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Reproduction Or Replication? Deconstructing The Myth Of Maternal Glorification In Sexton's "Those Times" And "The Double Image", Kaila Sivan Finn
Reproduction Or Replication? Deconstructing The Myth Of Maternal Glorification In Sexton's "Those Times" And "The Double Image", Kaila Sivan Finn
Scripps Senior Theses
This thesis’s interpretation of “The Double Image” and “Those Times” explores the reproduction of gender norms between mother and daughter. These poems imagine motherhood as a rather grim replication of body image issues, lack of self-identity, and the internalization of sacrifice. When considering both the context of the 1950s as well as our current moment, the grotesquity of Sexton’s description of motherhood is particularly shocking. The renaissance of women in domestic roles troubled Sexton’s poetry and Sexton herself. Therefore, in considering these poems’ impacts on American culture, it is critical to imagine how shocking such a grotesque portrayal of “domestic …