Esteemed psychologist Daphne de Marneffe examines womenâs desire to care for children in an updated reissue of her âfascinating analysis thatâs a welcome addition to the dialogues about motherhoodâ (Publishers Weekly).
If a century ago it was womenâs sexual desires that were unspeakable, today it is the female desire to mother that has become taboo. One hundred years of Freud and feminism have liberated women to acknowledge and explore their sexual selves, as well as their public and personal ambitions. What has remained inhibited is womenâs thinking about motherhood.
Maternal Desire is the first book to treat womenâs desire to mother as a legitimate focus of intellectual inquiry and personal exploration. Shedding new light on old debates, Daphne de Marneffe provides an emotional road map for mothers who work and mothers who are at home. De Marneffe both explores the enjoyment and anxieties of motherhood and offers mothers in all situations valuable ways to think through their self-doubts and connect to their capacity for pleasure.
Drawing on a rich tradition of writers, such as Simone de Beauvoir, Adrienne Rich, Carol Gilligan, and Susan Faludi, as well as her experience as a psychologist and mother of three, de Marneffe illuminates how we express our desire to care for children. By treating maternal desire as a central feature of womenâs identityârather than as an inconvenient or slightly embarrassing detailâwe can look with fresh insight at controversial issues, such as childcare, fertility, abortion, and the role of fathers. An âabsorbing look at the enormous personal pleasure that women derive from motheringâŠ.Maternal Desire is a stirring book that celebrates womenâs love for their children and mothering while also supporting their interest in careers and other pursuitsâ (Booklist).