Reshaping Mirrors: Mothers and Daughters in Contemporary Irish and Galician Women’s Poetry

RESHAPING MIRRORS:
MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS IN CONTEMPORARY
IRISH AND GALICIAN WOMEN´S POETRY
Mª TERESA PÉREZ TILVE
DOCTORAL THESIS/ TESE DE DOUTORAMENTO
DIRIXIDA POR: DRA. MANUELA PALACIOS GONZÁLEZ
Depa amen o de Filoloxía Inglesa e Alemá
Facul ade de Filoloxía
Uni e sidade de San iago de Compos ela
2014
RESHAPING MIRRORS:
MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS IN CONTEMPORARY IRISH AND
GALICIAN WOMEN´S POETRY
DOCTORAL THESIS
WRITTEN BY: Mª TERESA PÉREZ TILVE
DIRECTED BY: DR. MANUELA PALACIOS GONZÁLEZ
This is o ce i y ha his disse a ion has been ca ied ou unde my
guidance and supe ision.
Da e Signa u e
Depa men o English and Ge man Philology
Facul y o Philology
Uni e si y o San iago de Compos ela
2014
INFORME
A D a. Manuela Palacios González, P o eso a Ti ula de Filoloxía Inglesa
da Uni e sidade de San iago de Compos ela e Di ec o a da ese de dou o amen o
p esen ada po Dna. Te esa Pé ez Til e, que le a po í ulo “Reshaping Mi o s:
Mo he s and Daugh e s in Con empo a y I ish and Galician Women’s Poe y”
INFORMA
De que es a ese con a co seu is o e p ace po euni odas as
ca ac e ís icas necesa ias pa a p ocede á súa de ensa pública. T á ase dun aballo
de in es igación o ixinal de calidade que achega no a in o mación sob e a análise
compa ada das li e a u as con empo áneas galega e i landesa de au o ía eminina.
O ma co eó ico e a bibliog a ía secunda ia emp egados son os axei ados pa a o
ema in es igado e as on es de in o mación es án debidamen e ci adas e
ecoñecidas. Tan o a es u u a da ese como a súa edacción cump en cos
equisi os pa a p ocede á de ensa da mesma e as conclusións son no idosas ao se
a a dun ema non analizado an e io men e desde unha pe spec i a compa ada.
San iago de Compos ela, a 7 de ab il de 2014
Asdo. Manuela Palacios González

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Fo emos , I would like o exp ess my since e g a i ude o my u o , Doc o
Manuela Palacios González, o he pa ience, encou agemen and mo i a ion. He
guidance helped me h ough he s ages o esea ch and w i ing o his hesis.
I would also like o hank he p o esso s o he Depa men o English o
hei suppo du ing he doc o a e cou ses.
This disse a ion has been w i en in he ame o he esea ch p ojec
FFI2012 – 35872 (Minis e io de Economía e Compe i i idad, FEDER) on I ish
and Galician women w i e s.
To my daugh e s Cla a and Rebeca,
who a e mo he s hemsel es.
Reshaping Mi o s
6
The co pus selec ed o his disse a ion is mainly based on poe y
collec ions ha ha e been published o he las wen y i e yea s —wi h a ew
excep ions, such as some poems by Luz Pozo Ga za, ha we e i s published
mon hly in Vida Galega (1956), and by Ei hne S ong in Songs o Li ing (1961),
Sa ah, In Passing (1974) and Flesh: The G ea es Sin (1980), as well as some
poems by Ea an Boland (1982). Fi een I ish and en Galician women w i e s ha e
been chosen wi h he c i e ion ha hey ha e gi en oice o mo he s and daugh e s
who e lec abou hei ela ionship in hei c ea i e wo k. The eason o he lowe
numbe o Galician poe s is ha he e a e no as many con empo a y Galician
women w i e s who ha e ep esen ed pe sonal expe iences o he mo he -child
ela ionship as he e a e in I ish li e a u e. This may be due o he ac ha , a e
almos o y yea s o Gene al F anco’s dic a o ship, he p io i y o Galician women
w i e s ocused on he s uggle o women’s igh s and he need o ge hei oices
hea d. They had o demons a e ha hey could add ess he same issues men did.
All hese Galician and I ish women w i e s belong o h ee di e en
gene a ions. Xohana To es and Luz Pozo Ga za we e bo n be o e he Ci il Wa
and s a ed publishing in he 1950s, in a ime cha ac e ised by a s ong censo ship
which es ic ed he issues ha could be he ma e o li e a y c ea ion. Luz Pichel,
Ma ila Aleixand e, Ma ica Campo, Ana Romaní, Ma a Dacos a, Xela A ias9 and
Luisa Cas o belong o a gene a ion who was bo n a e he wa and, as Manuela
Palacios and Lau a Lojo unde line, “ o he i s ime in his o y, had gene al access
o hi d-le el educa ion and […] began o w i e in an e e escen pe iod o
eminis , na ionalis and le -wing ac i ism” (2009, 20). This is he ime when he
long-las ing dic a o ship o F anco came o an end in 1975 and he p io i y in he
eminis s uggle was ocused on he conques o ci il igh s in gene al and
women’s igh s in pa icula . In addi ion o his, mos Galician women w i e s
we e especially conce ned wi h he use o Galician language as a pe sonal and
poli ical commi men wi h a language ha had been banned om he public
domain and educed o he u al a eas.10 Finally, Lupe Gómez belongs o he

Gene al In oduc ion
7
gene a ion o women bo n in he 1970s who g ew up in he longes democ a ic
pe iod o Spanish mode n his o y.
Th ee gene a ions o I ish women w i e s a e also ep esen ed in his wo k.
Ei hne S ong and Ma y Becke a e he oldes and hey ha e passed away.
Howe e , hey can be included wi h Ea an Boland, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, Nuala
Ní Dhomhnaill, and Anne Ha igan in he gene a ion o w i e s who, in he 1980s,
“began o eco d women’s explici gende -consciousness in hei w i ings”
(Palacios and Lojo 2009, 22). Paula Meehan, Ma y Do cey, Ma y O’Malley, Ma y
O’Donnell, Ke y Ha die, Jessie Lendennie, Enda Wyley and Susan Connolly
belong o an in e media e gene a ion ha ollowed he pa h opened by he p e ious
one and asse ed hei igh o pu hei li es and pe sonal expe iences in o hei
a . Finally, Sinéad Mo issey is one o he No he n I eland younge w i e s who
ha e al eady consolida ed hei ca ee s as poe s. Some o hese poe s w i e in I ish
and English and o he s do so only in English bu hey do no seem o see any
con lic in hei using one language o ano he and all o hem conside hemsel es
as belonging o he same cul u e.
All o hese women w i e s ha e a s ong commi men wi h I ish and
Galician li e a u e espec i ely, al hough no all o hem we e bo n in I eland o
Galicia. Jessie Lendennie — a well-known edi o and publishe o I ish Poe y—
is an Ame ican wi h I ish oo s and Ma ila Aleixand e was bo n in Mad id bu
wo ks in San iago and w i es in Galician. Some o hese w i e s ha e a as li e a y
p oduc ion which is no es ic ed o poe y,11 while Jessie Lendennie has published
wo poe y books so a .
The as majo i y o ex s analysed he e a e poems, excep o Ma y
Becke ’s sho s o y “Hea en” (1989), some agmen s o Ma y O’Donnell’s
no el The Elysium Tes amen (1999), Ke y Ha die’s no el A Win e Ma iage
(2003) and Lupe Gomez’s Fis eus e a un mundo (2001). Al hough his las one is
no ac ually a poe y book, in mos o i s pages he bounda ies be ween p ose and
poe y a e blu ed, sub e ing, pe haps delibe a ely, he adi ional di ision o
gen es.
Reshaping Mi o s
8
These women w i e s had o b eak he mi o s ha e lec ed images o
women ha had been shaped o hem by he conjunc ion o se e al pa ia chal
discou ses. Thei s uggle akes place a h ee le els ha a e closely in e connec ed
and, a some poin s, link wi h he gene al claims o eminis mo emen s, al hough
he e a e some o he s ha a ec hem in a mo e pa icula way. Fi s ly, hese
women w i e s sha ed wi h mos I ish and Spanish women he igh o b eak he
walls o an idealised p i a e sphe e buil o hem by he I ish and Spanish
na ionalis pa ia chal discou ses.12 These, oge he wi h he Ca holic doc ine,
which inspi ed he poli ical ideology in bo h coun ies and in luenced he legal
amewo k in issues, such as di o ce, con acep ion and abo ion, a ec ed
women’s li es deeply. Secondly, hey had o dis up and con adic images o
women de ined by seemingly uni e sal discou ses, like ha o psychoanalysis,
which elabo a ed a ixed eminine iden i y ha was de ined by mo he hood.
Thi dly, women w i e s had o s uggle o place hemsel es and hei wo k in he
public sphe e o li e a y c ea ion, a wo ld ha had been men’s domain, wi hou
being elega ed o a ghe o inhabi ed by women who w i e abou women’s issues.13
In he “The Laugh o he Medusa”, Hélène Cixous (1981) [1976] s a ed he
need o woman o b eak he silence imposed on he and w i e as an ac o
libe a ion: “[Woman] mus w i e he sel , because his is he in en ion o a new
insu gen w i ing, which, when he momen o he libe a ion has come, will allow
he o ca y ou he indispensable up u es and ans o ma ions in he his o y”
(1981, 250). On a collec i e le el, Cixous a i ms ha his ac o w i ing will be
“ma ked by woman’s seizing he occasion o speak, hence he sha e ing en y in o
his o y, which has always been based on he supp ession” (250). W i ing will
allow woman “ o o ge o he sel he an i-logos weapon” (250) and “[ ]o become
a will he ake and ini ia o , o he own igh , in e e y symbolic sys em, in e e y
poli ical p ocess” (250). Cixous asse s ha “[i] is by w i ing, om and owa d
women, and by aking up he challenge o speech which has been go e ned by he
phallus” (251) ha women will be able o “b eak ou he sna e o silence” (250)
and ge ou o he s a e o dumbness ha had been ese ed o hem in and by he
Gene al In oduc ion
9
symbolic. Cixous belie es ha women “shouldn’ be conned in o accep ing a
domain which is he ma gin o he ha em” (251).
The e o e, al hough he expe iences and he poin s o iew o he women
w i e s objec o his disse a ion may di e conside ably om one ano he , i can
be said ha hey sha e he clea in en ion o holding i mly he ool o language in
o de o alk, om a di e en posi ion, abou hose issues ela ed o women’s li es
which ha e been ei he igno ed o used as aes he ic idealisa ions in li e a y ex s.
Manuela Palacios, ollowing Ea an Boland, poin s ou : “A eme xencia des as
no as oces modi icou as adicións li e a ias espec i as ao pasa a mulle de
obxec o poé ico, ou sexa, ema ou imaxe na c eación li e a ia, a suxei o, é dici a
au o a” (2006, 4). In his disse a ion, women a e, mos o he imes, he speaking
oices o hese poems, no jus he objec s o con empla ion o male poe s, as hey
had usually been. Bu e en when he e is a calcula ed ambigui y abou he sex o
he poe ic pe sona, he eminis pe spec i e is clea . So, we can say ha his
objec i e o aking hold o he posi ion o speaking subjec s o he poems se es as
a lei mo i which links he wo k o hese women w i e s, in spi e o he di e ences
o age, cul u al backg ound and poin o iew.
0.2.Mo he hood: A His o ical Backg ound
I wan o show an o e iew o he socio-poli ical ci cums ances ha
condi ioned women’s li es along he wen ie h cen u y bo h in I eland and Spain
—Galicia has been la gely condi ioned by he legal and economic measu es aken
by he Spanish cen al go e nmen — because I hink i is impo an o unde line
he con adic ion inhe en in he pa ia chal discou ses o I ish Na ionalism and
Spanish F ancois Na ional Ca holicism. On he one hand, hey de eloped an
ideology ha iden i ied woman wi h mo he and elabo a ed highly idealised
images o mo he hood, linking hem wi h he image o Mo he I eland and he
Ma e nal Fa he land in Spain. On he o he hand, hey dep i ed women-mo he s o
Reshaping Mi o s
10
any agency o ca y ou hei unc ion by denying hem he ci il igh s and
esou ces ha would allow hem o imp o e hei li es and hei child en’s.
Spanish women we e no allowed he igh o go o uni e si y un il 1911.
Ampa o Rubiales obse es ha e en p ima y and seconda y educa ion o women
was conside ed ad isable as a as i was use ul o he educa ion o child en, o
“en el caso de que u ie an la desg acia de no casa se, se pudie an gana la ida,
p ime o como ins i u ices y, más a de, como maes as” (Rubiales 2003, 4).
The e was no e e ence o he equali y o igh s be ween men and women in
he Spanish Cons i u ions p e ious o he Second Republic. In he i s legisla i e
elec ions o 1931 women could be candida es bu no o e s. Only h ee women
we e elec ed: Cla a Campoamo , Vic o ia Ken and Ma ga i a Nelken, all o hem
om le is pa ies. The h ee o hem we e ele an ac i is s in a ou o women’s
igh s. Cla a Campoamo 14 and Vic o ia Ken 15 we e lawye s and had opened he
i s emale law i m in Mad id, and Ma ga i a Nelken had al eady published
se e al books abou women issues (1919, 1931). Nelken unde lined ha he
exis ing Ci il Code ende ed women in isible, as i did no conside he a ci izen.
She also denounced he exploi a ion by hei employe s hey su e ed a wo k, as
well as he hos ili y o hei own male wo kma es (1919).
The igh o Cla a Campoamo 16 in a ou o women’s o es was decisi e
and clashed wi h he opposi ion o he own pa y as well as ha o he colleagues
Vic o ia Ken and Ma ga i a Nelken. Bo h Ken and Nelken a gued ha women’s
o es could be a dange o he Republic since he as majo i y o women lacked
he necessa y p epa a ion o decide by hemsel es and would ollow he ad ice o
hei husbands and con esso s.17 Despi e his, he cons i u ion o 1931
acknowledged women’s igh s by s a ing in a icle 25: “No pod án se undamen o
de p i ilegio ju ídico, el nacimien o, el sexo, la clase social, la iqueza, las ideas
polí icas y las c eencias eligiosas”. Consequen ly, women’s igh o o e was
decla ed in a icle 36: “Los ciudadanos de uno y o o sexo, mayo es de ein i és
años, end án los mismos de echos elec o ales con o me de e minen las leyes”. A
o al numbe o nine women we e elec ed in he h ee elec ions (1931, 1933 and
Gene al In oduc ion
11
1936) and all o hem played impo an oles du ing he Republican pe iod bu ,
a e he Ci il Wa , hese women —like housands o people— we e condemned
o exile and hei names we e e ased om o icial cul u e, lea ing a poli ical and
his o ical acuum in he ield o women’s igh s ha las ed un il he las decades o
he wen ie h cen u y.
A e he Ci il Wa he e was a se ious backwa d s ep in he ield o ci il
igh s which a ec ed all he people, al hough i was especially pain ul o women,
who los all he igh s hey had achie ed du ing he sho pe iod o he II Republic.
Uni e sal democ a ic su age18 and di o ce we e immedia ely abolished a e
F anco’s coup d’é a . In 1938, in he middle o he Ci il Wa , one law enac ed by
F ancois go e nmen , El Fue o del T abajo, es ablished as an impo an goal o
he new egime o ee he ma ied woman om he wo kshop and he ac o y.
Mo eo e , he e was bo h in I eland and Spain a s ong eac ion o he Ca holic
Chu ch agains women’s mo emen s which we e claiming o laws in a ou o
con acep ion, di o ce and abo ion all o e Wes e n Eu opean Coun ies. This
eac ion was suppo ed by he doc ine exp essed by he papal encyclical Cas i
Connubii published by Pope Pius XI (1930), in which he na u e o ma iage was
a ibu ed o God and, consequen ly, inal e able by man.19
The doc ine exp essed in his encyclical also s a ed ha sexuali y was only
allowed as a means o p oc ea ing child en wi hin he no ma i e amily and,
ou side his, i was o bidden and conside ed a g a e sin. Thus, single mo he s
we e conside ed public sinne s unwo hy o any social espec and conside a ion.
In acco dance o his doc ine, he Spanish Ci il Code o 1945 p oclaimed in
chap e II, a icle 22: “El Es ado econoce y ampa a a la amilia como ins i ución
na u al y undamen o de la sociedad, con de echos y debe es an e io es y
supe io es a oda ley humana posi i a” (BOE, 199/1945). Wi hin he amily, he
woman was comple ely subjec ed o he au ho i y o man: a he , husband o u o .
Some a icles o his Code we e e o med in 1958 so ha i could be in acco dance
o he ag eemen signed be ween he Spanish Go e nmen and he Va ican in 1953.
The Holy See was especially in e es ed in he o al aboli ion o he emnan s o

