Reading Like a Mother: A New Approach to the Griselda Tale (thesis)

Abstract

I have traced the evolution of the Griselda tale throughout four texts and two images, arguing throughout that motherhood lies at its center, no matter how desperate her translators are to sideline it. . . . In the Griselda tale, motherhood stands for three things. First, a mother is selfless. She gives up her own meaning in order to reflect the meaning imposed on her by others, not necessarily as a manifestation of weakness but as an act of sacrifice. Having sacrificed her own needs, the mother carves out space for the careful development of the identities of others. . . . Second, a mother feels deeply. She embodies feeling, always physically experiencing the emotions belonging to herself and those around her. She thus provides a gateway into sympathy, a window into sharing the experience of feeling with others. . . . Finally, a mother never stops being a mother. The death of the child does not signify the end of the mother in the way that divorce signifies the end of the wife. The physical and emotional changes enacted by motherhood stay on the body, a permanent mark. No matter how the Griselda text is manipulated, the mark of motherhood remains visible. [From Conclusion]