Shari Thurer

This book is a good look at the mythology of the images that surround motherhood, the longing for the 1950s style of mothering ala "Leave it to Beaver". The author tears apart the facade to demonstrate that such a style of parenting, to the extent that it existed even then, is not the norm throughout history, and in fact represents a deviant behavioral pattern, artificially imposed on history by the changing whims of a society that devalues women and motherhood in general, even while elevating the concept of the 'good' mother. The book suffers from a bit of turgidity in the prose, and also from the author's tendancy to extrapolate beyond her data, reaching for certainties that are in reality ambiguities. Oddly enough, after speaking with certainty about the role of mother and family in the pre-historic period, for which our only records are cave paintings and artifacts, she acknowledges the weaknesses of the data in the ancient Greek and Roman empires, where we actually have a slightly better record of thoughts and behaviors. She is at her strongest in the modern period, the 20th century in particular, and her final chapter is a tour de force on motherhood in the modern world. The final chapter is also a bit bittersweet, as her predictions for the future directions of motherhood and society (made in 1994) failed to materialize, and instead we are seeing a resurgence of the myth of the 'traditional' family. Recommended, with some reservations: only if a person is willing to recognize that some of her conclusions may be a bit more ambiguous and contested than she intended.… (meer)