Reshaping Mi o s
12
ci il ma iage, which had been admi ed when ei he he b ide o he b ideg oom
we e non-Ca holic. A e he modi ica ion, ci il ma iage was only allowed when
bo h o hem p o ed o be-non Ca holic (BOE, 25/04/1958, 730). Besides, he
au ho i y o he husband was easse ed and jus i ied by na u e, eligion and
his o y:
Se con empla, po an o, la posición peculia de la muje casada en la
sociedad conyugal, en la que, po exigencias de la unidad ma imonial, exis e
una po es ad de di ección, que la na u aleza, la Religión y la His o ia
a ibuyen al ma ido, den o de un égimen en el que se ecoge ielmen e el
sen ido de la adición ca ólica que ha inspi ado siemp e y debe inspi a en lo
sucesi o las elaciones en e los cónyuges. (BOE, 25/04/1958, 730)
Child en we e classi ied, acco ding o hei o igin, in o legi ima e,
legi imised and illegi ima e, and he la e could in u n be na u al o adul e ine.
The esponsibili y o he a he was di e en in acco dance o each ca ego y bu he
main ained he p io i y o he cus ody. Rubiales unde lines ha “[e]l a amien o
di e en e de los hijos, se jus i icaba en la p o ección de la amilia, pe o, en
ealidad, a quien se p o egía e a al a ón, en pe juicio de los hijos y de las mad es”
(2003, 8). She also obse es ha A icle 321 disc imina ed women in ha ,
al hough he age o majo i y was 23 yea s o bo h sexes, daugh e s could no
abandon hei a he ’s home un il hey we e 25, unless hey go ma ied o became
nuns. “Se decía que la inalidad de es a disposición e a el deco o público y
pe sonal de las hijas” (Rubiales 2003, 8). Behind his s a emen abou he need o
p o ec he mo ali y o daugh e s, one can de ec he in e es o con ol women’s
sexuali y and he legi imacy o he u u e o sp ing.
Ch is ine A kins all (2002) s a es abou he si ua ion o Spanish women ha
“ o almos o y yea s he body o he mo he becomes he dominan elemen
a ound which sanc ioned concep s o eminini y, gende and na ionhood a e
o ganized” (2002, 48). A kins all also obse es how he close alliance o Falangis
doc ine and Spanish Ca holicism p oduced he powe ul ideology o Na ional
Ca holicism in which bo h Chu ch and S a e disguised hei pa ia chal p emises
Gene al In oduc ion
13
“by ep esen ing hemsel es as eminized bodies: he Mad e Pa ia (Ma e nal
Fa he land) and San a Mad e Iglesia (Holy Mo he Chu ch) espec i ely” (48).
In “Women, he Vo e and Re olu ion” Ma ga e Mac Cu ain (2008a)
[1978], poin s ou how he In e media e Ac in 1878 allowed I ish gi ls access o
highe educa ion and, o he i s ime, women could ake deg ees and ca y o
uni e si y honou s. Mac Cu ain unde lines he ac i e ole I ish women played
h oughou he nine een h cen u y un il he yea s p e ious o Wo ld Wa One. In
he i s decades o he wen ie h cen u y women pa icipa ed and con ibu ed o
wha Mac Cu ain calls he I ish enaissance, in he ields o hea e, his o y and
a . Besides, he e was “a g owing consciousness abou women’s igh s which
ound exp ession in a demand o pa icipa ion in go e nmen by means o he
o e and, less no iceably, in o ganising ade unions o women” (Mac Cu ain
2008a, 82).20
The women’s su agis mo emen s clashed no only wi h he hos ili y o
conse a i e pa ies bu also wi h hose poli icians who showed sympa hy o
women’s claim bu we e a aid o hei o e being in luenced by he cle gy. Mac
Cu ain eco ds ha John Redmond, he leade o he I ish Pa liamen a y Pa y
“ old a depu a ion o women in Ap il, 1911, ha he was agains o es o women
as i would inc ease he powe o cle gy” (87). I is cu ious o no ice he
coincidence o easoning, in I eland and Spain, o hose who a i med ha hey
sympa hised wi h women’s claims, bu conside ed women’s o e dange ous on he
g ound ha women would be easily in luenced by he cle gy and he mos
conse a i e sec o s o socie y.
Women played an ac i e pa in he Eas e Rising in 1916, —one o he mos
ou s anding leade s, Coun ess Cons ance Ma kie icz showed a g ea cou age as a
lieu enan o he Ci izen A my and she was imposed he dea h penal y, om which
she was eed la e unde he gene al amnes y. Mac Cu ain obse es ha , a e he
Rising, “ he na ional ques ion ook p ecedence” o e women’s claims and
“na ionalism sublima ed all lesse conce ns o he nex ew yea s” (94). Du ing
he Anglo-I ish Wa membe s o he Cumann na mBan “unde ook scou ing,
Reshaping Mi o s
14
dispa ch-ca ying, in elligence wo k and i s aid, o en in high- isk zones” (95).
Some we e wounded and some su e ed jail sen ences. Mac Cu ain wonde s why,
a e he Ci il Wa , women we e no able o ake ad an age o he igh s hey had
conque ed, despi e ha ing p o ed hei capabili y o c ea ing and managing hei
own mo emen s, hei own ade unions and ha ing pa icipa ed in he socio-
poli ical e en s ha led o he c ea ion o he F ee S a e: “In many espec s i was a
spec acula ic o y bu he pa adox emains o be explained: I ish women we e
ee in he a eas hey had s uggled o , why hen we e hey con en o emain
subo dina e in a socie y hey had helped o c ea e?” (2008a, 97). In “The His o ical
Image” (2008b) [1985], Mac Cu ain obse es ha he ac i e pa icipa ion o
women in he poli ical and social s uggle was o e aken by “ he o ces o coun e -
e olu ion” (2008b, 135). A e he se ing o he No he n S a e in 1920 and he
F ee S a e in 1922 women we e o ced o go back home: “A ound I ish women, as
in a cage, we e se he s uc u es o amily li e and women we e assigned a home-
based, ull- ime ole as housewi es, whose alen s and ene gies we e de o ed o
looking a e husband and child en” (2008, 135). Ci il di o ce was uled ou in
1925 and legisla ion on censo ship abou public mo ali y was passed in 1923 and
1927 (Mac Cu ain 2008b, 135-136).
The De Vale a’s 1937 Cons i u ion, wi h i s emphasis on he impo ance
o he amily and he woman as he cen e o i , showed how he s a e was
de e mined o emo e women om public li e and ake hem back home, hus e-
es ablishing a di ision o unc ions based on adi ional gende oles. Pa icia
Kennedy highligh s he ac ha he e was a he ime a “mo al c isis" in I eland,
wi h inc easing illegi imacy a es and he Cons i u ion “was seen as a pe ec
oppo uni y o p omo e Ca holic social eaching and o con ol he ci izens o
I eland, in pa icula women and o e e se he 1922-1936 Cons i u ion” (Kennedy
2002, 45). Kennedy also s a es ha he ideology behind he a icles 41 and 41.2
echoes he doc ine o he Ca holic Chu ch exp essed in he papal encyclical Cas i
Connubii (1930).
Gene al In oduc ion
15
Thus a icle 41 decla es he amily an ins i u ion whose igh s we e p io
and abo e all posi i e laws, cu ing sho he possibili y o laws which migh
a emp he modi ica ion o his quasi di ine ins i u ion. A he same ime i
emphasises he mo al unc ion o he amily wi hin he s a e and o woman wi hin
he amily as he gua dians o social o de :
A icle 41
1.1The S a e ecognises he Family as he na u al p ima y uni g oup o
Socie y, and as a mo al ins i u ion possessing inalienable and imp esc ip ible
igh s, an eceden and supe io o all posi i e law.
1.2 The S a e, he e o e, gua an ees o p o ec he Family in i s Cons i u ion
and au ho i y, as he necessa y basis o social o de and as indispensable o
he wel a e o he Na ion and he S a e. (apud Kennedy, 2002, 45)
A icle 41.2 does no es ablish a clea dis inc ion be ween he e ms
“woman” and “mo he ” since, in pa 1, i s a es ha woman’s con ibu ion o
“common good” should be li ed ou “wi hin he home”, lea ing no o he way o
woman’s con ibu ion o social wel a e and, in pa 2, he S a e gua an ees he
p o ec ion o mo he s. I migh seem ha being a woman is a s ep p e ious o
being a mo he , which is conside ed as he igh emale iden i y
A icle 41.2
1. In pa icula , he S a e ecognises ha by he li e wi hin he home, woman
gi es o he S a e suppo wi hou which he common good canno be
achie ed.
2. The S a e shall, he e o e, endea ou o ensu e ha mo he s shall no be
obliged by economic necessi y o engage in labou o he neglec o hei
du ies in he home. (apud Kennedy 2002, 45)
Anne Foga y obse es ha his a icle, which aimed a p o ec ing mo he s
om engaging in he labou o ce and empowe ing hei ole a home, has in ac ,
he e ec o diminishing hei powe ; so, “well-in en ioned pa e nalism pa es he
way o social opp ession” (2002, 87).21 In F ancois Spain, Na ional Ca holicism
a o ded mo he s a g ea symbolic signi icance while, in p ac ice, denied hem any
kind o con ol o e hei bodies, child en and he economic esou ces necessa y o
Reshaping Mi o s
22
Sa ah Ruddik (1998). Chodo ow did no disca d biology comple ely, bu s a ed
ha he exclusi i y o women’s mo he ing was due o a gende ed di ision o
labou and Sa ah Ruddik (1989) spli mo he hood in wo sepa a e unc ions:
bi hgi ing and mo he ing. Ruddik conside ed ha , while bi hgi ing is undeniably
linked o emale’s biology, he capabili ies equi ed o ca e and nu u e child en
a e no inna e and do no ha e o be inexo ably associa ed o ho monal p ocesses.
Howe e , o he eminis s such as Luce I iga ay, Hélène Cixous and Julia
K is e a asse ed he need o escue women’s bodies om he censo ship imposed
on hem by pa ia chy, so ha women can enjoy he ichness and complexi y o
expe iences he emale body can p o ide, including hose ela ed o mo he hood,
which is conside ed as a p i ilege o emale biology.
In his con ex I will d aw on some poems by Luz Pozo Ga za (2004),
Ea an Boland (1982, 1991), Ma y O’Donnell (2005) and Enda Wyley (2009)
which ep esen di e en aspec s o he mo he -child bond in he i s s ages o
hei ela ionship. We will also ind, in he poems o Sinéad Mo issey (2009),
Xela A ias (1996) and Luz Pozo Ga za (2004), “ hinking mo he s” who, no only
exp ess lo e o hei child en bu , a e also able o e lec abou he child’s own
independen de elopmen .
Chap e 3, “Red essing he Balance”, will deal wi h he consequences o
he changes in social and amilial s uc u es de i ed om he inc easing
inco po a ion, o he wo k ma ke , o a new gene a ion o women who ha e had
access o educa ion and ha e been claiming o a place in he public sphe e.
Playing an ac i e ole in he cul u al, economic and social wo ld equi es a change
in he ideological cons uc ion o emale iden i ies which has been based on
women’s oles as wi es and mo he s. Ch is ine A kins all unde lines, ha his new
scena io has b ough abou a ecu en heme in women’s w i ing: “ he con lic
a ising o e he possible econcilia ion o mo he hood and a p o ession, equen ly
one in ol ing w i ing” (2002, 64). A kins all poin s ou ha in some women’s
na a i es one can see how his si ua ion “has cul u ally agmen ed women, […]

Gene al In oduc ion
23
making hem less o a mo he i hey wo k and less o a pe son in a compe i i e
consume socie y i hey choose o mo he exclusi ely” (A kins all 2002, 64).
In his chap e 3 we will see, in he poems o Ea an Boland (1995) and
Ei hne S ong (1993), he inne con lic s o he poe ic pe sonas who do no accep
being de ined by adi ional oles and claim o an indi idual iden i y ha is no
limi ed o hei being mo he s. They s a e hei igh o a pe sonal de elopmen
which will no diminish hei lo e and dedica ion o hei child en. We will also
see in some o Sinéad Mo issey’s poems (1996) how he oubles in No he n
I eland a ec amilies. The socio-poli ical opp ession exe ed on mo he s can
igge ma e nal ange and iolence as seen in Luz Pozo Ga za (2002), Nuala Ní
Dhomhnaill (1992), Ma y O’Donnell (1999) and Ke y Ha die (2003). In his
chap e we will also e lec abou he so-called new momism and i s implica ion in
he cons uc ion o a seemingly new ideology o mo he hood which has s iking
esemblances wi h he old adi ional one.
Chap e 4, “Re ising My hs and A che ypes”, will deal wi h he esea ch
done in he ields o a chaeology and an h opology ega ding ancien eligions ha
wo shipped a powe ul Mo he -Goddess and we will see how hese disco e ies
ha e p omp ed some eminis heo ising o con adic images o women de i ed
om Jewish-Ch is ian eligions, whose ules we e supposedly dic a ed by a
sup eme male God and de e mined he de alua ion and submission o women o
male dominion. Th ough some poems o Ke y Ha die (1996) and Anne Ha igan
(1991), we will ace he eelings o disempowe ed mo he s and daugh e s who
mus submi o a pa ia chal au ho i y which is p esen ed as insc ibed in he
immu able o de es ablished by God. We will also see e isions o he my h o he
Fall and he image o E e done by Ma y O’Donnell (1993), Ma a Dacos a (1998),
Ma ila Aleixand e (2003) and Ma ica Campo (2007), as well as he e-w i ing o
some my hical legends and a che ypes ela ed o mo he hood which emphasise an
adul mo he -daugh e ela ionship, and ep esen a ich gamu o eelings. These
eelings ange om jealousy and o e -p o ec ion om he mo he in Ei hne S ong
(1993) and Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin (2001), o he use o he classical my h o
Reshaping Mi o s
24
Deme e and Pe sephone by Ea an Boland (1995, 1998), Ma y O’ Malley (2003)
Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill (1999) and Luz Pozo Ga za (2004). This old my h is
app op ia ed by he mo he s’ poe ic pe sonas in o de o add ess ac ual issues, such
as sexuali y, ape, whi e sla e y, emig a ion and ageing.
In chap e 5, “In lic ing and Healing Wounds”, he e is a change o
pe spec i e wi h ega d o he p e ious chap e s in which mo he s we e he
speaking oices in mos o he ex s examined. In his chap e he e lec ion abou
he mo he -daugh e ela ionship is seen om he poin o iew o he daugh e . I
will b ie ly examine he eminis deba e ha ook place in he 1970s and 1980s
be ween hose who blamed he mo he as he pe pe ua o o pa ia chal ideology
and hose who conside ed ha mo he s we e no he agen s o pa ia chal
opp ession bu he ic ims o he social, economic and poli ical sys em ha had
es ic ed hei de elopmen . We will obse e how he mo he -daugh e
ela ionship is mul idimensional and is media ed by changes o age, pe sonal
ci cums ances and social con ex .
We will analyse he daugh e ’s eelings o loss in Jessie Lendennie’s
(2001) and Luz Pichel’s (2006) poems, as well as he s a e o de encelessness o
bo h mo he s and daugh e s in he ace o he iolence exe ed on hem, in Jessie
Lendennie (2001), Paula Meehan (2000, 2003) and Ea an Boland (2007). We will
also e lec abou he ambi alence o domes ic spaces, which can be p o ec i e
emale domains bu also he si es o iolence and opp ession whe e he submissi e
oles o women we e ansmi ed om mo he s o daugh e s, as is ep esen ed in
he wo k o Lupe Gómez (2001), Ma a Dacos a (1998), Anne Ha igan (1991,
2008), Jessie Lendennie (2001), Paula Meehan (2000, 2003) and Ma ila
Aleixand e (1999, 2003). We will ind daugh e s’ oices who demys i y he
supposedly g a i ying domes ic asks and ebel agains he mo he s as collabo a o s
in he pe pe ua ion o pa ia chal oles, pa icula ly in he con ol o hei
daugh e s’ sexuali y.
Howe e , a comple ely di e en pe spec i e o he mo he -daugh e
ela ionship can be ound when he ma u e woman becomes he ca e o he old
Gene al In oduc ion
25
mo he . We will see, in Ma y Do cey’s poems (1994, 2001), a e e sal o he
mo he -child oles ha awakes con adic o y eelings in he daugh e . The chap e
ends wi h he ibu e paid o hei g andmo he s by Ei hne S ong (1993) Ma y O’
Donnell (2005), Sinéad Mo issey (1996), Xohana To es (2004) [1980], Ana
Romaní (1998) and Ma a Dacos a (1999). By w i ing abou he unknown li es o
hei emale ances esses, hese w i e s acknowledge he s uggle o hese women
and place hem in his o y while, a he same ime, hey si ua e hemsel es in a
genealogy o s ong women.
This goal o einsc ibing women in his o y was exp essed by he o me
P esiden o I eland, Ma y Robinson, who a i med in he “Inaugu al Speech” in
1991: “I wan his P esidency o p omo e he elling o s o ies —s o ies o
celeb a ion h ough he a s and s o ies o conscience and o social jus ice. As a
woman, I wan women who ha e el hemsel es ou side his o y o be w i en back
in o his o y” (“The Inaugu al Speech”, apud Dono an e al. 1994, 255).
27
CHAPTER 1
PREGNANT BODIES/EMBODIED SUBJECTIVITIES
1.1. In oduc ion
In “Co po eidad y lenguaje en la poesía i landesa ac ual” (2008a), Lau a
Lojo obse es ha mo he hood as biological and/o spi i ual expe ience has been
socially cons uc ed h ough li e a y and isual images “ il adas po una
conciencia masculina, de mane a que la asomb osa capacidad de la muje pa a
c ea ida se ‘domes ica’ y ans o ma pa a se i a las ins i uciones” (52).
Mo eo e , me apho s o ges a ion and bi h ha e been adi ionally app op ia ed
and used by male poe s o ep esen a is ic c ea ion. In “Suspended be ween Two
Wo lds” (2010), Ka ha ina Wal e quo es a le e James Joyce w o e o his wi e
No a in 1912, in which he equa ed he book he had concei ed in his imagina ion
and w i en wi h he child his wi e had ca ied in he womb. Wal e poin s ou ha
his analogising o li e a y c ea i i y wi h woman’s p oc ea i i y is only an
example o “ he cul u al pa adigm […] which was p emised upon an inap
dissocia ion and gende ing o male mind e sus emale body, wi h he implici
assump ion ha he co po eal was unwo hy o a and li e a u e” (Wal e 2010,
103). Thus, women’s expe iences o p egnancy and childbi h we e no only
educed o silence bu also obbed and ans o med in o me apho ical idealisa ions
by male a is ic c ea ion.
In he “The Laugh o he Medusa”, Hélène Cixous (1981) eac ed agains
his app op ia ion and s a ed he need o woman o b eak he silence imposed on
he and w i e as an ac o libe a ion bo h indi idual and collec i e. On an
indi idual le el, w i ing will allow woman o “ e u n o he body which has been
mo e han con isca ed o he ” (250) and has o en been u ned in o “a nas y

