the problematics of motherhood in twentieth century women's fiction

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1.4.2. In the twentieth century, under the sway of
behavlourlsm, the mother became the focus of 'experts' on
chlldcare A corollary of the focus on mothers was the
disappearance of fathers It was assumed that chlldren
spent most of thelr time with then mothers, not thelr
fathers. even though by law and custom, flnal authority was
patrrarchal The advlce offered durlng the flrst decades of
the twentleth century was of two types Prlor to about
1915, women were urged to be moral and lovrng, perhaps even
Indulgent toward thelr chlldren, although the experts
continued to Insist that trarning and study were necessary
to do the lob well But by the early 1920s, wlth the advent
of psychoanalysls, women were warned agalnst 'smother love'
and were told to Stress dlsclpllne and regularity Erther
way, psychoanalysls has greatly contributed to making the
mother the central character In the famlly After havlng
discovered the existence of the unconscious, and shown that
1; takes form throughout childhood, psychoanalysts formed
the hablt of questlonlng the mother, even challeng~ng her.
over the chlld's slightest psychologrcal problem
L4.3. Dr Benlamln Spock's Baby and Child Care 1s a clear
case of the changlng attitudes towards motherhood In the
twentleth century Although the book championed full-tlme
motherhood when ~t was flrst released In the 1940s, the 1976
edltlon relects Spock's earller clalm that worklng mothers