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This chapter introduces the volume by outlining some crucial scholarly histories: the feminist study of motherhood and mothering, and the literary study of mothers in fiction and life writing, across many differences. Since mothers, motherhood, and mothering not only are defined by physical and material experiences but also take shape in narratives—in stories and recorded accounts—these also need to be continuously studied and theorized if we are to understand the culturally specific meanings of motherhood. The chapter then introduces each of the separate studies in the volume. These variously demonstrate that literary representations of mothers and mothering foreground the ways that parenthood and parenting for women are imbricated with dimensions like class, race, age, and nationality, as well as how motherhood is connected to living a heterosexual, lesbian, queer, or trans everyday life. In original analyses of a range of representations, from absent/missing mothers to highly present ones, the studies that comprise this book engage in a dialogue with the previous research, raising questions about how motherhood and mothering are marked by absence and/or presence and by profound ambivalences, about how maternal perspectives and voices gain space or mix with filial voices in the narratives, and about how mothers are constructed in relation to ideals and norms of motherhood.

This chapter examines contemporary autobiographical narratives which explore the notion of motherhood as the central issue in women’s lives. These narratives have been important in offering alternative discourses and thereby broadening the concept of motherhood. This chapter discusses them in the light of motherhood studies and theories about matrilineal narratives in contemporary literature. Works by two highly acclaimed Canadian writers are at the center of our study: Rachel Cusk’s A Life’s Work: On Becoming a Mother (first published in 2001; 2008) and Sheila Heti’s Motherhood (2018). Both volumes convey an ambivalence toward motherhood and lean on emotions as well as intellectual argument. Theoretically, the point of departure is Toril Moi’s discussion about contemporary life writing as an “exercise of attention,” and furthermore the feminist examination of the definition of motherhood and mothering in a social context, from Adrienne Rich (1976) to Tina Miller (2005). The texts discussed in this chapter contest different “cultural scripts” (Miller)—discourses that affect societal and subjective views on motherhood and gender.

This open access volume offers original essays on how motherhood and mothering are represented in contemporary fiction and life writing across several national contexts. Providing a broad range of perspectives in terms of geopolitical places, thematic concerns, and theoretical and interdisciplinary approaches, it demonstrates the significance of literary narratives for understanding and critiquing motherhood and mothering as social phenomena and subjective experiences. The chapters contextualize motherhood and mothering in terms of their particular national and cultural location and analyze narratives about mothers who are firmly placed in one national context, as well as those who are in “in-between” positions due to migrant experiences. The contributions foreground and link together the themes central to the volume: embodied experience and maternal embodiment; notions of what is “normal” or natural (or not) about motherhood; maternal health and illness; mother-daughter relations; maternality and memory; and the (im)possibilities of giving voice to the mother. They raise questions about how motherhood and mothering are marked by absence and/or presence, as well as by profound ambivalences.

Dagmar Lange, lektor vid Nya Elementarskolan och filosofie doktor i litteraturhistoria, klev 1949 in i offentligheten som deckarförfattaren Maria Lang. Hon satte en ny standard för den svenska deckaren och under fyra decennier kom varje höst en ny Maria Lang-deckare. Under terminerna var Dagmar Lange lärare och studierektor i Stockholm och på somrarna deckarförfattare i hemstaden Nora, i böckerna känd som Skoga. I biografin ställs frågan vad den dubbla identiteten innebär och här spelar deckarna en viktig roll. Motiven är ofta starka känslor som går överstyr och leder till mord. Passioner och dramatik var långt från Dagmar Langes noga inrutade tillvaro men deckarnas starka känslor kan spåras i egna händelser och upplevelser. En dubbel identitet skapas, Dagmar Lange, alias Maria Lang, som tillsammans utgör en enastående kvinna.

This article explores if conversations about literary texts that thematize abortion can provide new knowledge about the clinical everyday practice of midwives. The empirical material consists of conversations with seven clinical midwives after shared reading of a sample of fictional and biographical Swedish texts from the 1930s, 1950s, 1990s and 2010s. Drawing on theories of power relations, gendered knowledge and narrative medicine, the article investigates the relationship between the texts and the midwives’ professional experiences. The study demonstrates that the participants agreed on the positive effects of reading and discussing literary texts related to their professional work. The study cannot establish that it has provided new knowledge about the midwives’ clinical practice; it concludes, however, that the shared reading and conversations generated an exchange about experiences of abortion care that subsequently could deepen knowledge about treatment and practice within the profession. The study demonstrates that the reading experience generated discussions about the clinical practice that otherwise would never have taken place, for the participants asserted that the conversations had given time for reflection about medical, social and emotional issues that did not occur in clinic. The texts brought specific professional experiences to the fore and offered new perspectives on norms, practices and the professional role. One distinct impression conveyed by the participants was that shame is still a salient feeling among the patients, signaling that abortion is still a sensitive subject. The article concludes that similar elements of reading and discussing literary texts could prove an important part of (continuous) training for professional midwives.  

Mamma, moderskap - orden bågnar idag av nya innebörder när tekniken och samhället förändras. Överallt hittar vi historier om moderskap - i romaner, essäer, dikter, patientupplevelser, bloggar och digitala diskussionstrådar. Både i litteraturen och verkligheten handlar det om ensamhet och social isolering, men också om styrka och gemenskap. Mamma hursomhelst är en samling berättelser som reflekterar över erfarenheter från en mängd olika håll. Här blandas bidrag från forskare, kulturskribenter och skönlitterära författare. Boken innehåller berättelser om förlossningsdepression, om att vara pappa och gravid, om BB-vård, mor-dotterrelationer, tankar kring att vara adoptivmor, om att inte vilja eller inte kunna få barn, om att vara mamma i ett nytt land med ett nytt språk och mycket annat. En del texter handlar om djupt traumatiska upplevelser. Andra är skarpa och roliga granskningar som synliggör invanda mönster och vanetänkande. Boken inspirerar till samtal och idéer om ett högaktuellt ämne.