Reshaping Mi o s
28
companion, he cause and loca ion o inhibi ions” (250). Cixous es ablishes a close
connec ion be ween he censo ship o he woman’s body —whose sexual and
ep oduc i e powe s we e conside ed dange ous— and he censo ship o woman’s
speech: “Censo he body and you censo b ea h and speech a he same ime”
(250). She is con inced ha , by he ac o w i ing, woman will be able o b eak he
censo ship imposed on he ela ion o he sexuali y and will eco e he s eng h
ha was s olen om he . Cixous (1981) also disowns adi ional psychoanaly ic
heo ising abou woman’s desi e o a child as compensa ion o he sense o
cas a ion, 1 as well as widesp ead concep ualisa ions abou he mo he -child bond:
“The child is he o he , bu he o he wi hou iolence, bypassing loss, s uggle.
We’ e ed up wi h he euni ing o bonds o e e o be se e ed, wi h he li any o
cas a ion ha ’s handed down and genealogized” (261). Cixous also s a es he need
o women o libe a e hei bodies om he aboos and he ep ession hey ha e
su e ed and o ind s eng h in he physicali y o hei bodies as well as in a new
way o ep esen ing hemsel es and hei ela ionship wi h he child. She equa es
he ges a ion d i e o he desi e o w i e:
We won’ ad ance backwa d anymo e; we’ e no going o ep ess some hing
so simple as he desi e o li e. O al d i e, anal d i e, ocal d i e—all hese
d i es a e ou s eng h, and among hem is he ges a ion d i e—jus like he
desi e o w i e: a desi e o li e sel om wi hin, a desi e o he swollen belly,
o language, o blood. We a e no going o e use, i i should happen o
s ike ou ancy, he unsu passed pleasu es o p egnancy which ha e ac ually
been exagge a ed o conju ed away—o cu sed —in he classic ex s. (1981,
261)
Cixous also a i ms ha he “ aboo o he p egnan women” is he cause o
he ep ession woman has su e ed and i is o igina ed in he ea o he c ea i e
powe o he emale body, “because i has always been suspec ed, ha , when
p egnan , he woman no only doubles he ma ke alue, bu —wha ’s mo e
impo an — akes on in insic alue as a woman in he own eyes and, undeniably,
acqui es body and sex” (261-62).
P egnan Bodies/Embodied Subjec i i ies
29
D awing on K is e a’s heo y o abjec ion, Hea he Ingman s a es ha
abjec ion is “in he unde side o he symbolic, wha socie y mus ejec , co e o e
and con ain, usually in ol ing epudia ion o ou link wi h animali y, sexuali y and
mo ali y” (2009, 228). Consequen ly, pa ia chal ideologies ha e always ied o
con ol and hide physical eali ies ela ed o emale p oc ea i e powe s and his has
esul ed in lea ing eal mo he s’ li es ou o public conce n. Anne Foga y s a es
ha i is no wonde ha he las decades ha e seen in I eland how “many o he
mos i ulen mo al and e hical deba es ha e hinged on issues o women’s igh s
and emale sexuali y” (Foga y 2002, 88). Pa icia Kennedy unde lines he
con adic ion inhe en in he ac ha he physiological dimension o mo he hood
is an a ea o a woman’s li e ha has been conside ed as p i a e “and as such
ou side he sphe e o social policy, whe eas such essen ially p i a e a eas as
con acep ion and abo ion ha e been commandee ed by he media, legisla o s and
he Chu ch as public issues” (2002, 8).2 In Spain, women’s claims o
dec iminalisa ion o con acep i e me hods and abo ion, achie ed some success,
no wi hou a s ong poli ical and social deba e, wi h he O ganic Law 9/1985,
which dec iminalised abo ion in ce ain cases. Howe e , he modi ica ions
in oduced by he O ganic Law 2/2010 aised almos he same poli ical
con o e sy as he one in 1985, wi h he Ca holic ecclesias ical hie a chy
championing agains i .3
Li le by li le, women’s issues like p egnancy, childbi h and childca e we e
b ough in o he public deba e and women’s oices s a ed challenging widely
es ablished pa ia chal and eligious assump ions. A he same ime, some women
w i e s shook o adi ional ep esen a ions o mo he hood in li e a u e by
challenging he elega ion o ma e nal subjec i i y o he abjec and ansla ing
hei expe iences —which some imes include, pain, swea , blood and amnio ic
luids— in o hei a is ic c ea ion.
In his chap e we will see how he duali ies mind, soul / body, ma e , ha
ha e in o med Wes e n science and philosophy om he G eeks o he i s
decades o he wen ie h cen u y, ha e de ined concep ualisa ions o emale bodies
Reshaping Mi o s
30
and p oc ea i i y ha a e s ill in he backg ound o some deba es abou p egnancy,
mo he ing and bi hgi ing. We will jou ney wi h Sinéad Mo issey’s poem
“Ma e ” (2009), h ough he his o y o science o see he a emp s o demons a e
ha li e could be gene a ed wi hou he emale body. I will examine some poems
by Ei hne S ong (1993) [1980], Ma ila Aleixand e (2003), Luz Pichel (2006) and
Anne Ha igan (1991) which denounce he da k aspec s o he opp essi e con ol
ha pa ia chal ideology has exe ed on women’s bodies. By con as , in a numbe
o poems by Sinéad Mo issey (2009), Luz Pozo Ga za (2004), Ma y O’Donnell
(1993, 2005), Susan Connolly (1993) and Enda Wyley (2009), we will ind a ious
ep esen a ions o p egnancy and childbi h ha a e he culmina ion o a long-
desi ed pe sonal p ojec .
1.2. Endu ing Dicho omies
In Unbea able Weigh . Feminism, Wes e n Cul u e, and he Body (1995),
Susan Bo do, in a gene al o e iew h ough he his o y o Wes e n philosophy,
shows how a hie a chy has o en been es ablished in he dicho omy mind/body,
which p i ileged mind, idea, and in ellec ual c ea ion, o e body, ma e , and
physical ep oduc ion: “The body as animal, as appe i e, as decei e , as p ison o
he soul and con ounde o i s p ojec s: hese a e common images wi hin Wes e n
philosophy” (1995, 3). To gene alise his dicho omy and ex end i o all he
philosophical hough would be o o e simpli y his o y. Qui e he con a y, Bo do
acknowledges he his o ical a ia ions o his “imaginal shape o he body” (3) o
e en he somewha con adic o y posi ion o philosophe s like Pla o, whose
a i ude owa d sex and bodily li e is no he same in all his ex s.4
Ch is ian hough and philosophy no only es ablished he dicho omy soul/
body bu also p i ileged unequi ocally he hie a chy o he soul o e he body, he
la e being conside ed he soul’s enemy, he animal subjec ed o g oss ins inc s
and appe i es ha lead o he wo s sins and mus be con olled and amed by he
a ional, spi i ual will. This concep ion o he body as he si e o ins inc p e ailed
P egnan Bodies/Embodied Subjec i i ies
31
in he mechanis ic science and philosophy o he se en een h cen u y, al hough i
was no necessa ily linked o he idea o sin. “Ra he , he ins inc ual na u e o he
body means ha i is a pu ely mechanical, biological p og ammed sys em ha can
be ully quan i ied and (in heo y) con olled” (Bo do, 4).
I was Desca es who se led clea ly a he cen e o his me aphysics he
dis inc ion be ween mind and body. He conside s hem wo sepa a e subs ances
c ea ed by God apa om one ano he . The mind is a subs ance whose essence is
hough alone, while he body is a subs ance whose essence is ex ension alone. In
his Medi a ions II he de ines he body as some hing ha has shape, ills a space
and can be pe cei ed by he senses.5
Desca es a i ms ha powe s such as sel -mo ion, pe cei ing and hinking
do no pe ain o he na u e o he body, and hey a e a ibu es o he soul;
al hough he acknowledges ha walking o pe cei ing, o ins ance, would be
impossible wi hou he body. He also asse s ha ou senses a e no eliable
sou ces o knowledge because hey canno in o m us abou he ue na u e o
hings, bu hey a e he necessa y means o kni ing oge he soul and body;
al hough o some con empo a ies i was no clea how his union could be
compa ible wi h he p e ious sepa a ion he es ablished.
Desca es is much mo e ca ego ical when assigning he soul he a ibu e o
hinking, which is de ined as he ue essence o he sel :
Thinking is ano he a ibu e o he soul; and he e I disco e wha p ope ly
belongs o mysel . This alone is insepa able om me. I am—I exis : his is
ce ain; bu how o en? As o en as I hink; o pe haps i would e en happen,
i I should wholly cease o hink, ha I should a he same ime al oge he
cease o be. I now admi no hing ha is no necessa ily ue. I am he e o e,
p ecisely speaking, only a hinking hing, ha is, a mind. (H ml edi ion 2005.
John Vei ch’s ansla ion 1901)
Fo Desca es, he mind is he si e o ou pe sonhood and, wi h he igh
philosophical me hod, i can anscend and o e come he limi a ions and
decep ions o he body and be able o acqui e ue knowledge. The e o e, as Susan
Bo do poin s ou , “wha emains he cons an elemen h oughou his o ical
Reshaping Mi o s
38
In his essay Ruddik concludes ha , om he expe iences ela ed o he by
bi hgi e s, p egnancy and bi h a e no me e physical unc ions bu “in ellec ually
ans o ma i e” expe iences (41) and, bo owing om psychoanalysis and some
eminis s like Luce I iga ay (1985b, 1991) and Rossi B aido i (1998), she op s o
ep esen ing he “knowing sel — he ‘ego’—as […]a bodily ego” (41).
Consequen ly, i he ego is oo ed in he body, he body is much mo e han me e
ma e , i is he p e-condi ion o knowledge and he si e o one’s own subjec i i y.
1.3. Ma e and Flesh
In Mil on´s Pa adise Los he poe ic pe sona lamen s wha he conside s he
only ailu e o he C ea o and asks why, ha ing popula ed Hea en wi h masculine
angels, he made he mis ake o adding a eminine being o he ace o men:
This no el y on Ea h, his ai de ec
O Na u e, and no ill he Wo ld a once
Wi h Men as Angels wi hou Feminine,
O ind some o he way o gene a e
Mankind? (Mil on, apud Bo do 1995, 88)
The e ha e been h oughou his o y se e al a emp s o demons a e he
possibili y o spon aneous gene a ion o li ing beings, wi hou any in e en ion o
bo h sexes, which migh ha e aimed a co ec ing wha he poe ic pe sona in
Mil on’s poem abo e conside s a “ ai de ec / o Na u e”. I seems easible now
ha bio echnology will be able o e ase he emale ole and ul il male’s ambi ion
o app op ia ing emale p oc ea i e powe . In his sec ion I will analyse wo poems
ha di e comple ely in con en , bu e lec wo aspec s o male ea o he emale
body. In Sinéad Mo issey’s poem “Ma e ” (Th ough he Squa e Window 2009,
13-15), he poe ic pe sona o a p egnan woman goes back h ough his o y and
summa ises he main ends in he heo y o spon aneous gene a ion, om
A is o le o he 19 h cen u y, when Pas eu ’s expe imen s demons a ed i s alsi y.
One may hink ha , h ough hese expe imen s, male scien is s ied o ind an
al e na i e o sexuali y and, consequen ly, o do wi hou woman’s body. In Ei hne

P egnan Bodies/Embodied Subjec i i ies
39
S ong’s long poem Flesh: The G ea es Sin (1993a) [1980], eligious ea o
emale sexuali y esul ed in a sys em ha ied o con ol women’s bodies.
The i le o Mo issey’s poem “Ma e ”, eminds us o he A is o elian
duali y: ac i e p inciple, o m / passi e p inciple, ma e . Al hough A is o le
belie ed ha mos animals o igina ed om animals like hemsel es, he also
hough ha li e had always been able o a ise om ma e and he e we e some
bloodless animals which gene a ed o sp ing bu no o he same kind; “such a e
all ha come in o being no om a union o he sexes, bu om decaying ea h and
exc emen s” (A is o le 2007. Book I, 1). The poe ic pe sona in “Ma e ” desc ibes
hese a emp s in he i s lines o he poem, using a ma e -o - ac one ha canno
hide ouches o i ony ha unde line he con as be ween he alleged se iousness o
scien i ic expe imen s and he unde alua ion o women’s knowledge o body
ma e s:
A is o le obse ed and eco ded i all—
ha ou o ainwa e , he ma ow
o he human spine, oam om he sea,
o he pu e ying ca casses o bulls and ho ses
sp ing li ing beings: ogs, se pen s, ancho ies,
bees and sca abs, locus s and wee ils, maggo s. (Mo issey 2009, 13)
The ollowing lines o he poem men ion he ag eemen o Sain Augus ine
wi h he heo y o spon aneous gene a ion, acco ding o which, a esidue o God’s
c ea i e powe was s ill le in he ea h. The poe ic oice echoes Augus ine’s
heo y ha he e a e some animals which a e bo n om inanima e hings o om
hei co up ion, wi hou he union o he sexes,7 “and hus hei seed is no in
hem, bu in he elemen s om which hey a ise by spon aneous gene a ion”
(Edmund Hill and John E. Ro elle 2002, 227). This could explain he exis ence o
all kinds o insec s and wo ms, al hough hei names “ ind no men ion in he
ch onicle o he A k” (Mo issey 2009, 13), and he e was no need o hem o
ha e been sa ed om he Flood. The e is s ong i ony in he analogy es ablished
be ween his e e escence o li e ha o igina es om pu e ying ma e and he
Reshaping Mi o s
40
e e ence o Ma y, he immacula e model o pu i y, who could also gene a e
wi hou any kind o sexual in e cou se.
So long as allu ial mud emained, o o ed
wood, o insed whi e bones o c ocodiles
a e he wash aba ed and he sal aged couple
and hei b aying en ou age we e pi ched
on op o A a a , wasps and gna s and leas
would mani es once mo e in clouds and colonies
wi hou a union o he sexes (like Ma y)
and he ea h would e o lessly eem. (Mo issey 2009, 13)
On he ollowing lines o he poem he poe ic pe sona insis s on he heo y o
spon aneous gene a ion linked o pu e ac ion, de ended his ime by Pa acelsus,
who ollowed he A is o elian adi ion and ook i u he o he poin ha
gene a i e powe was also a ibu ed o mens ual blood and semen which,
“exposed oge he o pu e ac ion may gi e aise o he basilisk, whose poison is
simila o ha in he eyes o b ea h o a mens ua ing woman” (Pa acelsus apud
Wal e Pagel 1982, 116). The image o o enness and impu i y assigned o
mens ual blood as well as o women’s bi hgi ing bodies has been a cons an in
mos philosophical and eligious heo ising; i is no wonde ha Pa acelsus could
imagine ha mens ual blood mixed wi h semen could gene a e he basilisk. Bu
he poe ic pe sona men ions o he ecipes expe imen ed by Pa acelsus and his
ollowe s:
ye Pa acelsus, a ch-ad oca e o decay,
saw no eason no o apply
he laws o spon aneous gene a ion
o ou sel es: le he semen o a man
pu e y by i sel o o y days in a sealed
cucu bi e, i shall begin, a las , o li e.
Fed on an A canum o human blood
and kep in da kness, his lee homunculus
had all he ea u es o a human child. (Mo issey 2009, 13-14)
P egnan Bodies/Embodied Subjec i i ies
41
Leeuwenhoek is he nex s ep in he poe ic pe sona’s e iew o some u ning
poin s in he s o y o science and philosophy conce ning human ep oduc ion His
disco e ies ein o ced he heo ising ha ied o demons a e ha woman has no
ac i e p inciple essen ially necessa y o he c ea ion o a child since he
spe ma ozoa al eady had all he elemen s o a human being.
Leeuwenhoek bo e his expe imen in mind
when, decades la e , using his own mic oscope,
he sc u inized his spe m, magni ied
as much as h ee hund ed imes and ashioned
like a bell, wi h he w ough pe ec ion
o a iny man cu led inside each globule. (Mo issey 2009, 14)
The poe ic pe sona con inues he way h ough his o y and men ions a
di e en heo y sus ained by he O is s, acco ding o which he iny animalcules
eside in woman’s womb whe e hey we e placed by God when she was c ea ed
(Bo do, 315). These O is s “may ha e en isaged ins ead / a sac ed cabine o
child en, encased / inside each egg, opening in ime” (Mo issey, 14).
While all his heo ising was de eloped by male philosophe s and scien is s,
women’s eal wo ies and hough s abou hei ep oduc i e powe s and needs
we e comple ely igno ed and unw i en. Jane Flax e lec s in Thinking F agmen s
(1990), on he con adic ions inhe en in some ends o pos mode nis hough . On
he one hand i asse s he dea h o all essen ialis concep s o human being,
na u e, eason and his o y by decla ing he h ee dea hs —o Man, o His o y and
o Me aphysics— and eplacing he sea ch o u h by a con e sa ion in which
“ he philosophe ’s oice would be no mo e au ho i a i e han any o he ” (32). On
he o he hand, he p oblem o Flax is ha his philosophe ’s oice s ill “ e ains
he p i ilege o de ining wha game is o be played and he ules” (32). Flax
a i ms ha many male pos mode nis s seem unable o ecognise he gende ed
na u e o hei in e p e a ion o Wes e n philosophy and he absence o women in
hei “mas e na a i es” (226). She poin s ou ha i he his o y o Wes e n
hough had been old om he poin o iew o women’s expe iences, “ he
d ama ic episodes migh no be he h ee dea hs, bu a he an ongoing se ies o
Reshaping Mi o s
42
s uggles: o gi e bi h o o a oid gi ing bi h; o be ep esen ed o o a oid being
mis ep esen ed” (226).
In his espec , he poe ic oice in Mo issey’s poem asse s ha while epu ed
scien is s se iously ied o demons a e hei heo ies o spon aneous gene a ion,
woman was le wi hou any con ol o he body, and he u e us emained a place
o be colonised a andom by male spe m:
whe he one belie ed in his, o he e idence
o a ligh -blanched wo kshop and a knack
o polished glass, o whe he one wen back
o wha he G eeks exp essed
as he ac s o ep oduc ion,
a woman’s ques o con acep ion,
s acked agains he odds o dogged isi o s
inding lodging in he womb
a any beckoning, was hopeless. (Mo issey 2009, 14)
The poem goes on wi h a e e ence o So anus o Ephesus, he G eek-Roman
physician —96-138 AD— whose book, Gynecology, was a landma k in he s udy
o he p ocesses o p egnancy and pa u i ion, as Owsei Temkin ema ks (1956).
This book e lec s his me iculousness in he obse a ion o hose p ocesses, and i
deals ex ensi ely wi h he ca e o p egnan women, he quali ies equi ed o a
good midwi e and he ca e o newbo n child en, ejec ing some p ac ices ela ed o
magic and some uses he conside ed as ba ba ian. He also s udied he e ec s o
some subs ances ha can be used o p e en p egnancy o e en o induce abo ion:
No wonde So anus sugges ed wa e om blacksmi hs’.
No wonde oli e oil, he pulp o a pomeg ana e,
honey, pine esin, me cu y, beeswax,
penny oyal, obacco juice, a ow oo , ansy
we e bu n , b ewed, inhaled, inges ed,
inse ed in o he ce ix, o bu ied in he ields le allow
i he coppe y s ain o mens ua ion
pe sis ed in o he se en h day.
No wonde wi ches consul ed he sky. (Mo issey 2009, 14)
The i s lines in his sec ion o he poem s a wi h he wo ds “no wonde ”,
as well as he las one. This es ablishes a pa allelism and a con as a he same
P egnan Bodies/Embodied Subjec i i ies
43
ime, since So anus’expe imen s we e acco ded scien i ic alue, despi e he
somewha uncon en ional ecipes he ied, while e e ence o wi ches, in a line ha
migh seem disconnec ed om he p e ious sec ion o he poem, condenses a
whole his o y o wise women whose knowledge abou hese ma e s was always
despised when no di ec ly ou lawed because hei p ac ices we e ne e gi en
c edi and ela ed only o wi chc a .
In he las sec ion o he poem we ind a e e ence o Louis Pas eu , who
disp o ed he heo y o he spon aneous gene a ion o mic oscopic o ganisms —
h ough a labo a o y expe imen in 1864.8 The poe ic pe sona admi s Pas eu ‘s
con ibu ion o a be e knowledge o mic oscopic li e and hen she shi s om he
a he impe sonal his o ical desc ip ion which has pe aded all he poem, o a
pe sonal oice which add esses he child inside he womb and e eals he physical
and emo ional ies be ween hem. The ee o he e us kicking agains he
“windowless da k” o he womb p oduce physical sensa ions which also a ec
di ec ly he hea , adi ionally conside ed he si e o eeling, and he pel is is he
empo a y c adle which p o ides o wa m h and p o ec ion o he in an . And,
disowning all he heo ies abou he p ope ies o ma e o gene a e li e, he poe ic
pe sona claims o he eali y o sex and, in using he plu al “ou ” and he wo d
“lo emaking”, exp esses he con ic ion ha i was he pa en s’ lo e and sexual
desi e ha b ough he child in o being:
And hough I know, hanks in pa o Pas eu —
o his gauze impedimen s and penchan
o boiling—how you came o en e ,
how you came o oll and hiccup and kick
agains he windowless da k, ee o my hea
and skull o he pel is c adle, I s ill hink
o ou lo emaking as a kind o doo
o whe e e you we e, wai ing in ma e . (Mo issey 2009, 14)
In he long poem Flesh: The G ea es Sin (1993a) [1980], Ei hne S ong
ep esen s he consequences o he ep ession o he woman’s body by Ca holicism
and he obsession abou sexuali y ha pe aded I ish eligious educa ion as well as

