Volume 23, Number 15 · September 30, 1976

Myths for Mothers

By Helen Vendler
Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution
by Adrienne Rich

Norton, 318 pp., $8.95

These mixed motives—to enlarge 'feminist theory' and to express a personal experience of a fateful kind—account for the title of Adrienne Rich's book. Motherhood as experience appears in autobiographical episodes interspersed through much longer reflections attempting to analyze motherhood as a social institution. It is impossible to discuss either the autobiography or the analysis without raising the problem of partisan writing.



Review, 2981 words

To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:

If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in:

To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below.

I agree to the terms and conditions for this service.

To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below.

I agree to the terms and conditions for this service.


Search the Review
Advanced search