On the side of the mother: 'Yonnondio' and 'Call it Sleep.': An article from: Studies in American Fiction

This digital document is an article from Studies in American Fiction, published by Northeastern University on September 22, 1993. The length of the article is 7557 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: Tillie Olsen's 'Yonnondio: From the Thirties' and Henry Roth's 'Call It Sleep examine motherhood from the perspective of daughter and son, respectively. Olsen's text encourages the reader to identify with the mother by placing the daughter physically and mentally close to the mother. The distance required to objectify the mother's pain is not allowed the reader. Roth's protagonist, on the other hand, is obsessed with his mother without empathizing with her, giving the mother no voice in the text. The novel seems addressed to masculine readers in the way it provides for exploitative sexual pleasure.

Citation Details
Title: On the side of the mother: 'Yonnondio' and 'Call it Sleep.'
Author: Elaine Orr
Publication:Studies in American Fiction (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 1993
Publisher: Northeastern University
Volume: v21 Issue: n2 Page: p209(15)

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