The historical foundations of the "good" mother versus the "bad" mother in a rhetorical enthymematic debate of what it means to "have it all" in the twenty-first century, 2013

Item — Call Number: MU Thesis Sea

Identifier: b7607917

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The collection consists of theses written by students enrolled in the Monmouth University graduate English program. The holdings are primarily bound print documents that were submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Master of Arts or Master of Fine Arts degrees.

From the Collection:

Students become eligible to pursue the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree if they have obtained a Master of Arts (M.A.) in English from Monmouth University and demonstrate a proficiency for creative writing through a thesis or equivalent work.

From the Collection:

After completing their 30-credit M.A. in English with a Creative Writing concentration, Monmouth’s M.F.A. students take an additional 18 credits of intensive creative writing study that includes the completion of a book-length Creative Thesis.

From the Collection:

During the fall 2022 semester (in instances where the requisite waivers were received from consenting student authors), the Monmouth University Library, together with the University's Graduate School and Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences, began providing open access to select full-text digital versions of current theses and dissertations through links to the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global website in the Library's Online Public Access Catalog. Links to these open access digital publications can also be found in the "External Documents" section under any conforming titles that are listed among the holdings itemized in the collection inventory for this finding aid.

Dates

Creation: 2013

Creator

Seay, Katherine (1985- ) (Author, Person)
Tietge, David J. (1966-2017) (Thesis advisor, Person)
Azcuy, Mary Kate (Thesis advisor, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use. Access is by appointment only.

Access to the collection is confined to the Monmouth University Library and is subject to patron policies approved by the Monmouth University Library.

Collection holdings may not be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

Research appointments are scheduled by the Monmouth University Library Archives Collections Manager (723-923-4526). A minimum of three days advance notice is required to arrange a research appointment for access to the collection.

Patrons must complete a Researcher Registration Form and provide appropriate identification to gain access to the collection holdings. Copies of these documents will be kept on file at the Monmouth University Library.

Extent

1 Items (print book) : 40 pages ; 8.5 x 11.0 inches (28 cm).

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Introduction [excerpt]

Feminist theorists have long been evaluating the representation of the mother, both in literature and in a cultural context, through media and other contemporary sources.... By drawing on insights from feminist theories and the rhetorical theory of the enthymeme, this essay will uncover the history and meaning of constructed gender roles pertaining to mothering, why we accept them as the norm, and will conclude by discussing how society can disengage from the dominant discourse and destablize the assumed norm that is based on false economic and social status. Through texts that include Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, and Adrianne Rich's Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution, I will trace the historical foundation on which the definition of the "good" mother was created. Some of the more contemporary texts include, Cynthia Garcia Coll's Mothering Against the Odds, Amber E. Kinser's Mothering in the Third Wave, and Danzy Senna's You Are Free, will show how the mother has been "othered" by the historical definition of the "good" mother. Finally, J. Jack Halberstam's Gaga Feminism: Sex, Gender, and the End of Normal, will provide an "unlearning" of such discourse to challenge the outdated ideology of the mother based on the enthymematic idea of the traditional mother and post war rhetoric that still exists in the twenty-first century.