Reshaping Mi o s
44
he de as a ing e ec s i had on women’s li es. The emphasis pu o he pu i y and
i gini y o Ma y, as he only sui able model o woman, c ea ed an opp essi e
da k a mosphe e a ound sex ha aimed a inspi ing on gi ls an aw ul eeling o
ejec ion o e e y hing ela ed o he g ea es sin. D awing on Ma ina Wa ne
(1976), Michaela Sch age-F üh obse es ha he model o pu i y and asexual
mo he hood embodied by he Vi gin Ma y is unob ainable and ha his my h has
p o oked dis u bing e ec s on he mind o a Ca holic gi l: “While in childhood i
is possible o iden i y wi h Ma y’s pu i y, he onse o pube y is bound o cause
p oblems o a Ca holic gi l, and can ha e se ious e ec s on he gi l’s sel -image
and a i ude owa ds he own body and sexuali y” (Sch age-F üh 2006, 125). In
pa II o Flesh we can see how he me hodology employed o ins ill ea o hei
bodies in o he gi ls’ minds is used in an o phanage. We can pe cei e he comple e
igno ance o he gi ls abou sex and he insidious insis ence o he nuns on he
need o mo i y he lesh h ough ha d wo k. They do no ind i necessa y o
answe he gi ls’ ques ions because i is assumed ha gi ls —as daugh e s o
E e— ha e an inna e pe e se knowledge abou sexuali y:
Ne e ne e o end he Immacula e Concep ion.
Wha does concei ed wi hou sin mean?
Isn’ i plain —i means wha i says.
The Te ible Sins a e hose agains pu i y;
he iles . Remembe he six h commandmen
Thou shal no commi adul e y.
Wha is adul e y? Hold you ongue
and lea n obedience. Mo i y he lesh,
ha is he enemy; no o be pampe ed,
scou ge i ha you may no all in o e e nal i e.
Remembe wha i is like o be bu ned. Imagine
you whole body bu ning and ne e any ending. (1993a, 15)
In o de o mo i y he lesh and a oid emp a ion o phans we e
sys ema ically subjec ed o ha d wo k, hunge and cold, while he nuns p eached
hem abou he i ues o hese p ocedu es: “polish ha de , go hung ie ; / be glad
you a e cold; cold and pu i y combine; / welcome he swea o hea y labou , i
P egnan Bodies/Embodied Subjec i i ies
45
washes you pu e” (16). When Ellen — he o phan p o agonis o his sec ion o he
poem— le he o phanage, she was p epa ed o ansmi his ideology: “Taugh o
each omo ow / wha she lea ned oday / Ellen, o phan, / p oduc o edic s /
denials, spa an p ocedu es, / was inally dispa ched” (17).
In pa V o Flesh, an adul Ellen aces he opposi ion be ween he ex eme
pu i y she has been augh and he eali y o sex in ma iage. The poem e lec s he
deep b each his con adic ion opens in Ellen’s mind and body. She has
in e nalised he eligious ha e o he body and has de eloped s a egies agains he
emp a ions o lesh, wi h he sel - igh eous con ic ion o being igh ing he good
ba le agains e il, wi h God and he Chu ch on he side. Howe e , once she is
ma ied, Ellen has o submi o he assail o his oe because “ he Chu ch was on
i s side / calling i Conjugal Righ ” (34). Ellen’s con usion is caused no only by
he pas expe iences in he o phanage bu also by he con inuous public p eaching
om he pulpi s, which obsessi ely insis s on igh ing agains desi e and pleasu e
while, in he p i acy o con ession, p ies s each women o yield o conjugal igh s
because, as he Cas i Connubii dec ees, sex is only jus i ied in ma iage when i
aims a p oc ea ing child en:
Ang ily con used was she be o e his oe.
F om he i s , Voices o Au ho i y had o bidden:
Deny lesh: Mo i y. Abnega e. Voices had w ough
ea : Remembe Hell. Remembe Ma y, he Immacula e,
concei ed wi hou sin. Remembe . Ellen
emembe ed ha lesh was sin, lesh laid on lesh b ough
s i ings ha mean Hell. The old oices sounded always
un elen ingly in he li e. Do no indulge. Punish.
C uci y sel . And he new: om he pulpi , now,
he p ies enzied ou his loa hing; i upe a ion
o he lesh con ulsed him nea seizu e. (1993a, 34)
Ellen had obedien ly accep ed he Ca holic doc ine and had succeeded in
annihila ing he body’s sexual esponses o he poin ha , o he , sexual
in e cou se was a ha e ul ac i i y: “Long since e o ized o non- esponse, lesh /
o Ellen could no accommoda e o his unwelcome licence / called Conjugal
Reshaping Mi o s
46
Righ : i es ablished he bewilde men , / ecoil, ha e, bu ne e joy” (35). Thus,
Ellen concei ed he i e child en “wi h no ejoicing” and ea ed he wo who li ed
“wi h all espec / o ecei ed au ho i y” (35). Thus, she becomes he ansmi e o
his ep ession and exe s on he child en he same educa ional sys em ha she
su e ed in he o phanage, in he con ic ion ha “ hey mus be p imed / agains he
coil o lesh, made know he body should / be ed only o wo k o be done, no o
g a i ica ion” (35).
In pa VI o he poem, a pessimis ic poe ic pe sona e lec s upon he a e
o Ellen’s daugh e Nance, concei ed wi hou desi e o lo e and p edes ined om
he womb o be he objec o he mo he ’s s ic adhe ence o he p inciples o
Ca holic educa ion: “The helpless emb yo passi ely ecei ed i s legacy / o ea ,
in e s iced h ough he canke ed being. (Wha does / ea do o lesh ha should be
spi i ’s blossoming?)” (41). Nance will be sen o a nun’s boa ding school and he
li e will be a se ies o ba les and ebellions agains his opp essi e en i onmen
un il she can in eg a e lesh and spi i and econcile he sel wi h his “in eg al
being” (63).
1.4. Female Body / Male Dominion
Seeing p egnancy as a common emale expe ience would be o o e simpli y
he di e si y o ac o s ha de e mine women’s li es. Al hough undeniably a
physical p ocess oo ed in emale biology, p egnancy is also a subjec i e
expe ience ha is media ed by a wide ange o pe sonal and social ci cums ances.
The expe ience o a well- o-do whi e, Wes e n, ma ied woman has no hing o do
wi h ha o a poo , single, immig an woman. To ci e only a ew ac o s ha
p econdi ion p egnancy in con empo a y Eu opean socie ies, we mus conside
whe he i is wan ed o unwan ed; i he u u e mo he s will be able o combine
ull- ime wo k o a p o essional ca ee wi h he ne e -ending demands o
mo he ing, which equi es he a ailabili y o child-ca e cen es hey can a o d o
pay o ; and wha kind o suppo hey may ind om hei pa ne —when he e is
P egnan Bodies/Embodied Subjec i i ies
47
one—, hei amily, and he social con ex which hey li e in. Each p egnancy is,
e en o hose women who ha e had se e al child en, a ho oughly unique
expe ience ha canno be labelled as me ely physical. Body and mind a e so
igh ly in e wo en and a ec ed by social ela ionships ha mo he hood canno be
insc ibed in o a uni ying uni e sal expe ience. In “Thinking Mo he s/Concei ing
Bi h” (1994), Sa a Ruddick asse s:
[T]he bodily ego is ho oughly social: om he beginning i is cons i u ed in
and cons uc ed by ela ionships in which “ he body” is held, ouched,
spoken o, hea d, igh ened, soo hed, hu , and com o ed. Acco dingly,
po en ially ans o ma i e physical expe iences a e imbued wi h meanings o
pas and u u e ela ionships and may he e o e be also socially
ans o ma i e. (1994, 41)
Women’s bodies a e he si es whe e pa ia chal ideology exe s i s powe and
con ol. Un il ecen ly, p egnancies ha happened ou side he close bounda ies o
ma iage had o be ep essed and punished. In Luz Pichel’s Casa Pechada (2006),
and Ma ila Aleixand e Desmen indo a p ima e a (2003) we ind some poems
which exp ess he powe lessness o women who we e conside ed inadequa e o
he ole o espec able wi es and we e he objec o e e y kind o sexual abuse.
Addi ionally, hei child en we e equen ly he ic ims o social and eligious
disc imina ion and iolence. The speaking oices in hese poems a e na a o s o
o he women’s expe iences om a de ached poin o iew.
Luz Pichel’s sho poem “Le ei o pa a poñe na en ada da co a do penedo”
(2006, 20) summa ises he si ua ion o helplessness o poo and men ally
handicapped women, who we e equen ly used as men’s common p ope ies and
on whom ape could be exe ed wi hou any kind o mo al o legal esponsibili y.
When he mad woman in he poem ge s p egnan , she ies o disguise he
p egnancy and goes away o he moun ain, pe haps o p o ec he unbo n child.
Since nobody is esponsible o he p egnancy, he child will no be unde any
male’s p o ec ion and will be exposed o e e y kind o dange .
Reshaping Mi o s
54
in he luids o he body which d ag him/he ou o he secu e e uge o he
mo he ’s womb.
The ou h decade
The i e will no s op
his ail ba k
my body, will no
answe my calls,
i ca ies a bu den
and I low
o he unknown sea,
I do no wish
o d own in his,
who
is being bo n
you o I? (1991, 49)
E e y woman who has expe ienced labou pains can easily ecognise in he
ollowing lines he desi e o s op he “jou ney” and wai un il she eels “mo e
ad en u ous”. Bu na u e ollows i s own pa h and he e is ime o ask onesel o
he meaning o his pain. The poe ic pe sona exp esses he doub s abou he idea
ha lo e could be he o igin and he eason which can explain how i all began,
and wha awai s he a he end o all his “pan ing and hea ing”. She ques ions he
idealised concep o lo e ha was a he basis o a Ch is ian educa ion o women.
Lo e ha was disconnec ed om sexuali y and based on a sel -denial o women’s
desi e and a du i ul ca e o o he s —husband and child en—, which has in he
image o Ma y he model o a disinca na ed mo he hood. The poe ic oice also
ques ions he wisdom e e y woman is supposed o acqui e h ough p egnancy and
childbi h. All hese belie s a e useless o help he o con ol he body and o ace
he isks o eal bi hgi ing.
[…]
his jou ney can wai ;
I will lea e,
un il I eel
mo e ad en u ous.

