Free Essays - Alienation in Landscape for a Good Woman :: Landscape for a Good Woman Essays

Alienation in embellish for a Good Woman  In her introduction to Landscape for a Good Woman, Carolyn Steedman claims that this is a drama of class (22) she blames her mothers project context -- where fierce resentment against the unfairness of things, was carried through seventy years and tether generations ... and dissolved into the figure of her mother (30) -- for her own joyless childhood. The shocking portrait of Steedmans mother, who tells her children repeatedly both in her actions and words how unwanted they are, redefines the culturally normative nurturing role of motherhood. speckle Steedmans passionate argument -- that her mothers history of material unlikeness was responsible for the creation of this monster-martyr-mother -- must non be discounted, it is incomplete. Her claim is convert however, her mothers poor decisions were also contributory causes. For example, Edna selected a married man who already had a daughter as the prince who would fulfill her des ires for property, material goods and status which seems high-risk at best. However, her desperate, failed attempt to become his wife through motherhood later on ten years of cohabitation is striking for both its evident lack of prevision and blindness to reality. It is difficult to imagine that her fantasy whereby life would somehow rectify from this decision ever had the chance to be anything but a chemical formula for failure, especially since she pinned her hopes on this ploy not once,but twice. Perhaps Steedman wishes to imply that her mothers working-class status is responsible for her poor decision making skills. She certainly wants to win over us that her mothers desire for things is not trivial and she blames her mothers sense of unfairness, her belief that she had been refused ingress to her rightful place in the world (112), on her working-class status. While this is certainly a key concomitantor in the disturbing tale, it is not the only factor therefore, the st ory is more than a drama of class, for this compound portrait of Steedmans mother is that of a vain, mean-spirited, bitter woman whose priorities were in disorder. The fact that Steedmans mothers working-class relatives did not visit this illegitimate family indicates that her lack of a matrimony certificate was unacceptable within her own class as well.