The Social Ladder...notice that it's a man.
Throughout “A Mother,” it’s clear that Mrs. Kearney does things for the sake of keeping up appearances. She gets married because that’s what’s expected. She helps Mr. Holohan with the concert preparations because she believes her daughter’s performance reflects on her. Ultimately, Mrs. Kearney does “everything that [is] to be done,” seemingly not taking much enjoyment out of any of it (115). She reminds us readers of those abrasively, off-puttingly ambitious types, who need to be told to calm down. Concededly though, Mrs. Kearney does try to filter herself to avoid seeming not “ladylike,” but, obviously, this too is done only to avoid falling off the social ladder while she attempts to climb it. The question follows then, in light of all this, why couldn’t she keep it together in the end. “I thought you were a lady,” Holohan hollers at her to criticize her violation of social proprieties (124). Why couldn’t Mrs. Kearney find a way to express herself that allowed her to maintain her somewhat conniving goal of social ascent? I have an answer, which I’ll hold off on here, but, as you might have guessed, considers an irreconcilable conflict between Mrs. Kearney’s being a woman and her goal. For contrast, just look to O’Madden Burke—he seems to have gotten to the point where he’s “widely respected” simply because of his name and his being a man (121).
Joyce uses Mrs. Kearney to play with gender roles even more. Your right that she cannot ascend the social ladder without keeping up a certain facade of ladylike-ness. Almost to compensate for that, she pushes her daughter into the concert to make sure that she can succeed in higher pursuits that she was barred from in the past. The way she rides the committee to make sure that the contract is fulfilled is a manly characteristic in an of itself, as you point out. No other woman at the time would have striven so hard and been so relentless in what seems to be an "old boys" game of sorts. Interestingly, she basically comes off as a dad trying to live vicariously through his son. While trying to sustain the contract, Mrs. Kearney argues, "I have my contract" (120) and goes on to use this as a justification for its legitimacy. This freudian slip, where the contract and the money are hers, seems eerily similar to the Jake Shuttleworths of the world.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned how O'Madden Burke was respected in large part because he was a male. Mrs. Kearney also recognizes this with her own husband. Even though she, "knew the small number of his talents she appreciated his abstract value as a male" (117). It takes nothing more than the lottery of birth to gain you respect in Dublin society. And women are unable to gain that respect.
ReplyDeleteIronically, Mrs. Kearney's attempts to further her aims (and maybe women's in general) leads to a negative response from those around her, further entrenching her oppression. She reflects that the men, "thought they only had a girl to deal with and that, therefore, they could ride roughshod over her. But she would show them their mistake" (123). And yet her attempt at trying to stand up to these men harms her family more. The patriarchal society sees her as a threat and attempts to crush her by taking their anger out on her daughter and vowing that, "Miss Kathleen Kearney's musical career was ended in Dublin after that" (123).