The Mother · Question
How does The Mother develop the theme of Desire and Repression?
Answer
The Mother by Pearl S. Buck develops Desire and Repression across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
The mother's powerful sexual and emotional desires, awakened by the landlord's agent, conflict with her duty as a widow and mother, leading to secret encounters, shame, and a lifelong struggle to suppress her own needs.
The man's longing for pleasure and freedom is repressed by his domestic duties, leading to resentment and conflict.
The mother hides her true feelings of emptiness and weeps alone, repressing her disappointment.
The mother's longing for her husband is awakened by the spring and the birth she witnesses, but she suppresses her feelings.
Evidence in the book
- The Man's Restlessness and the Quarrel
The man's longing for pleasure and freedom is repressed by his domestic duties, leading to resentment and conflict.
- The Letter
The mother hides her true feelings of emptiness and weeps alone, repressing her disappointment.
- Spring's Longing
The mother's longing for her husband is awakened by the spring and the birth she witnesses, but she suppresses her feelings.
- VIII
The mother experiences deep, unspoken longings—both for her husband and for children—which she represses until they manifest in physical acts like nursing a neighbor's baby.
- IX
The mother's suppressed longing and the agent's predatory attraction create a dangerous tension.
- The Heat of Desire
The mother's intense physical longing conflicts with her sense of duty and fear, leading to a desperate surrender.
- The Unyielding Seed
Despite her shame, the mother still yearns for the townsman, but he has finished with her, leaving her in a state of unfulfilled longing and regret.
- The Younger Son's Return
The mother's repressed desires for love and connection manifest in her obsessive care for her younger son, while the elder son's anger is repressed to maintain social propriety.
