In “Mothers” by Carmen Maria Machado, the fantastic element comes from the obvious biological inability for two women to have a child together. The result of this element results in a story about the psychological weight of giving up an imagined future with someone. The narrator is so attached to this idea of a life with Bad that she invents the idea of their child together, which represents all that she wanted them to have. She can’t help but care for and love this baby despite the fact she sees so much of her abusive ex in her. The story details how much this ex hurt her, emotionally and physically. But yet, the narrator is so dedicated to the life she imagined with her. The psychological abuse of Bad seems to also leak into the narrators ideation. Her children and herself live in fear of Bad’s temper. Even in her idea of a perfect life, Bad still acts the way she does. I think this goes to show how deeply abusive relationships can affect the psyche of those involved. It almost feels like the narrator is punishing herself in a way, forced to bear and raise the child of someone who so badly hurt her and in a way, she did not consent to have a baby with.
As JGB always says: the story reveals more about the person telling it than the people they’re telling it about (or something like that.) I think its interesting that the one thing that the narrator clearly wants is a child that is biologically half hers and half the person she loves, despite her abusive behavior. This is obviously the fantastic part of the story, but I think its a really deeply held wish by a lot of people and I’ve never seen it have a place in queer literature before and it’s interesting to see how Machado presents that. That’s just kinda cool.
I agree with you and your statement form JGB. I, as a reader, felt bad for our narrator because this wasn’t the path she designed for herself. She was just thrown into a situation and stayed because she thought it was love.
I feel like I am overthinking this story. I wonder if the narrator wanted a family, (children, spouse) so badly that she invented them? Of course, it is not possible for two people of the same sex to make a baby, however, could it have been a pregnancy from a previous relationship. The narrator stated she had been with men and made sure her condoms were fresh. I can’t wait to talk about this in class!
Kaia,
I’m glad that you mentioned JGB’s rule, as I couldn’t agree more, with this advice being specific to “Mothers” in particular.
You mention that the fantastic element is the child born between two women, but after rereading this, I argue that the child represents the relationship she and Bad would have had; love, anger, fear, guilt and sadness (all feelings a mother experiences with her child).
“I believe in a world where impossible things happen. Where love can outstrip brutality, can neutralize it, as though it never was, or transform it into something new and more beautiful. Where love can outdo nature.”
Mara, in this case, embodies the where impossible things happen…where we resist what has happened, and “outdo nature.”