P egnan Bodies/Embodied Subjec i i ies
55
Was i lo e
ha pushed
my b own boa ou
on he wa e s?
Was i lo e
ha sen me pee ing
down in o ne s
o he salmon o knowledge?
Wha will I know
when pan ing and hea ing
limbs lead I climb
hai clinging
To he sho e?
And hose c ies
I hea o e he wa e
mingling wi h sea bi ds,
a e hey you s,
o mine? (1991, 49-50)
The woman also ques ions he use ulness o some old I ish my hs. The
e e ence o he s o y o he Salmon o Knowledge,10 which ga e wisdom o hose
who i s a e i , is he coun e poin o he my h o E e, who was cas iga ed wi h he
pains o labou o he a emp o as e he ui om he ee o he science o good
and e il. The di e ence o meaning is ema kable. While he I ish he o Fionn Mac
Cumhaill was ewa ded wi h wisdom, a e ha ing as ed he salmon, and became
a amous king, he blame was pu on E e o he loss o pa adise and, om hen
onwa d, all women ha e o pay o he sin. The poe ic oice asks he sel wha kind
o knowledge she will ind a he end o he jou ney. Bu when i inishes, he c ies
o he newly bo n child a e mingled wi h he c ies o he mo he and, o e hem,
he c ies o he sea bi ds may sugges ha bo h mo he and child migh no ha e
eached he sho e sa ely and may ha e d owned in he wa e s o childbi h. In he
in oduc ion o he book, Anne Ha igan explains ha among he oices o he
poem is he “g andmo he ’s sis e Lily who died along wi h he in an in childbi h
because he husband e used o le he go o Dublin o medical a en ion” (7).
Reshaping Mi o s
56
1.5. Embodied Subjec i i ies
The da k social aspec s o ges a ion and bi h e lec ed in he poems o
Pichel, Aleixand e and Ha igan con as wi h expe iences o p egnancy as a
hough ul p ojec p esen in Luz Pozo Ga za’s poems o “Ad ien o” (2004)
[1959], Sidnéad Mo issey’s “Found A chi ec u e” (Th ough he Squa e Window
2009) Ma y O’Donnell’s “Daugh e ” (Spide woman’s Thi d A enue Rhapsody
1993) and “The Jou ney” (The Place o Mi acles 2006) [1993], Susan Connolly’s
“Cycles” (Fo he S ange 1993) and Enda Wyley’s “Dia y” ( o wake o his
2009). The poe ic oices in hese poems ep esen mo he hood as he culmina ion
o a long che ished desi e which esponds o a conscious calling o he child. The
mo he s in hese poems asse ha i was hei wil ul de e mina ion ha b ough
he child en o hem. They do no men ion any lo e o pa ne whose ac i e
p inciple may ha e aken he ini ia i e in he ul illmen o hei desi e, and, in
some cases, hey e en skip he ha dness o childbi h o emphasise he longing o
he child and he happiness o he mo he when he goal is achie ed.
I will also d aw on Anne En igh ’s memoi Making Babies. S umbling in o
Mo he hood (2004) because she da es o dwell on physical as well as psychical
aspec s o childbi h and mo he hood ha ha e been hidden om public
ep esen a ion and, as Hea he Ingman poin s ou , she “ ein oduces wha has
adi ionally been ep essed in he I ish Ca holic discou se o ma e ni y, namely,
he emale body” (2009, 225). I will see how some o hese poe ic pe sonae’s
expe iences ela e o K is e a’s heo y o semio ics as i is ep esen ed in “S aba
Ma e ” (1986), a ex ypog aphically spli in o wo pa allel sec ions: in one o
which she analyses he cul o he Vi gin Ma y in Ca holicism, and in he o he ,
she ep esen s he own expe iences o p egnancy and childbi h in a ex ha , in
some way ollows he pa e ns o poe y.
Luz Pozo Ga za has a as c ea i e p oduc ion de eloped h ough a long
span o ime. The poems I am going o discuss he e do no i en i ely in o he
pe iod o ime I ha e chosen o his disse a ion, since hey we e w i en and i s
published mon hly in Vida Galega along he yea 1959. Besides, hey we e w i en
P egnan Bodies/Embodied Subjec i i ies
57
in Spanish, no in Galician, as is he case wi h he es o my Galician co pus.
Howe e , I hink ha , apa om he ac ha she is one o he majo Galician
poe s, he subjec ma e o hese poems is cen al o he issue o mo he hood, as
ep esen ed om he poin o iew o pe sonal expe ience. This collec ion is a kind
o dia y in which, as Ca men Blanco has poin ed ou , he woman poe “cons úe un
calenda io ma e no pa a i ano ando as i encias da ma e nidade que se agolpan
con usas no co po e na men e, asomb adas an e o empuxe i esis ible do xu a da
ida” (Blanco 2004, 23). Mo eo e , he poe ic pe sona connec s he p egnancy and
childbi h wi h he seasonal cycles o na u e, es ablishing a con as and,
some imes, a pa allelism be ween wha happens ou side and inside he body. A
he same ime, we cons an ly ind e e ences o he eligious li u gical yea om
he i le o he collec ion —“Ad ien o”— as well as o ancien my hologies ha
ela e he c ea ion o li e wi h some o he ou elemen s de ined by he
philosophe s o ancien Mile us: wa e , i e, ea h and ai .
The i s poem o his collec ion “Ene o” (2004, 193), he mon h ha opens a
new yea is a uned wi h he new li e ha is being concei ed inside he woman’s
womb. The poe ic pe sona s a es clea ly ha lo e is he o igin o he concep ion:
“Temblando pa a el amo , / Ene o, c ecien e o illo. / Co azón del año nue o, /
dulce pája o do mido” (193). Ch is mas ime is s ill p esen in he allusion o he
Epiphany and we also ind esonances o he Annuncia ion in he eeling o
expec a ion ha he mi acle o a new li e may happen: “G acia de la Epi anía / en
un paisaje ama illo. / Como ú mi co azón / es á agua dando el p odigio” (193).
The e is a con as be ween he poe ic pe sona’s emphasis on he da kness o he
nigh and he ale ness o he hea ha is wai ing o he mi acle:
Ene o, noche ce ada,
pue a de la mad ugada.
Noche que no se despie a.
Ale a,
ale a mi co azón
al milag o i o. (2004, 93)
Reshaping Mi o s
58
Pozo-Ga za uses he hymes and me ics o adi ional Spanish ly ic in all
he poems o he “Ad ien o” se ies. In his poem we can ind echoes o a
“ illancico” collec ed in he Cancione o de Uppsala11 —“No la de emos do mi ,
la noche sanc a”— which desc ibes he momen o in ima e expec a ion o he
Vi gin Ma y be o e he bi h o Ch is . Pozo Ga za ansla es his same eeling o
he momen o he concep ion o a new being who is going o illumina e he
da kness: “Hoy no debes, no, do mi / que sucede lo imp e is o: / Una es ella
nue a. / Un niño” (Pozo Ga za 2004, 193). He e again we ind a pa allelism wi h
he s a ha announced he bi h o Ch is o he Th ee Wise Men and guided hem
o Be hlehem.
In he nex poem, “Feb e o” (2004, 194), Feb ua y is he mon h when na u e
sleeps unde he coldness o win e , wai ing o he wa m h o he sp ing o e i e.
The poe ic pe sona eels ha he hea is “do mido bajo la nie e” (194), bu she
also eels ha wa m h is g owing unde nea h. She add esses he mon h unde lining
he ac ha , while mon hs and seasons go by, she keeps wai ing o he ligh : “Te
as. Yo sigo espe ando. / ¡Silencio! No se despie e. / Dime cómo nace el iempo /
mien as agua do. ¿No sien es / c ece el calo del sueño / deli ando bajo el
ien e?” (194). The las lines o his poem abound in images o ligh and i e
which a e he coun e poin o he coldness ou side. Acco ding o E ich Neumann
(1972), he e is a close connec ion be ween son and i e in ancien Indian, G eek
and Ca haginian my hologies ela ed o he G ea Mo he Goddess:12 “The i e o
he o ch, he lowe i e-ligh son o he wood, co esponds o he uppe luminous
sons — he s a s, moon and sun— which a e he child en o he nigh ” (1972, 311).
Escucha oda esa luz
que iene lejos. Enciende,
calien a, alumb a. La llama
milag osa pe manence.
Aquí palpi a el des ello.
Toda ía no amanece. (2004, 194)
P egnan Bodies/Embodied Subjec i i ies
59
In he hi d and ou h poems, “Ma zo” (195-96) and “Ab il” (197),
sp ing ime and he blooming o na u e a e in acco dance wi h he g owing
awa eness o he poe ic pe sona o he li e ha is blooming inside he : “Lle o una
lo den o, den o. / Silencio, / se me ha do mido. / Ma zo me la a acunando /
con un ale eo pe dido” (195). Ma ch and Ap il a e o en ainy mon hs in
Medi e anean clima es and so a e eco ded in popula sayings and p o e bs. Bu
ainy wea he is no only he p e-condi ion o he blooming o na u e ou side, bu
is also he backg ound o a deepe signi icance o he symbolism o wa e : “Ab il
me llue e. / No es mañana. / Hay la espe anza de las noches. / La expec a i a de
las amas” (197). Wa e — he i s o he elemen s, acco ding o he philosophe s
o Mile us— is a uni e sal symbol o li e, as Mi cea Eliade poin s ou : “Wa e
symbolizes he whole o po en iali y: i is ons and o igo, he sou ce o all possible
exis ence” (1958, 188).13 In connec ion wi h his, Ba ba a Walke a i ms ha
“sp ings, oun ains, ponds, wells we e always emale symbols in a chaic eligions,
o en conside ed wa e -passages o he unde g ound womb”(1983, 1067). In
“Ma ch” and “Ap il” we can see how he poe ic pe sona uses hese symbols as he
lei mo i ha can desc ibe he p esence o he li e ha is g owing inside he .
He descubie o un a oyo
an i o
aquí. Ya lo oco apenas,
milag o mío.
Agua de mi co azón,
p odigio.
Te oy soñando despie a
en un silencio de ío. (195)
Al hough Anne En igh desc ibes he expe ience o p egnancy and childbi h
in a humo ous and down o ea h s yle, she has poe ic o e ones when she explains
he momen when body and mind seem o ully accep he eali y o p egnancy: “I
looked a he wo ld a ound me and lis ened o my own blood. The e was a deep
no e humming h ough me, so low ha no one could hea . I was in e e y pa o
me, swelling in my ace and hands, and i el like joy” (2004, 18). This accoun is
in acco dance o Julia K is e a’s ep esen a ion o he own p egnancy, which, in

Reshaping Mi o s
60
u n, e lec s he heo y o he semio ic, a s age o communica ion be ween mo he
and child ha is p e ious o he symbolic and canno be ep esen ed by he logic o
language. Pa adoxically, K is e a uses language o ansmi he impossibili y o
desc ibing wha is happening inside he body because o w i e i down “is an
o deal o discou se” (162):
FLASH – ins an o ime o o
d eam wi hou ime; in-
no dina ely swollen a oms o a
bond, a ision, a shi e , a ye
o mless, unnameable emb yo.
Epiphanies. Pho os o wha is
no ye isible and ha
language necessa ily skims
o e om a a , allusi ely. (K is e a 1986, 162)
The e is a s age in p egnancy when he e us ceases o be an unde ined
p esence only pe cei ed by changes in he woman’s body and gi es unequi ocal
signals o i s exis ence —by kicking he mo he ’s belly, o ins ance. Anne En igh
desc ibes his momen : “The i s kick is he child alking back o you, a kind o
so ening up” (22). A his s age i becomes easie o see he child as ano he
pe son, as En igh obse es: “I began o ha e ideas abou his baby, e en
con e sa ions wi h i , some o which, o my g ea emba assmen , ook place ou
loud” (2004, 22).
In Pozo Ga za’s poems “Ma ch” and “Ap il” we can see how he poe ic
pe sona ep esen s a g owing awa eness o he de elopmen o he child, who is
now mo e han a d eam and has become a eali y. She is conscious o he spli o
he body in o wo di e en beings: “No oy sola. Voy lle ando / un aso de dulce
sueño”.[…] “Ya no oy sola. Me ienen / p ima e as po el cielo” (196). The
poe ic oice o he mo he exp esses he wonde a his new p esence and
add esses he child exp essing he need o know mo e abou i .
Te conocí en un mu mullo
como de ío en calma.
P egnan Bodies/Embodied Subjec i i ies
61
¿Me escuchas, dí?
¿Ya ienes alma?
[…]
Te adi iné como un la ido
de hie ba acuá ica.
¿De dónde llegas?
¿Oyes las oces de la nada? (2004, 197)
P egnancy as an emo ionally complex wai ing ime is e lec ed in Sidnéad
Mo issey’s poem “Found A chi ec u e” (2009, 18-19). On he i s line, he poe ic
pe sona ela es e e y hing she does wi h he expe ience o wai ing and, on he nex
lines, she add esses somebody14 o explain how she looks o he hidden
a chi ec u e in e e y hing ha su ounds he . A chi ec u e — he a o building—
is an image o wha is being buil inside he :
These days a e all abou wai ing. Wha would you say
i I ied o explain how my single ue ac i i y
his we and shi e y May is ‘ ound a chi ec u e’? (2009, 18)
This “ ound a chi ec u e” in Mo isseys’s poem has mul i ace ed aspec s like
hose o an “I alian kaleidoscope” (18) whose con inuously changing images ha e
an inne symme y ha sugges s he changes ha a e happening inside he body,
wi h he symme ical di isions o he cells. Howe e , his kaleidoscope is no
made o mi o s ha con ain colou ed objec s, bu one “ ha makes i s heel- oes
shapes, no om beads o seeds / o pain ed me iculous de ails, bu om he oom,
/ om wha e e oom I happen o be in” (18). So, he kaleidoscope is a me apho
o he poe ic pe sona’s changing body ha accompanies he whe e e she goes,
and is, a he same ime, he “wai ing-house” in which she s a ed o change
colou s om he beginning o he p egnancy. This use o me apho s o ep esen
he changes she is unde going is in line wi h K is e a’s exp ession o he di icul y
o ep esen hese sensa ions: “Wo ds ha a e always oo / dis an , oo abs ac o
his / unde g ound swa ming o / seconds, olding in / unimaginable spaces”
(K is e a 1986, 162). The poe ic pe sona in Mo issey’s poem uses colou ul
images o o e come his di icul y:
Reshaping Mi o s
62
[…]
The day i a i ed I mangled he blue o he ba h oom
wi h he pis achio g een o my bed oom ceiling
and sa en anced: such symme ical splicing
o e e y hing, any hing, o make o my wai ing-house
a s a -poin ed ame ha en e ed and le
i sel behind as he cylinde u ned. (2009, 18)
The poe ic pe sona inds also a chi ec u e in na u e in he walk by he sea
because she decla es ha “ ound a chi ec u e” is “ he e y business o beaches”
(19). In spi e o he e e ence o May, he mon h which is he climax o sp ing, we
canno ind in his poem he usual associa ion p egnan woman / blooming Mo he
Ea h. Jus he opposi e, he images chosen he e sugges des uc ion and decay
a e a s o m o a shipw eck, and may hin a he c ea i e powe o na u e in which
li e and dea h a e wo sides o he same cycle:
o ed glands o a pond be ween knee-high g asses
and a whi e ee undoing i sel in i s ink-s ained
su aces. The ee looked like a c ocodile’s ibcage. (2009, 18)
To he hings men ioned abo e he poe ic pe sona adds “all he usual”,
“skele ons o ge anium, lea es on windowsills”, “snakeskins” (19), bu he mos
impo an ound a chi ec u e has ecen ly happened when she can inally see he
ul asound scan o he small being inside he womb, mo e like a c ea u e o he
sea, and she claims ha he comes om he deepes desi e o he whole body:
[…] Mos ecen ly
(and mos disa mingly) his: handed o me in a oll
o ou like mug-sho pho og aphs om a machine—
his seaho se spine, his open-shu anemone
o a hea , and he ow o unbelie able ee h
shining high in he c ook o his skull as i backs i ched
in o place. F om blood and he body’s
inconsolable hunge I ha e been my own kaleidoscope—. (2009, 19)
P egnan Bodies/Embodied Subjec i i ies
63
In Ma y O’Donnell’s poems ha a e being commen ed nex , he w i e
ep esen s he own expe iences o p egnancy and childbi h. In “Daugh e ” (1993,
85), he poe ic pe sona exp esses he long-s anding yea ning o he child ha has
accompanied he whe e e she wen :
Fo yea s I ha e called
ac oss g ea dis ances,
eeling he ho e
beyond demo ic s ee s,
he summe dus ,
he slan ing ains. (1993, 85)
This longing es ablishes an emo ional ela ionship be ween mo he and
daugh e which is p e ious o he child’s coming in o being. The poem e e ses
adi ional images o he woman’s body as e ile land whe e he male seed is
sown. Ins ead, he poe ic pe sona has imagined he daugh e as hidden somewhe e
among he c ops o a e ile ea h, wai ing o he calling:
I ha e called o he
ac oss miles o ields,
hinking I glimpsed he
in d enched g asses,
o nea a poppy
in shimme ing oa s. (1993, 85)
In he inal sec ion o he poem, he mo he exp esses he sense o mi acle a
lo o mo he s eel when a long-desi ed child inally comes, no ma e he imes
his momen has been imagined. I , as as onome s ha e p o ed, he same
p ocesses ha c ea ed billions o unimaginably dis an galaxies also c ea ed us, he
mo he eels how he li le being has answe ed he calling and has app oached he
om he ou e space “ es ing glin s o s a ligh ”(85). This is a momen o
ecogni ion and o p ide o ha ing been able o b ing he o li e:
Now she se s ou
om some wild galaxy:
as I sleep, she nea s,
es ing glin s o s a ligh ,
nigh s o hollow soul.
I ha e called he o be human.
Reshaping Mi o s
70
old o useless “like he c acked e aco a po , / a dus y old glasses case, one
con aine / o p in e ink, he wobbly wooden chai ” (44). The desc ip ion sugges s
amilia images o pa en s idying up a oom and p epa ing i o be he nes o he
new bo n; bu , a he same ime, i eminds us o ancien i es o enewal in which
old hings had o be h own away o bu n o allow he ebi h o na u e.
I look and look, ge used o hese hings
we should idy away, o clea ou li e up,
as hough you a e a isi o we mus p epa e o . (2009, 44)
In he ollowing lines he p egnan woman add esses he being inside he and
desc ibes how she is pe cei ing i . Alongside physical sensa ions like “a o ce ha
aches in my lowe back, / a wi ch below my appendix ma k” (44), we ind again
he me apho ha links p oc ea ion and c ea ion, in his case, body, “blood” wi h
cul u e, “music”:
You —a loa ing ish,
a blip-blipping in my luid,
a o ce ha aches in my lowe back,
a wi ch below my appendix ma k,
he plucking o inge s inside o me.
You will make music in my blood,
bu s in o ou li e
ha is al eady you s. (2009, 44)
She is awa e ha his new li e is going o change hei li es and he emnan s
o hei old li e do no need be changed since he child is going o occupy he co e
o he body:
So lie back wi h me, li le one,
in he pale shee s o ou wai ing.
Maybe, jus o now,
I’ll lea e hings as hey a e—
hose dus y c acked sca e ed pieces
o wha we ha e become—
and le you new li e nes le be ween us,
benea h my skin. (2009, 44)

