Challenging the Good/Bad Mother Myths: Fairy Tale Elements in Carmel Bird's "A Place for Everything" and Helen Cushing's " Laura and I"

Abstract

In September, 1998, I turned the television on and watched Oprah, a US daytime talk show that has "become a common source of information and opinions about relationships, psychopathology and gender" (Squire 1994: 63). I continued to watch because it was relevant to my research on mother-daughter relationships. Oprah was discussing "Difficult Daughters," taking her theme from a book with that title by a Dr Charney Herst. Herst, a psychologist, was present to help the discussion along and to give advice. Focussing on the overwhelming blame that has been (mis)directed at mothers, particularly in their relationships with their daughters, Herst began by suggesting that it was time for mothers to revolt against the constant blame directed at them. Daughters needed to take some responsibility, she argued, for their own actions, their own lives, instead of blaming their mothers for everything.