Op-Ed: I’m hungry for more stories on the ambivalence of motherhood
LA TimesIn “The Lost Daughter,” a new film directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal based on the novel by Elena Ferrante, the main character, Leda calls herself an “unnatural mother.” Is an unnatural mother a woman without maternal instincts, one whose “true” nature lies outside of motherhood? It’s rare to see a film or read a novel that depicts ambivalence around motherhood, even rarer one that rejects that life completely, which I deeply appreciate about “The Lost Daughter.” I’m hungry for these stories. Sometimes I have what could be seen as “unnatural feelings” when my close friends tell me they’re having a baby. In “The Lost Daughter,” Leda, a literature professor, abandons her daughters when they’re young, living apart from them for three years. Until reading Sheila Heti’s novel “Motherhood,” I’d never heard anyone express these feelings.
History of this topic
The painful truths about motherhood exposed
BBC
Column: ‘The Lost Daughter’ is a film about motherhood that everyone needs to see
LA Times
Maggie Gyllenhaal on relating to The Lost Daughter: ‘Does that make me f***ed up?’
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