Emerging Motherhoods in Guadalupe Nettel's Stillborn

Abstract

This essay suggests that Guadalupe Nettel’s latest novel, La hija única (2020), translated into English as Stillborn, challenges the stereotypical views Mexican society has on mothers and mothering practices. Through the literary analysis of three female characters, who approach mothering from different perspectives, we’ll have a better understanding of the social pressures and personal hardships mothers face. The two-fold objective is to give visibility to the pressures and complications of motherhood to stop idealizing it as the best thing that can happen to women and to stop criticizing those who reject it.