Maternal Misogyny: Absent Mothers in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Literature.

Through four novelists from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries-Haywood, Defoe, Austen, and Chopin-this work examines the way the mother\u27s importance evolves throughout literature. In Haywood\u27s works, motherhood is seen as a dominant force in her child\u27s life, but not a dominant force in society. Defoe approaches motherhood in a dramatically different way; for him, motherhood is secondary to financial security, and this opinion is reflected in the lives and actions of his characters. In spite of the absence of a maternal influence, Austen\u27s characters do not experience true hardship in the way that Haywood\u27s and Defoe\u27s do. However, their lives are adversely affected by this absence. Chopin\u27s protagonist has never experienced a maternal influence, and this absence has dramatically affected her life. She is unsure about what she wants from life, and this knowledge, along with her realization of society\u27s restrictions upon her, ultimately leads to her suicide