P egnan Bodies/Embodied Subjec i i ies
71
1.6. “Sel e sus sel , / e sus dea h, / e sus lo e and ea ” (Ma y O’
Donnell 2006, 55)
In “S aba Ma e ” (1986), Julia K is e a a i ms ha pain is inhe en in
mo he hood: “One does no gi e bi h in pain, one gi es bi h o pain: he child
ep esen s i and hence o h i se les in, i is con inuous” (167). She desc ibes
childbi h as he “undecidable” (168) ba le be ween li e and dea h, be ween
“calm” and “ e o ” as well as he pa adox o “dep i a ion and / bene i ” (168).
Howe e , when he ba le ends, she eels ha calm and li e ha e won: “The li e o
ha / o he who wends his way while / I emain hence o h like a / amewo k.
S ill li e. The e is / him, howe e , his own lesh, / which was mine yes e day. /
Dea h, hen, how could I / yield o i ?” (169).
In his sec ion we will see how some pe sonal accoun s o childbi h a e
ep esen ed in he ollowing poems: Sinéad Mo issey’s “Lo e, he nigh wa ch…”
(Th ough he Squa e Windows, 2009), Ma y O’Donnell’s “P e-Bi h Fli a ion
wi h Sel and O he s” and “Shipw ecks and S o ies” (The Place o Mi acles, 2006)
—which is dedica ed o Ma y O’Donnell’s daugh e Anna— as well as Susan
Connolly’s “B ei ne” and “Liadain” (Fo he S ange , 1993). In hese poems, he
women w i e s ans o m in o poe y hei own expe iences o bi hgi ing. The
ha des physical aspec s o pa u i ion a e no a oided and images o blood, s o m,
hunde and loods a e used o desc ibe he eelings o women in labou . The
poe ic pe sonae in some o hese poems desc ibe he scena io in which he bi h
ook place, wi h plen y o de ails ha help de ine space and ime.
In Mo issey’s poem, he poe ic pe sona add esses he child elling him how
i was when he was bo n. Flashes o isual images, in e wined wi h sounds a e
success ul in depic ing, like in an imp essionis pain ing, he a mosphe e a ound
hem. Thus, he anonymi y o he “nigh wa ch, glo ed and gowned” o he asep ic
hospi al s a , con as s wi h aces le in he a he ’s hands, which a e signs o he
iolence o he momen , bu a he same ime, a e p oo s o he suppo he ga e o
he mo he and his ac i e p esence in he oom. Radio sounds om “ axicabs” and
Reshaping Mi o s
72
“police epo s” a e “in e wined” wi h he “dis an hoo bea s o a hea ” (28). The
image o he s o m ou side, wi h he wea he “blowing showe y” is a uned wi h
he “ hunde o blood” and he “ lood-plain o in ima e s ains” (28). Images o
s o my wa e s a e ecu en in mos o hese poems as well as ep esen a ions o
he body as a “ ail ba k” as we ha e al eady seen in Ha igan’s “G ow h”. Wa e
is a uni e sal symbol o li e, and wa es on a beach a e he mos e iden example
o he cyclical epe i ion o he a ac ion o he moon, whose cycles ha e been, in
u n, associa ed o women’s mens ual pe iods. The hy hm o he wa es can also
ep esen he hy hmical sequence o he body’s con ac ions in labou . Bu
uncon olled wa e s can be ex emely dange ous and h ea ening and, in his way
hey ep esen he isks a woman is acing du ing pa u i ion, when he e is he
possibili y o eal showe s o blood ha can endange bo h he li e and he child’s.
Lo e, he nigh wa ch, glo ed and gowned, a ended.
You a he held my hand. His hands g ew b uised
and o days a e wa ds wo e a g een and pu ple co e le
when he held you o he ligh , held you delica e, den ed
head, humbed-in like a wa e on . They used
s opwa ches, clip cha s, he dis an hoo bea s o a hea
(di ined, i seemed, by adio, so you call ell in e wined
wi h axicabs, police epo s, he wea he blowing showe y
om he no h) and a beau i ul ine whi e cane,
ca ed in o a ish hook. I was a hays ack he child en climbed
and uined, collapsing almos impe cep ibly
a i s , hen ca ing in spec acula ly as you s u e ed and came
—c ook-shoulde ed, blue, belie able, beyond me—
in a hunde o blood, in a lood-plain o in ima e s ains. (2009, 28)
In he las s anza, images o a s o m a e used o desc ibe he decisi e
momen o childbi h, and he me apho o he woman’s body as a hays ack
“collapsing almos impe cep ibly / a i s , hen ca ing in spec acula ly” is an
image o how he woman eels ha e e y ligamen and muscle ha ha e kno ed
he s uc u e o he body is being o n apa o allow he new being make his way
P egnan Bodies/Embodied Subjec i i ies
73
beyond he mo he ’s body. Bu , despi e he blood and pain, he child has become
inally “belie able” (28).
In Ma y O’ Donnell’s “P e-Bi h Fli a ion wi h Sel and O he s” (2006, 55-
56) he poe ic pe sona desc ibes how she p epa ed he sel ca e ully o labou . The
i s s anza ela es how, he nigh be o e, she pe o med he beau y i uals o
wo king he hai , making he up and p epa ing beau i ul clo hes o he “ inal
sleep” (55). These i uals a e he a mou s ha can help he ace he ha dness o he
momen she is going h ough, wi hou losing he own iden i y, whose bounda ies
may be dissol ed in o he s ain o he body’s biologically p og ammed con ol o
he p ocess. The h ea ening esonances o he adjec i e “ inal” emind us ha
dea h can also be p esen in he labou oom. The second s anza shows how he
poe ic pe sona ies o shake o he ea : “Pe ched on he hospi al bed, / I wai ed
in a u quoise obe / wi h ed and golden bi ds o pa adise; / wa ing pe ume,”
(55) and, al hough she jokes “wi h he chap who emp ied he bins”, he e is
no hing i olous abou he momen because she is well awa e o he c ucial
impo ance o he coming s uggle and he subsequen changes which will modi y
he li e. Pa u i ion is he momen o spli ing o he mo he -child sha ed abode
in o wo sepa a e bodies and subjec i i ies; a di ision ha is, a he same ime,
wan ed and ea ed. And he poe ic pe sona ep esen s his s uggle wi h images o
wa : “a mou ”, “ba le” and “good blood”. The ba le has o be ough on wo
on s: The mo he sel accep ing he pain o a ou he sepa a ion o he o he sel ,
and he s uggle agains dea h.
[…]
‘Go geous’ he called me,
which is how I el .
I knew I’d need e e y a mou ,
o he coming day,
mos ly o emembe who I was,
wha I could be,
in he ime o good blood.
Flailed in o ba le,
sel e sus sel ,
e sus dea h,
Reshaping Mi o s
74
e sus lo e and ea ,
he complacen decei
(o was i kindness?)
o woman a e bi h
la ed up. (2006, 55)
The poe ic pe sona a i ms ha his is “ he ime o good blood”. Images o
blood a e no unusual in poe y, bu in hese poems, in addi ion o he widesp ead
meaning ha links blood wi h ba le and dea h, we ind a posi i e meaning because
blood will be he ehicle ha will b ing he child in o hese women’s a ms.
Women a e used o mens ual blood and a e no a aid o i . Lo e o he child can
gi e hem he capabili y o endu ing pain and, when he momen comes, hey will
use all hei s eng h o push he child ou o hem. In O’Donnell’s poem he poe ic
pe sona, s a es clea ly ha i is only o he child ha his iolence is going
h ough:
In hose momen s
when I hough
I would bu s , hands and nails
idged blood-swee ,
I pushed
o he edge o obli ion,
pushed o he edge o my li e,
pushed o he ,
only o he . (2006, 56)
In “Shipw ecks and S o ies” (2006, 59-60), a poem Ma y O’Donnell
dedica ed o he daugh e Anna —bo n 20 Janua y 1993— he bi h o he child is
se in a speci ic empo ali y in which he coming o a new li e con as s wi h he
des uc ion o na u e caused by he oil om he B ae anke ha an ag ound in
he She land Isles on 5 h o Janua y 1993. In he i s s anza, na u e and li e a e
opposed o dea h caused as a colla e al e ec o indus ial capi alism. The image
o he ull moon, ha go e ns he cycle o ides and was also adi ionally
associa ed wi h he comple eness o women’s ges a ional pe iod and he ime o
childbi h, is coun e poin ed o TV pic u es “o slack- ea he ed / oil- u ed
c ea u es” (59) ha ha e been sen enced o dea h.
P egnan Bodies/Embodied Subjec i i ies
75
In he second s anza he poe ic oice add esses he child elling he how on
he day o he bi h “a new p esiden was swo n in”,17 c ea ing a social a mosphe e
o hopes and expec a ions o peace and “ he igh s o li ing and dying” (59). These
expec a ions abou he u u e, con as wi h he ea o he poe ic pe sona o dying
du ing childbi h, connec ing once mo e li e and dea h in ha p ocess:
On he day o you coming,
a p esiden was swo n in,
messages un u led, hopes
o eedom, ole ance,
he igh s o li ing and dying.
I hough I would die ha day. (2006, 59)
Time seemed o ha e s opped and e en “[ ]he minu e hand on he labou
wa d clock / seized up wi h [he ] pain” (59). The woman used all he esou ces
cul u e had gi en he o coun e ac he g owing labou pains: She “ ied o sing, /
old s o ies o he midwi es” (59), al hough she knew ha hey we e al eady used
o hea “ he li es o women in bi h / ne e be o e so comp essed / as in ha
momen ” (59). Bu she did so because she needed o ge hold o he iden i y so as
no o be o e come and dissol ed in o he wa es o pain. By epea ing like a
man a he wil ul de e mina ion o s ee ing he p ocess, she asse s he powe o
will o e he uncon olled o ces o na u e.
I old s o ies, spoke slowly
be ween he pains, spinning ables
o sa e me, emind me
o who I was. And hey did.
A he close o e e y s o y,
I epea ed one sa ing ph ase,
was deli e ed om ba le:
‘I can and I will, I can and I will!’
Belie ing ha , you we e bo n. (2006, 59-60)
In he las s anza, he images o animals whose u and ea he s a e co e ed
by a slippe y laye o oil ha is going o lead hem o dea h, con as wi h he
smoo h glossy skin ha had helped he child h ough he pa h owa ds li e.

Reshaping Mi o s
76
In he She lands, a anke
had spli in o wo,
bi ds and o e s slipped in o dea h
as da kness ell.
In Dublin he we da k h ew up ou child,
sleek wi h li e. (2006, 60)
In Susan Connolly’s “B ei ne” (1993, 23), we ind again images o seas,
wa es and ships o desc ibe childbi h. The emale poe ic pe sona ells he child
he s o y o labou as i i we e a dange ous ad en u e in which hey bo h we e
ac i e p o agonis s. Thus, he woman’s body is a ship “s ee ed” by he child,
shaken by dange ous seas; people in he labou wa d a e desc ibed as “s ange
oices in command”, and he hy hmical con ac ions o he u e ine muscles a e
he wa es ha al e na ely “washed” he child “o e boa d” o “back again”, un il
“[a] las a ho wa e engul ed [ hem] / and swep [ hem] asho e” (23). When he
ad en u e inishes wi h a happy end, each cha ac e can eco e hei ue iden i y
and he mo he a i ms ha his ad en u e hey ha e gone h ough oge he has
es ablished be ween hem ies ha a e igh e han hose which linked hem in o he
womb.
[…]
So we su i ed.
I became mysel again
and held you;
o he s looked a e me
On ha wa m Sep embe e ening
I s ood up a e you bi h,
my body ligh — my spi i ligh e .
I looked o e a you,
close o me now
han you had been wi hin. (1993, 23
In “Liadain” (28), images o a pe soni ica ion o blood as a ehicle o
communica ion be ween he mo he and he daugh e in he womb appea on he
i s lines o he poem: “Blood-whispe and bone-shell / began oge he ; / hen he
P egnan Bodies/Embodied Subjec i i ies
77
blood whispe ed in me”(28). We ind also, as in O’Donnell’s “Daugh e ”, images
ha p opose an al e na i e secula ep esen a ion o he o igins o li e ha
challenges he eligious eaching. Li e becomes he p oduc o he in e ac ions o
elemen s coming om di e en places o he uni e se and a sense o magic is
in oduced h ough he use o numbe s —se en and h ee— as well as h ough he
p o ec i e spaces o ci cles, which ha e had a powe ul signi icance in all Indo-
Eu opean cul u es. Thus, he poe ic pe sona posi s he possibili y ha “se en s a s /
ga e he ligh as a gi / o c ea e he spi i -wo ld” and “ea h bloomed a he bi h”
(28).
The nex s anza comes down o ea h wi h he ea o being “d owned in
pain” (28), which we ha e al eady seen in poems analysed abo e, bu magic is
p esen again wi h he h ee ci cles made o people who a e going o welcome and
p o ec he child.18
I d eamed I d owned in pain
ill I saw he plunge
in o li e’s wa e s.
Th ee ci cles ippled ou wa ds,
h ee nu ses laughed wi h me —
a my pleasu e, my elie .
In he i s ci cle — hose
who welcomed he ; in he second —
hose who would sha e he li e. (1993, 28)
In he las s anzas, we ind again he image o he body as a beach ba hed by
wa es, bu his ime, he wa es a e calmed a e he s o m and hey ba he he
poe ic pe sona’s body wi h a eeling o pleni ude and happiness. The “ wo- aced
god” o he “Boa Island” is an image o he wo-sided eali y o childbi h, om
which pain and joy a e insepa able.
Quie as a sho e I lay he e,
and wa es o con en men swep
o e me. I needed no hing mo e.
Bu emembe ing Boa Island
whe e he wo- aced god
Reshaping Mi o s
78
s a es eas and wes —
I hough o my spli -second change
om pain o joy; el
his ancien gla e emb ace he nigh . (1993, 28)
1.7. Conclusion
In “The Fan asy o he Pe ec Mo he ” (1989), Nancy Chodo ow and Susan
Con a o acknowledge ha , wi hou denying he ac ha mo he ing can be
“con lic ual and opp essi e”, i can also be “emo ionally cen al and g a i ying in
some women’s li es” (79). Th ough he poems ha ha e been examined in his
chap e , we ha e seen how mo he hood can be opp essi e unde he cons ain s o
pa ia chal ideologies, which ha e conside ed women’s bodies as p ope ies ha
had o be con olled. Howe e , we ha e also seen ha p egnancy and childbi h
can be complex and ul illing expe iences when mo he hood is eely chosen. The
women poe s s udied in his chap e , ha e unea hed he physical eali ies o
mo he hood, making hem he aw ma e ial o c ea i e wo k ha challenges
philosophical dicho omies ha ha e condi ioned adi ional images o mo he hood,
as hey in eg a e mind and body in he ep esen a ion o an en iching pe sonal
expe ience.
The e canno be a uni ying heo y abou hese expe iences since hey a e
de e mined by pe sonal and social ci cums ances ha condi ion women’s li es.
Hence, p egnancy and childbi h a e li ed in adically di e en ways, depending
on he si ua ion o he woman who is he poe ic pe sona in he poems analysed
he e. In some o he poems, we ind a denuncia ion o he obsessi e ep ession o
women’s sexuali y by Ca holicism bu , in some o he s, eligious symbols,
associa ed o he bi h o Ch is , a e app op ia ed o ep esen he in ima e eelings
o p egnan women. Some poems ep esen mo he hood as some hing imposed
wi hou aking in o accoun woman’s will bu , some o he s exp ess woman’s
agency and de e mina ion o become a mo he . The di e si y o poin s o iew and
pe spec i es ha hese poems e lec , p o es ha mo he hood canno be simpli ied
P egnan Bodies/Embodied Subjec i i ies
79
and educed o heo e ical discou ses ha do no conside he speci ic loca ion in
which his expe ience akes place.
Reshaping Mi o s
86
Chodo ow also obse es ha Winnico “wa ns agains hinking o a ‘ma e nal
ins inc ’ and s esses ha he changes b ough abou by p egnancy mus be hough
o in psychological e ms, because hey a y so much wi h he s a e o he mo he ”
(Chodo ow, 23).
F om a adical an i-essen ialis eminis s andpoin Mª Xosé Queizán a i ms
in An i Na u a (2008) ha i is anach onis ic o speak o such a hing as ma e nal
ins inc , “aquel amo de nai baseado no impe io da na u eza, na o za do sangue”
(2008, 118). She asse s ha he e is no di e ence in he way mo he s ca e and
nu u e hei child en whe he biological o adop ed and adds ha ma e nal lo e is
no oo ed in animal ins inc s bu in indi idual consciousness. Queizán obse es
ha a p esen , in Spain, women can be no only biological, bu social and legal
mo he s; she welcomes he ac ha he e has been an inc easing pa icipa ion o
a he s in child ca ing o he las hi y yea s and a i ms ha hey eel happy and
g a i ied in doing his ask. Mo eo e , ma e nal lo e can be exe ed by homosexual
pa en s:
Pa ellas masculinas homosexuais adop an c ia u as que son a endidas con
<<amo de nai>>. Sen dúbida, no ela i o a compa i a e as coa pa ella, o
coidado da in ancia é o que os homes an con máis gus o. Daquela, nas
men alidades ac uais, lonxe quedan os ins inc os biolóxicos, sanguíneos,
u e inos. Rexen ou os alo es que nos achegan a ma e nidades e
pa e nidades in elixen es. (Queizán 2008, 118)
This heo ising welcomed he social and legal changes which allowed
homosexual and lesbian ma iage,1 as well as he ad ances in ep oduc i e
echnologies, which ha e helped o b eak he bounda ies o he nuclea
he e osexual amily as he only sui able se ing o b ing child en up. Mo eo e , in
he heo ising o mo he ing as a hough ul complex p ojec which she sepa a es
om he biological ac o bi hgi ing, Sa a Ruddik subsc ibes an an i-essen ialis
posi ion. Wi hou comple ely ejec ing he in luence o biology, Ruddik does no
hink ha sexual di e ence is mo e ele an in he a i udes equi ed o child
ca ing han o he social o indi idual di e ences:

