Mothering the Mother
A Daughter’s Tribute
Keywords:
Story, short stories, Mother, daughter, wife, social-change, Christianity, Education,Abstract
“Mothering the Mother: A Daughter’s Tribute” is based on Krupabai Sattianadhan’s novels Saguna: The First Autobiographical Novel in English by an Indian Woman and Kamala: The Story of a Hindu Child-Wife. Krupabai is the first Indian woman who wrote novels in English and the first female student to join Madras Medical College in 1878. The present article is an attempt to portray a daughter’s deepest sense of gratitude towards her mother’s untiring efforts to support her construct her future during the 19th C, when education for girls was still considered an explicit invitation to widowhood and social exclusion. This was the time of transition when the old values and traditions were getting questioned and new had not yet been pronounced audibly. Krupabai’s father converted to Christianity and her mother was torn apart creating a sense of balance between two religions. The writer delineates very poignantly the agony and indecisiveness her mother whose whole life became a saga of struggle and conflict.
