What is it about?
Plot:
A Mother's Fondness written by Marion Stewart follows the two individual perspectives of a mother and daughter as they account and recall the events of an afternoon. The daughter, Cathie, has missed both of her buses that take her home after school. The story highlights the frustrations the two people experience and exposes each character’s internal stream of consciousness
Genre:
Fictional Drama
The purpose of the short story is to show people that they have different perspectives depending on the personal identity and roles they play in society. This is presented in the text as the Mother plays her dominant nurturing role as she shows worry and concern for the whereabouts of her child who she is supposed to keep safe, when she is found the mother views her daughter as unappreciative. Similarly with Cathie as she is just engaging in typical teenage activities, but when this conflicts with her mother, she is frustrated and assumes her mother doesn't care.
Conventions
characterisation
plot
setting
conflict
Techniques
point of view
style of language - emotive, descriptive
actions
symbolism/ representations
external conflict
syntax
Values and Attitudes
Mother - Values her role as a mother and when this is challenged she feels she has failed her duties as a care taker. Blames herself as she has 'failed' her duty as a mother.
Cathie - Values her social life and her friends as any teenager would. She thinks that her mother doesn't care: "She simply didn't care about me and i couldn't let her see how much that hurts."
Elaine - Values the safety of others, displayed when her mother calls Cathie's mother straight away. Has a practical and mature attitude, displayed when she wants Cathie to face her mother: "You'll have to face up to her as soon as possible."
Context
The following quotes are indications of the context of this story:
"after school I met Caroline and she had borrowed some
records
of mine"
"Cathy I'm going to the
phone box
now to phone your mother"
"My husband was working in Glasgow"
Representations
Short story "A mother's fondness" constructs:
Representation of society’s dysfunctional family identity
Representation of stereotypical moody teenager
Representations of mother and teenage children perspectives on issues faced in many families in contemporary society
Reader Response
A Mother's Fondness
written by Marion Rachel Stewart
Message & Purpose
Ideas about identity
Generic conventions
Techniques and Conventions
Short story "A mother's fondness" doesn't follow the generic conventions of a short story because:
it is divided into two perspectives/ point of views - the mother, the daughter
both sides are written in 1st person point of view
so that it isn't bias and exposes the different identities of the characters
Cathie’s identity (attitude) shaped and influenced by mother
The behaviour of a teenager’s identity is hindered by parental duties
Context (age/role) influences your point of view