Tying and Un ying Bonds
87
Al hough biological di e ences be ween emale and male s yles o mo he ing
migh su i e in an egali a ian socie y, I see no eason o belie e—and good
eason o doub — ha hese di e ences would make women (o men) mo e
“na u ally” sui ed o p o ec , nu u e and ain child en. (Ruddik 1994, 35)
In “Taken he Na u e Ou o Mo he ” (1993), Ad ia Schwa z asse s ha
he ad ance in ep oduc i e echnology “has shaken he e y ounda ion o ou
no ions o mo he hood and seems o ha e aken he na u e ou o Mo he Na u e”
(240-241). To he al eady a ied ca ego ies o mo he s, new ypes mus be added
wi hin he ca ego y o su ogacy. A g ea e hical deba e abou su ogacy a ose
when he i s cases came ou in he news and bio echnology opened new
possibili ies. A dis inc ion was es ablished be ween a gene ic su oga e, who
p o ides he own o um and is insemina ed wi h he spe m o a male dono , and he
ges a ional su oga e, who becomes p egnan h ough in i o e iliza ion bu is
no gene ically ela ed o he o sp ing.
A i s , hese ad ances we e g ee ed by many eminis s because hey
seemed o b eak he cons ain s placed on women by biology, as Schwa z poin s
ou : “The associa i e link be ween women, e ili y and mo he hood is being
e oded, i no b oken, in he labo a o y” (242). A he same ime, a new ange o
possibili ies we e open o single women, lesbian and homosexual couples who
can ha e child en gene ically ela ed o hem. Howe e , bo h Sa ah Ruddik and
Ad ia Schwa z ag ee in ha he amous Baby M ial case aised “ undamen al
ques ions abou mo he hood” in he Uni ed S a es (Schwa z, 242) and was u he
e idence o he need o e ise some eminis heo ising abou his issue.
Ma ybe h Whi ehead, who had al eady had wo child en, signed a con ac
o su ogacy and ag eed o be a i icially insemina ed by William S e n o
concei e a child o him and his wi e in exchange o en housand dolla s. Be o e
he p egnancy came o he end, Ma ybe h ecognised ha “she had made a g a e
mis ake” (Schwa z, 243) and, a e he child was bo n, she el ha she would no
be able o gi e he baby o he S e ns and in ended o keep i . She decided o gi e
back he money she had al eady been gi en as well as o ei ha which had been
p omised. Indigna ion and ange we e he public eac ions owa d he beha iou o
Reshaping Mi o s
88
a mo he who had ied i s o sell he child and hen o b eak a legal con ac ,
a i udes ha au oma ically de ined he as a mo ally unsui able mo he . Schwa z
obse es ha “[ ]he ac ha is elemen a y in con ac law ha pe o mance may
no be en o ced, bu me ely a ec s o he damages collec ed, made no di e ence”
(243).2
A he ini ial ial, an expe wi ness, psychologis Lee Salk s a ed ha “M .
and M s. S e n’s ole as pa en s was achie ed by a su oga e u e us and no a
su oga e mo he ” (Phyllis Chessle , 1989, 231, apud Schwa z, 243). I is clea in
his case ha he gene ic ma e ial p o ided by M . S e n — he A is o elian male
e ec i e and ac i e p inciple— p e ailed o e ha o Ma ybe h’s. Mo eo e , M s.
S e n was libe a ed om he na u al limi a ions o he body —mul iple scle osis—
and he igh s as mo al mo he we e achie ed h ough he legal connec ion wi h
Baby M’s gene ic a he , es ablishing once mo e he p e alence o he male line,
while Ma ybe h was educed o an u e us as Schwa z poin s ou :
Fa om being libe a ed om he body, in he s a e’s eyes, Ma ybe h
Whi ehead became he body o a he a disembodied pa -objec , an
ins umen al cons uc o ul il he needs o a man who wishes a gene ic
o sp ing. I she was only he body, o a he , a body pa , hen she could no
be a mo he . (1993, 243)
Baby M’s ial aised a s ong eminis deba e be ween “essen ialis s
championing women’s biological igh s o mo he hood, and social cons uc ionis s
ejoicing a hei libe a ion om he p imi i e bond o women’s ep oduc i e
capaci y” (Schwa z, 244).
All he echnological ad ances in in- i o e iliza ion which allow men o
ha e child en wi h hei genes concei ed in a hi ed womb as well as he
ascendancy o mo emen s o a he - igh s ein o ce he old A is o elian concep ion
o man as he ue pa en and woman as a empo a y e al incuba o , wi h no
subjec i i y o he own. In The Sac ed Bond: Legacy o Baby M. (1989), Phyllis
Chessle akes sides wi h he biological mo he a i ming ha only in a pa ia chal
socie y a woman’s labou and a achmen o he o sp ing would be ega ded less
aluable han he spe m o he a he and a con ac .3 She unde lines he ac ha in
Tying and Un ying Bonds
89
he p elimina y su ogacy ag eemen M. S e n was e e ed o as he “na u al
a he o “na u al and biological a he ” while Ma ybe h Whi ehead is e e ed o
exclusi ely as “su oga e” (Chessle , 1989, 167-173).4 I is clea ha , in his
con ac , wo di e en ca ego ies o na u e a e es ablished: he p imacy o he ue
na u e o he a he ’s spe m in con as wi h he non-essen ial quali y o he
mo he ’s o a, and he nulli ica ion o he womb, which is conside ed only “a
empo a y shel e ha may e en soon be eplica ed o subsumed by ep oduc i e
echnological ad ance” (Schwa z, 244).
Mo eo e , we can see in he news how p egnancy as an exclusi e emale
unc ion is in some cases omi ed om he seemingly innocen ashionable
language used o amous people, saying ha hey —bo h membe s o he
couple— a e p egnan , as well as he e asu e o he wo d woman o mo he which
is subs i u ed by hi ed womb. As an example o his I will ci e h ee pieces o
news: In he i s one Nicole Kidman and Kei h U ban p esen hei biological
daugh e Fai h Ma ga e h “concebida median e un ien e de alquile ”
(h p://muje .es.msn.com/celeb i ies/ 26/01/2010, 4). The second is an in e iew
(El País Semanal 14/01/2011), in which Ricky Ma in alks abou his win sons
who we e bo n om “un ien e de alquile ”, and in he hi d one a well- o-do
homosexual couple —legally ma ied in Spain— speak abou hei expe iences as
pa en s o hei child en (El País Semanal 29/05/2011, 36-46). In his case he
su oga e mo he s a e men ioned by hei names and he e a e wo pho og aphs in
he a icle in which each su oga e mo he appea s wi h he child en objec o
su ogacy oge he wi h he own amily, which sugges s ha he ies wi h he
biological mo he ha e no been cu comple ely. Howe e , when one o he a he s
—a gynaecologis — desc ibes his eelings abou he p egnancy and bi h o his
hi d son, we can obse e how he eelings, he pain and he whole pe sonhood o
he mo he disappea in a ou o he pa en s as he only p o agonis s o he e en
(i alics mine):
Yo soy ginecólogo, y he es ado muchos años ocupándome de pa os y
emba azos de al o iesgo. Veía a dia io complicaciones. Quizá po eso i í
Reshaping Mi o s
90
nues o emba azo con cie a ansiedad. Se me hizo e e no. En el pa o, cuando
nació Alonso y i que ompía a llo a con un llan o muy ené gico —pesó más
de cua o kilos—, sen í muchísima paz, me anquilicé, i que había llegado
bien. En cuan o le co a on el co dón umbilical nos hicimos ca go y a amos
de sepa a nos lo menos posible de él. (EPS 29/05/2011, 38)
This e asu e o he mo he as li egi e has been s a ed by Pa icia Kennedy
(2002). Kennedy de elops wha she calls “A Th ee Dimensional Model o
Mo he hood — Mo he as Ca e , Ea ne and Li egi e ” (8). She obse es ha ,
while he unc ion o ca e s and ea ne s can be passed on o o he people o e en
he S a e, “[i] is only woman who can concei e, lac a e and gi e bi h. I is only
he bi h mo he who is caugh in he g ips o labou pain. I is she who lies unde
he abo ionis , su e s he pain o a misca iage o he ecs asy o auma o bi h”
(7-8).
Fu he mo e, i is no clea ha biology can be dismissed so easily. Some
esea ch done wi h oden s in he las decades has shown ha some ho mones and
pep ides such as es ogen, p oges e one, oxi ocyn, co isol and asop essin
de e mine how well mo he s ca e o hei pups. Be h Aza acknowledges in “The
Pos pa um Cuddles: Inspi ed by Ho mones?” (2002, 54-56), he di icul y o
ansla ing he conclusions o hese expe imen s o human beha iou , as well as he
e hical es ic ions ha do no allow esea che s o manipula e human b ains; bu
Aza men ions some expe imen s ca ied ou a he Uni e si y o To on o by he
psychologis Alison Fleming and o he colleagues abou he in luence o co isol
on lac a ing mo he s.5 The le el o co isol g ea ly inc eases in he las phase o
p egnancy and d ops ab up ly a e deli e y. Acco ding o Aza , his esea ch
showed ha “women wi h highe le els o co isol pos pa um a e mo e a ac ed
o hei babies’ scen and mo e a en i e o hem” (Aza 2002, 54). The esul s o
his esea ch migh explain “ he exci emen , bonding and u e con en men o new
mo he hood, bols e ed by a lood o cuddle ho mones ha a e pa icula ly po en
in nu sing mo he s” (Aza , 2002, 54). This is an assump ion ha mos popula
magazines abou mo he ing ake o g an ed. These cuddle ho mones could be
somehow a sa egua d agains pos pa um dep ession. Bu Aza is e y cau ious
Tying and Un ying Bonds
91
abou pu ing all he weigh on biology and poin s ou ha “Fleming emphasizes
ha he esea ch inds ha co ela ions be ween ho mones and mo he s' beha io
a e usually media ed by en i onmen o he pa en s’ expe ience wi h babies and
ca egi ing” (Aza 2002, 54).6
Mo eo e , esea ch done abou he unc ion o he placen a and he na u e o
he in e changes ha ake place be ween he bodies o he mo he and he e us
du ing p egnancy pu s in o ques ion some widesp ead assump ions abou he
na u e o mo he -in an ela ionship. In an in e iew wi h Luce I iga ay (1993), he
biologis Hélène Rouch explains he complexi y o he unc ion o he placen a as a
“media ing space, which means ha he e’s ne e a usion o ma e nal and
emb yonic issues” (39). Al hough his o gan is a o ma ion o he emb yo, i ac s
in an almos independen way, playing i s “media ing ole” in di e en ways,
because i no only egula es he in e change o nu i ious subs ances and was e
ma e be ween mo he and e us, i also modi ies he me abolism o he mo he :
“ ans o ming, s o ing, and edis ibu ing ma e nal subs ances o bo h he own
and he e us’ bene i ” (39), c ea ing an en i onmen ha p o ides o a “peace ul
coexis ence” (39) be ween mo he and child:
This ela i e au onomy o he placen a, i s egula o y unc ions ensu ing he
g ow h o he one in he body o he o he , canno be educed, ei he o a
mechanism o usion (an ine able mix u e o he bodies o blood o mo he
and e us), o , con e sely, o one o agg ession ( he e us as o eign body
de ou ing om he inside, a ampi e in he ma e nal body). These
desc ip ions a e o imagina y eali y and appea qui e poo indeed—and
ob iously ex emely cul u ally de e mined—in compa ison o he complexi y
o biological eali y. (I iga ay 1993, 39)
Consequen ly, Rouch does no ag ee wi h psychoanaly ic heo isa ions abou
he usion be ween a child and his mo he du ing p egnancy and he i s mon hs
a e childbi h. Such a usion would ha e o be b oken by a hi d e m in o de o
he child o be cons i u ed as a subjec . Rouch a i ms ha “ he di e en ia ion
be ween he mo he ’s sel and he o he o he child, and ice e sa, is in place well
be o e i ’s gi en meaning in and by language” (42) and he eali y o his

Reshaping Mi o s
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di e en ia ion is no necessa ily in acco dance o ha o ou cul u al imagina y,
which has desc ibed i as a “loss o pa adise, auma izing expulsion o exclusion,
e c” (42). She does no accuse hese o ms o he imagina y o being w ong, bu
“o being he only ways o heo izing wha exis s be o e language” (42).
The e o e, esea ch done in he ield o biology a ec s heo isa ions abou
he na u e o he mo he -in an bond du ing p egnancy and pu s in o ques ion
psychoanaly ic explana ions abou he p ocess o subjec o ma ion o he
indi idual’s iden i y. In bo h F eudian and Lacanian heo isa ions he mo he is a
ixed passi e objec , wi hou any p e ious o u he iden i y apa om ha o a
mo he , unable o unde go any kind o pe sonal de elopmen in acco dance o in
con as o he child’s g owing. Mo eo e , as we ha e seen abo e, he mo he has
been o en educed o a ma e nal body and, mo e ecen ly, o a womb liable o
hi ing. Sa a Ruddick has no iced no only he absence o he oice o he mo he in
psychoanaly ic heo isa ions, bu also he concep ualisa ion o he child as
somebody who has o igh agains he abso bing lo e o he mo he o achie e a
eal subjec i i y.
No only is a mo he ’s oice i ually absen in psychoanaly ic ales; wo se,
he child ha psychoanalys s e eal is o en a s ange o he mo he . In one
dominan psychoanaly ic s o y, an in an is a i s pa o a mu ually desi ing
mo he -child couple. Then, s ill p ima ily a ached o “ he mo he ,” “ he
child” mo es h ough a s age o de elopmen ha sounds like a p elude o he
“ eal” hing—p eoedipal, p esymbolic. (Ruddick 1994, 32)
Ruddick also sugges s ha he obsessions o he “child he o o he
psychoanaly ic s o ies” (32) abou gende di e ence, sex, mo he and a he may
be a e lec ion o he p eoccupa ions o psychoanalys s hemsel es, and she
unde lines he s ong con as be ween wha she calls “psychoanaly ic ales” and
he s o ies some mo he s ell abou hei own expe iences:
When mo he s alk abou hemsel es, when hey appea as cha ac e s in hei
own ma e nal s o ies, hey o en depic hemsel es as g appling wi h
p oblems hei child en p esen o ha he wo ld p esen s o hei child en.
Bu his hinking mo he is no e lec ed in psychoanaly ic ales any mo e
Tying and Un ying Bonds
93
han she is in philosophy o mo e o dina y a ie ies o eminism. (Ruddick
1994, 33)
F om he ield o philosophy Jane Flax also accuses objec ela ions
heo is s7 o ha ing old he s o y o human de elopmen om he poin o iew o
he child. She lamen s ha “ he sepa a e aspec s o he de elopmen al p ocesses o
a mo he qua mo he and he child a e no adequa ely conside ed”. Each membe
o he dyad has di e en in e nal p ocesses which a e no ully in es iga ed.
Mo he and child ha e been conside ed as “misleadingly isomo phic” when, in
ac , hey go h ough “de elopmen al p ocesses speci ic o each pa ne in he dyad
as well as usion, mu uali y, and in e ac ion be ween hem” (Flax 1990, 123).
Al hough bo h mo he and child can sha e si ua ions o uni y, sepa a ion and
ecip oci y, he mo he ’s expe ience o his de elopmen and he meanings i has
o he “canno be iden ical o o con ounded wi h an accoun o he child’s
p ocess” (Flax 1990, 124). Mo e ecen ly, Celia Shi e (2009) has poin ed ou ha
dominan na a i es ha e “sublima ed o e en e ased he subjec who is called, and
who calls he sel , a “mo he ”’ (213), wi hou lea ing he “ oom o speak” (213).
2.3. Momen s o Enchan men
In his sec ion I will explo e how he mo he -child bond is exp essed by he
poe ic pe sonae o hese mo he s who add ess hei child en and ell hem hei
eelings abou he i s s ages o hei ela ionship. I will show how his i s s age
o he mo he -child bond has been ep esen ed in e y di e en ways in some
poems o Luz Pozo Ga za (2004), Ea an Boland (1982), Ma y O’Donnell (2006)
and Enda Wyley (2009). I will unde line in hese poems he oice o he mo he as
an ac i e subjec who, no only enjoys he connec edness o he child, bu is also
able o e lec abou he eelings and abou he changes ha becoming a mo he has
b ough abou . Such a mo he ’s oice con adic s he image o he silen passi e
objec o he child’s desi e o ha e so o en desc ibed in F eud’s and Lacan’s
heo ies. Besides, hese mo he s’ oices also con adic he assumed
Reshaping Mi o s
94
undi e en ia ing uni y o he mo he -child dyad and hey ecognise ha he child,
using K is e a’s wo ds, “once he / umbilical co d has been / se e ed” (1986, 178),
is he o he .
No connec ion. No hing o do
wi h i . And his, as ea ly as
he i s ges u es, c ies, s eps,
long be o e i s pe sonali y has
become my opponen . The
child, whe he he o she is i e-
mediably an o he . (K is e a 1986, 179)
In his line, Anne En igh desc ibes his momen o in ima e ecogni ion o
he child as an independen being and he eeling o wonde she expe iences a his
disco e y, which happened on he hi d nigh o he child’s li e:
I looked in o he eyes and ealized ha no hing I belie ed could explain his.
I was an emba assing momen . I hink I saw he soul. I su e ed om he
con ic ion ha a pa o he was ancien ; and ha pa chose o be he e wi h
me a he beginning o some hing new. I had a wise child. (2004, 111)
I I had o look o a common h ead in he di e si y o oices we ind he e, I
would say ha , in hese poems, women w i e s ha e ansla ed hei own
expe iences o mo he hood and i is he poe ic pe sona o he mo he he one who
add esses he child and ells him/he wha she eels, b eaking he silence she was
assigned by pa ia chal symbolic discou se.
In Luz Pozo Ga za’s “Nana de Oc ub e” (2004, 207-208) [1959] we ind
again —as in he poems commen ed in chap e 1— he hymes and me ics o
adi ional Spanish ly ics in a lullaby w i en a he ime when he i s daugh e
Mónica was bo n. The poem is he en h o he se ies o wel e belonging o he
“Ad ien o” collec ion we ha e al eady seen in chap e 1. In his calenda , Oc obe
is he mon h in which he child has al eady a i ed and he poe ic oice o he
mo he sings a swee lullaby o ge he asleep. Unde he symbols and images
equen ly used in Spanish adi ional and eligious ly ics we ind he wa m
a mosphe e o mo he -child in ense communion.
Tying and Un ying Bonds
95
The i s line o he poem, “[d]ué me e, mi niña”, is ecu en in many
popula Spanish lullabies ansmi ed o ally and is epea ed in lines wen y i e,
wen y nine and hi y h ee. The mo he u ges he child o sleep and gi es he he
easons why she should ge asleep. In popula lullabies he e a e equen
e e ences o he moon in he sky, o o he absence o he sun, as well as some
wa nings o wha migh happen i he child e uses o sleep. In his poem, he
mo he e e s o he a i al o he mon h o Oc obe accompanied by he clouds
and he ain o au umn. The mo he ans e s he singing o na u e, pe soni ied in
he cha ac e o Oc obe , while he only ays o sunligh le a e kep in he hea .
Dué me e, mi niña,
que ha enido Oc ub e
y quie e can a e
su canción de nube.
No quedan na anjas
en el na anjal.
No quedan limones
en el limona .
Quedan muy poqui os
ayi os de sol.
Es án bien gua dados
en mi co azón. (2004, 207)
The e e ences o o anges and lemons emind us o some popula omances
such as he “Romance de la Vi gen y el ciego” also known as “El na anjel”, o
which many di e en e sions ha e las ed o ou days. Mo eo e , o anges and
lemons ha e been widely used in Spanish popula ly ics as symbols associa ed
wi h lo e, as S ephen Recke has obse ed in Ly a Minima: S uc u e and Symbol
in Ibe ian T adi ional Ve se (1970):
The e is a consis en associa ion o o anges and lemons espec i ely wi h
gold and sil e , (o he whi e o pu i y) sun and moon, ipeness and
un ipeness, ui ulness and s e ili y, he accep ance and ejec ion o lo e, and
ul ima ely e en li e and dea h. (1970, 27)
The use o diminu i es, so common in child en’s songs, has an a ec i e
quali y and, a he same ime i has an e oca i e powe which gi es us he image
o a wo ld o oys inhabi ed by he cha ac e s o he ai y ales: li le ho ses and
Reshaping Mi o s
102
a end he child’s need and bo h mo he and child’s bodies ge in ouch in a way
ha has been conside ed he highes peak o he mo he -child bond. On he o he
hand, b eas eeding is a ha d ask ha akes a long ime, i is no always as se ene
as i should be expec ed and i implies mos o he imes lack o es o he mo he
and he impossibili y o being eplaced by o he membe s o he amily in he ask
o nu u ing he child. This ambi alence is e lec ed in Julia K is e a’s “S aba
Ma e ”:
Nigh s o wake ulness,
sca e ed sleep, swee ness o
he child, wa m me cu y in my
a ms, cajole y, a ec ion,
de enceless body, his o mine,
shel e ed, p o ec ed. (1986, 171-172)
In he memoi Anne En igh has ied o demys i y b eas eeding a i ming
ha she had ne e liked being a ound nu sing women because “ he e was always
oo much lo e, oo much need in he oom” (2004, 40) and asse s ha
b eas eeding “may be an iconised ac i i y made sac ed by some and disgus ing by
o he s, bu i is i s and o emos a meal” (41). She admi s ha she b eas ed he
child because she hough she should, and al hough she smiled and cooed he a bi
while doing his ac i i y, she ied o do o he hings simul aneously, like eading
o w i ing. En igh also obse es ha , despi e he Ca holic emphasis in he cul o
he Vi gin mo he and he na ionalis idealisa ion o he nu u ing mo he ,
b eas eeding was hidden and comple ely absen o public ep esen a ion. In
con as wi h he sca ci y o ep esen a ions o he Vi gin b eas eeding he child,
she humo ously no ices he abundance o ano he eligious image: “The closes he
cul u e came o an image o ac ual nu sing was in he icon o he Sac ed Hea ,
endlessly o e ing his male b eas , open and glowing and c owned wi h ho ns”
(43).
The ask o b eas eeding is no oman icised in Enda Wyley’s poem. The
poe ic pe sona desc ibes he i edness o “la e-nigh and ea ly-mo ning eeds” (47);
asks ha can be exhaus ing since hey mean epea ed in e up ions o sleep ha

