Monstrosity as Rescue: Challenging the Institution of Motherhood in Rachel Yoder's Nightbitch
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: This article examines Rachel Yoder’s contemporary novel Nightbitch (2021) –a literary debut about a mother who evolves from a miserable, anxious, lonely stay-at-home mom to a furious, howling monster, expressing motherhood’s injustices by metamorphosing at night into a wild dog–. In the pages that follow, after briefly exposing the connection between the patriarchal institution of motherhood (Rich, 1986) and maternal mental health and introducing the recent feminist use of the fantastic genre, the article explores how the transformation of the protagonist influences her recovery. Additionally, it examines the development of a way of mothering that is rebellious against patriarchal power.
Source: Esferas Literarias
Author: Paula Serrano Elena
Institution: Universidad de Zaragoza
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4405911540