did not want to pay a stranger to care for Bela. He reminded her that her first priority under the present circumstances should be Bela and not her studies
Lahiri, 2013:164. But she begrudged Subhashs absence when he was at work and resented the few moments of the morning he enjoyed with Bela.
Gauri often left Bela alone leaving her engaged while she took a walk alone. The possibility of separating was not discussed since the point of their
marriage was Bela. Gauri had never recognised the joy in sacrifice that motherhood always offered. Quoted from The Lowland:
Her professor Otto Weiss had offered her the requisite assistance to get her into the doctoral programme and she was looking forward to this Lahiri,
2013: 164.
Gauri is like countless mothers, she must struggle to cope with the feelings of guilt and inadequacy that myths of perfect motherhood generate. It is difficult
to be a confident mother in these circumstances.
2. Redefinition and Reshaping the Accepted Motherhood
Theory on Third World Women and Subalternity show that Third World women are making their voices heard and are beginning to change the face of
feminism in the West. Those theories contribute the diverse representations of subaltern women in the ‘Third World’ who—despite their oppressed and
marginalized status display the struggle to redefine the concept of motherhood. Therefore, we can see how this novel brings the spirit of redefinition of
motherhood. Spivak said, “If, in the contest of colonial production, the subaltern has no
history and cannot speak, the subaltern as female is even more deeply in shadow” Spivak, 1988: 203. According to Spivak, subaltern women are subjected to
oppression more than subaltern men. They do not have proper representation, and therefore, are not able to voice their opinions or share their stories. No one is
aware of the daily struggles they face; subaltern women are ghosts in PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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