Maternal Desire is the first book to treat women's desire to mother as a legitimate focus of intellectual inquiry and personal exploration. Shedding new light on old debates, Daphne de Marneffe provides an emotional road map for mothers who work and mothers who are at home. De Marneffe both explores the enjoyment and anxieties of motherhood and offers mothers in all situations valuable ways to think through their self-doubts and connect to their capacity for pleasure.
Drawing on a rich tradition of writers, such as Simone de Beauvoir, Adrienne Rich, Carol Gilligan, and Susan Faludi, as well as her experience as a psychologist and mother of three, de Marneffe illuminates how we express our desire to care for children. By treating maternal desire as a central feature of women's identity--rather than as an inconvenient or slightly embarrassing detail--we can look with fresh insight at controversial issues, such as childcare, fertility, abortion, and the role of fathers. An "absorbing look at the enormous personal pleasure that women derive from mothering....Maternal Desire is a stirring book that celebrates women's love for their children and mothering while also supporting their interest in careers and other pursuits" (Booklist).
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