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MOTHERHOOD, (Negligence of mothers shapes protagonists' lives,…

- - - - Sorrow's innocence is juxtaposed with his equal treatment to 'notorious drunkards' and the 'conjecturally damned'
      - allows Hardy to criticise the hypocrisy of these isolating Christian beliefs against God's supposed omnibenelovence
      - the 'Keelwell's Marmalade' jar underscores the poignancy of Sorrow's death and Tess' grief/the tragedy of her 'failure' at motherhood
      - arguably Hardy's fatalistic suggestion that Tess is unworthy of experiencing motherhood due to her impurity and Sorrow's illegitimacy, and that Sorrow had to die as both a plot device and for reasons of Tess' fated suffering
        
        leads Tess to Talbothay's and to Angel
      - religious interference in Sorrow's death: her 'problem' and 'bastard gift'
        
        religion having a significant influence in (the success of) Tess' motherhood is also connoted through a number of religious references ('incoherent supplications' and how she was almost 'apotheosised')
        
        'that little prisoner of the flesh'
      - 'a gloomy indifference that was almost dislike': either the baby serves as a reminder of Alec, or shows how Tess has internalised patriarchal structures which condemn impurity and illegitimacy
        
        religion and the patriarchy ultimately deny Sorrow 'justice'
  - - - 'Give sustenance, Allah'
- - - - 'Laila washed Mammy's dresses and changed her sheets...' (ch 20, 140)
        
        contrasts Mariam's motherly role
- - - - 'this lent her a deputy-maternal attitude when she was alone with her juniors' (as the oldest sibling)
    - - women unable to become vicars due to the notion of original sin
      - 'The ecstasy of fate almost apotheosised her': takes the role of a religious figure (XIV, 95)
        
        Hardy challenging organised religion and religious roles
      - 'that bastard gift'
        
        tainted with sin because of her mother's actions/reminder of her mother
        
        her conflicted love for Sorrow -> internalisation of religious values
      - 'The eye of maternal affection did not see them in its vision of higher things': maternal affection transcends limitations put forward by religion
        
        Zalmai's birth
  - - - 'she had found in this little creature the first true connection in her life'
        
        questions the importance of being a biological mother in order to form such a personal connection with someone
      - their 'unguarded, knowing look'
      - their bond resolves the climax of the novel
      - her intense love Aziza are shown in the moments before her death, highlighting her as having typical maternal qualities
    - - Zalmai's birth: orders the nurse to "Cut [her] open" without any anaesthetic
        
        highlights the isolation of women from standard healthcare using extensive listing of the hospital's lack of supplies such as 'no suction, no oxygen, not even simple antibiotics'
        
        medicine has been catered to fit men's needs and the Taliban has pushed money and resources away from women
        
        uses Laila's maternal instincts as an example of the unfair sacrifices women must make for themselves and their children
      - endures (gendered) Taliban beatings while visiting Aziza: "I'll beat you until your mother's milk leaks out of your bones" (ch 42, 313)
        
        extreme threat of violence combined with state of orphanage ('poorly lit hallways', 'coats patched with duct tape', 'a puddle of urine') allows Hardy to use Laila's maternal perseverance to expose grim reality of Afghanistan
- - - - 'There was a dreaminess, a preoccupation, an exaltation, in the maternal look which the girl could not understand' (III, 21)
        
        the news of their illustrious lineage causes her to dream of future possibilities
    - - 'a slight misgiving found place in Joan Durbeyfield's mind'
        
        shows clear awareness of the dangers of the world, but lacks the forethought to take measures to protect Tess
        
        her failure of maternal oversight leaves Tess vulnerable to Alec's ability to take advantage of her
      - 'Joan’s simple vanity, having been denied the hope of a dashing marriage, fed itself as well as it could upon the sensation of a dashing flirtation' (XIII, 83)
        
        she takes pride in the fact that Tess caught the interest of someone of Alec's social status, and values compliments more than her daughter's safety
    - - lacks the same moral compass as Tess, and seems more focused on increasing their social status than encouraging her daughter to tell Alec the truth
      - 'that haunting episode of bygone days was to her mother but a passing accident' (XXXI, 192)
        
        regards Tess' trauma as a conventional problem that can easily be dealt with and dismissed, wheres Tess views her past as a large part of her identity
        
        her simple-mindedness and lack of empathy make it impossible to understand Tess' ordeal