Tying and Un ying Bonds
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ha e d awn “black ci cles below [he ] eyes" (47). She explains he s a e o
ale ness so amilia o mos mo he s, who eac immedia ely o he child sligh es
mo emen . The e is a con as be ween he ligh ness o he mo emen o he
child’s eyes and he numbness o he mo he caused by he lack o es . The image
o he mo he , who sees he sel as a “waking dead” coming ou om he “ omb-
s one” (47) migh sugges ha o a mo he - ampi e awakening a nigh o look o
nu u ance. We ind he coun e poin o his image in ha o a child- ampi e in
Anne En igh ’s desc ip ion o he i s expe ience o b eas eeding: “So he e we
we e in he hospi al da k; me and my whi e D acula, he chin unning wi h milk
and he eyes black” (2004, 44). Bu in Wyley’s poem i ep esen s jus he opposi e
o a ampi e. She is able o o e come he i edness so ha she can answe o he
need o he child:
[…]
and my sleep sho ens
wi h you shu ling,
you opening eyes.
Now I mus s umble o a en ion.
I am he waking dead,
pushing a omb-s one aside,
pulling you ou and up
om you baske wa m h. (2009, 47)
The nex lines e lec he biological esponse o he mo he o he child’s
need, because as soon as she s a s und essing he b eas she can eel hem illing
wi h milk. In he las line o his sec ion, he mo he exp esses he eeling ha
h ough he b eas she is eeding he child wi h he whole sel . We ind a simila
image in Xela A ias Da ío a dia io (1996) when she ells he baby ha she is “a
g an e a o ecida” (45).
I umble wi h bu ons,
and milk speeds
like ligh ening
h ough my b eas s.
I ill you mou h wi h me. (Wyley 2009, 47)
Reshaping Mi o s
104
In pa 5 o Enda Wyley’s “Dia y” he mo he con adic s he widesp ead
asse ion ha babies a e mos beau i ul when hey a e asleep, pe haps because i is
hen when he mo he is allowed a bi o es . Bu he poe ic pe sona ells he child
ha she/he is mos beau i ul when she/he is awake and admi es he i ali y o
child, and abo e all “The deep-cu ma k / abo e you nose / whe e hinking has
begun” (48). The las lines o he poem easse he mo he ’s con ic ion ha i was
he longing ha b ough he child home:
5.
Mos beau i ul when you wake,
you come o me esis ing ood
as you did sleep hou s be o e,
you inge s a web o ene gy,
you ace a housand kno s,
you skin blo ched wi h he s ains
o jus being ali e—
he deep-cu ma k
abo e you nose
whe e hinking has begun.
Oh, so much longing
b ough you he e. (2009, 48)
In Enda Wyley’s poem “Li le Hea ” (2009, 13), which is dedica ed o he
daugh e F eya, he scene depic ed sugges s a s a e o mo he -child connec edness
ha may well be insc ibed in o wha K is e a de ines he semio ic s age. The
mo he explo es he body o he child and inds aces o ood hidden in he olds
o he baby’ skin. The poem plays wi h he isual image o he in an ’s body
co e ed wi h pieces o s awbe ies and una ha does no awake any sense o
disgus on he mo he . Jus he con a y, she sees he co n beads as a necklace ha
makes he baby mo e lo able and can awake he sense o as e, as i she we e a
delicious meal eady o be ea en.
In you olds onigh
a e s awbe ies
o wash away,
some kno s o una
ne ed he e,
and up along
Tying and Un ying Bonds
105
you neckline
swee co n beads
ha make
a p ecious chain. (2009, 13)
In he second s anza he senso ial images a e he sounds he mo he canno
eally hea , bu she hinks hey esona e in o he baby’s head as memo ies o he
ac ual sounds, and she encou ages he li le hea o go on bea ing.
In you head
he dog is ba king
and he small wall clock
is gen ly icking,
you ongue clicking
o i s ime.
Li le hea
no ye hu ,
bea on. (2009, 13)
No ma e how much he ad an ages o b eas eeding may be p aised, he
ac is ha he e is no de ini e e idence ha he momen s o close in imacy and
mo he -child enchan men canno be achie ed when he mo he uses he bo le o
eed he baby. We can see how hese momen s a e e lec ed in Ma y O’Donnell’s
poem “Su i al Tac ics” (2006) [1993], and in Ea an Boland’s h ee sec ions o
“Domes ic In e io ”, i led “1. Nigh Feed”, “2. Mono ony” and “3. Hymn” (1995,
88-91) [1982].
In O’Donnell’s “Su i al Tac ics” (2006, 58) we ind he poe ic oice o he
mo he desc ibing he momen o eeding he child. The ac ha his ime he
mo he is using a bo le does no al e he eeling o in ima e connec ion be ween
mo he and child. And he poe ic pe sona shows he su p ise she eels be o e he
wisdom he child has acqui ed du ing he sho span o he li e. Wisdom ha goes
beyond he ins inc ual need o nou ishmen , and includes he skills necessa y o
a ac he mo he ’s a en ion. The mo he eels ha , o he baby, sucking is no a
i ial ask and ha she ies o ix he mo he ’s a en ion by s a ing a he wi h he
powe o he gaze. In his espec , we ind a simila eeling o su p ise in Anne
Reshaping Mi o s
106
En igh ’s i s expe ience o b eas eeding he daugh e : “Wha I emembe is how
ully human he gaze was, e en hough i was so new. She seemed o say ha his
was a se ious business, ha we we e in i oge he ” (44). The poe ic pe sona in
O’Donnell’s poem implici ly admi s ha he ins inc ual knowledge o he child
seems o exceed he expe ience she has achie ed along “hal [he ] li e”:
Sucking u iously, he eyes
bo e h ough me, unwa e ing.
The kid’s been he e be o e,
mo e expe ience in he eigh weeks
han I’ e managed in hal a li e,
knows how o look you s aigh
in he eye wi hou smiling,
hedging he be s
un il hunge pains e ea ,
he bo le hal -emp y. (O’Donnell 2006, 58)
The impo ance o he eyes has been s essed among o he s by Maxson J.
McDowell, who d aws on he wo k o Daniel S e n (1985) o a i m ha al hough
in an and mo he engage each o he h ough all hei senses, he eyes play a
c ucial ole in hei mu ual ecogni ion: “S e n’s model o de elopmen sugges s
why he eyes a e impo an . The mo he senses he in an ’s inne li e in pa
h ough he in an ’s eyes. Likewise, he in an senses he mo he ’s inne li e in pa
h ough he mo he ’s eyes” (McDowell 2004, 498).
Thus, mo he and child a e no p esen ed as an undi e en ia ed uni y, bu as
wo independen indi iduals who a e lea ning o know each o he . And in his
ela ionship i is no only he mo he he one who does he cooing, he baby seems
o ha e an inna e knowledge and abili y o win he lo e and a en ion o adul s.
Once he eeding has inished, he baby displays “ he smile ha mel s icebe gs /
aises sea-le els, could / sink he Ne he lands /o d own hal London / cooing
kindness”. The mo he makes a humo ous use o he o e sp ead ashion o sel -
help books and a i ms ha he baby has w i en a ea ise abou how o win
mo he s in a p e ious exis ence:
she ghos -w o e How o Win F iends
and In luence People,
Tying and Un ying Bonds
107
lea n in a p e ious exis ence
ha bees a e caugh
wi h honey, no inega .
and so a e mo he s. (O’Donnell 2006, 58)
Anne En igh no es he ac ha Ea an Boland’s choice o he bo le ins ead
o he b eas in “Nigh Feed”, “places he poem in he bland mode ni y o he
subu bs” (43) in which En igh g ew up, and she w i es ha she knows wha
middle-class women we e unning away om. En igh s a es ha “[a] e he
a i al o in an o mula 8 in he i ies, b eas - eeding became mo e o a chosen
middle-class ac i i y, bu i was s ill common in he coun yside” (43). Wi h bo le-
eeding also came he possibili y o ge ing id o a ask ha was linked wi h he
animali y and sexuali y o he mo he ’s body and had o be hidden, despi e he ac
ha I eland had, in En igh ’s wo ds, “ he closes hing o a cow cul ou side India”
(43). The bo le was a small symbol o he mode ni y and cleanliness o he
subu ban women’s li es and wi h i he disappea ance o he dis u bing image o
he mo he ’s body. I canno be denied ha i was also a ool ha allowed women
mo e eedom. Bu bo le- eeding is only one aspec o he changes ha we e
aking place in I eland. Mo e ele an o a is ic c ea ion was Boland’s claim o
he igh o ansla e women’s expe iences —including mo he hood— in o poe y,
as Niamh Nehi , has unde lined: “Wha is signi ican in his collec ion is
Boland’s epea ed associa ion be ween ma e ni y and poe y and he quie
insis ence ha he home, he nu se y, and e en he ki chen, a e places whe e poe y
can happen” (2011, 64).
Boland’s poem “Nigh Feed” e lec s he momen s o closes in imacy we
ha e al eady ound in Wyley and O’Donnell’s poems. The i s and second s anzas
se he ime o he scene ha akes place a dawn, when na u e is awakening,
lowe s and bi ds a e p epa ing hemsel es o g ee he sun and he mo he
“ ip oe[s]” in o he baby’s oom o ul ill he daily ou ine o eeding he .
Acco ding o Hehi , “[ ]his sugges s ha , o Boland, his is a ime o ansi ions, a
place o beginnings, whe e we a e p i y o minu e ans o ma ions, whe e we
sa ou he in e lude be o e ac ion, he b ie e lec i e medi a ion be o e ligh ”

Reshaping Mi o s
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(Hehi 2011, 64). I is also a ime o o ge he wo ies and enjoy he momen ha
belongs o mo he and child. The las e se o he second s anza, he momen when
‘ inde is keepe ’ (Boland, 88) ep esen s, in Hehi ´s wo ds, “a momen when
needs a e me and desi es a e sa is ied, when some hing los is momen a ily
ound” (Hehi 2011, 65).
I ip oe in.
I li you up
W iggling
In you osy, zipped sleepe .
Yes, his is he hou
Fo he ea ly bi d and me
When inde is keepe . (Boland 1995, 88)
The hi d and ou h s anzas desc ibe he su p ise o he mo he a he
in ensi y o he baby’s sucking and exp esses he o undi y o he eeling o
ul illmen wi h he s a emen : “This is he bes I can be / Housewi e / To his
nu se y / Whe e you hold on, / Dea li e” (88). These a e he momen s when he e
is no hing ha can in e e e in he ela ionship wi h he child and he mo he ully
accep s he ole as a kind o p i ilege ha allows he o sha e he bea ing o li e.
In he ou h s anza we ind again he impo ance o he child’s eyes in he
communica ion be ween mo he and child, he la e seeming upse once eeding
has inished. As he ea h is awakening, he momen o enchan men ades away in
he same way as he ace o he moon ades, s a s disappea and mo he and child
begin hei “long all om g ace” (88), when his s a e o bliss ul connec ion will
be subs i u ed by a p ocess o sepa a ion. The all om g ace sugges s he
p og essi e loss o his eeling o communion associa ed wi h his pa adise-like
space o he baby’s bed oom. Acco ding o Hehi , “[ ]his poem claims a new
e i o y o anscendence wi h he sugges ion ha he simple landscape o he
nu se y, he se ing o his nigh eed, becomes a si e o inspi a ion ha nou ishes
bo h he needs o he new baby and he poe mo he ” (Hehi 2011, 65).
A sil o milk.
The las suck.
Tying and Un ying Bonds
109
And now you eyes a e open,
Bi h-colou ed and o ended.
Ea h wakes.
You go back o sleep.
The eed is ended. (1995, 88)
The a mosphe e o in ima e closeness be ween mo he and child ha
pe ades “Nigh Feed” changes in “Mono ony” (1995, 89-90). The eeling o
in ense joy and peace ulness con as s wi h he wea iness and he doub s abou he
mo he ’s ole. In “Mono ony”, he poe ic oice o he mo he does no add ess he
daugh e bu he sel in a e lec ion abou he meaning o wha being a mo he
ep esen s o he . The scene akes place again in a ime o ansi ion be ween he
busy ac i i ies o he day and he es ul b eak he nigh b ings abou and i
desc ibes a momen when he household cho es ha e almos inished and “[ ]he
s illed hub / and pola d aw / o he subu b / closes in” (89). The mo he has no
inished he asks ye and is placed in a ansi ional space, nei he up no down, bu
“in he ound / o he s ai case / [he ] a ms shea ing nappies”, while in he mind
he e is a u moil o doub s and “a well o ques ions” ha pe haps “an o acle”
would be able o answe :
[…]
am I
a hese al a s,
wa m sh ines,
washing machines, d ie s
wi h hei incense
o men and in an s
p ies ess
o sac i ice? (1995, 89)
In con as o he con iden s a emen exp essed in “Nigh Feed”: “I am he
bes I can be”, he poe ic pe sona in “Mono ony” eels he con adic ion be ween
he idealised image o he mo he cons uc ed by Ca holic and Na ionalis
ideologies, which placed he mo he a he hea o home and a he co e o he
na ion, while he eali y was ma ked by he mono ony and i edness o he
Reshaping Mi o s
110
household cho es and he unde alua ion o women’s adi ional unc ions. The
poe ic pe sona asks he sel whe he she is “ he p ies ess” in his almos sac ed
ealm o he home, o he ic im o e ed in sac i ice o men and child en in he
“al a s” o an ideology o which mo he s’ sac i ices, made a “ hese al a s”, we e
aken o g an ed.
She le s “[he ] la e asks / wai like child en: / milk bo les, / he milkman’s
no e” (89), while she looks a he s a s o an answe o he ques ions. One can
pe cei e in he poe ic pe sona a shade o despai a he di icul y o libe a ing
he sel om he p osaic household cho es so as she can look a he skies in sea ch
o he immense possibili ies ha bo h na u e and old my hs can p o ide he wi h
o he poe ic c ea ion:
[…]
will I ind
my answe whe e
Vi go eaps?
He a ms shea ing
he hemisphe e,
hou a e igid hou ,
he i gin s a s,
he maidenhead
ma ied o o ce,
ha y us
o wed ou gleams
o b u e ou ines:
sols ices,
small amilies. (1995, 89-90)
Being he p ies ess o he home has no hing o do wi h he epic g andiosi y
o he my hs. In his sense, he men ion o Vi go9— he Vi gin— no only ca ies
wi h i he name o he la ges cons ella ion in he sky bu i also emb aces a
numbe o symbolic meanings associa ed o he ancien Goddess in he wo old
aspec s o Vi gin and mo he and hei powe o e na u e, as Neumann poin s ou :
Tying and Un ying Bonds
111
The childbea ing i gin, he G ea Mo he as a uni y o mo he and
i gin, appea s in a e y ea ly pe iod as he i gin wi h he ea o g ain,
he hea enly gold o he s a s, which co esponds o he ea hly gold o
he whea . This golden ea is a symbol o he luminous son who on he
lowe plane is bo ne as g ain in he ea h and in he c ib, and on he
highe plane appea s in he hea ens as he immo al luminous son o
nigh . (Neumann 1972, 317)
Howe e , he con as be ween Boland’s poe ic pe sona, who is “shea ing
nappies” (89) and Vi go, who is “shea ing he hemisphe e” (90), ep esen s he
dis ance be ween my h and eali y The las lines o his poem s a es he di icul y
o wedding “gleams” o “b u e ou ines” (90).
In “Hymn” (1995, 90-91), he poe ic oice o he mo he eco e s he eeling
o in imacy and peace ul accep ance o he sac i ices mo he hood en ails. Like in
“Nigh Feed” he i s s anza se s he scene a e dawn, a “[ ]ou a.m. / Decembe .
/A lamb / would pe ish ou he e” (90). The image o he lamb ecalls he image o
Ch is who, acco ding o Ch is ian adi ion was bo n in Decembe and was o be
he ic im o e ed in sac i ice o edeem humankind, ul illing Isaiah’s p ophesy
ha said: “he is b ough as a lamb o he slaugh e , and as a sheep be o e he
shea e s is dumb, so he opene h no his mou h” (Isaiah 53, 7). Bu in he nex
s anza he mo he dis ances he sel om his image o sac i ice because i “has
no hing in i / [she] wan [s] o ollow” (90). She accep s he unc ion o ca e and
nu u e and admi s he impo ance o he child, as he s a a ound whom he li e
e ol es, bu she se s his si ua ion in he e e yday li e o a subu ban landscape:
He e is he s a
o my na i i y:
a nu se y lamp
in a subu b window
behind which
is boiled glass, a bo le
and a baby all
hisses like a ke le. (1995, 90)
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118
acilas e ecólle-las ce ezas” (33). She ejec s he idea o an undi e en ia ed
mo he -child uni y. The image o he sel she p ojec s is ha o a g ea mo he who
p o ides o nu u ance and p o ec ion o he child and, a he same ime, she will
be he guide who will p e en him om aking dange ous ways which she does no
know exac ly whe e hey lead, bu she will y o show him “o mais exac o ca ei o
das es elas”. This pa h o he s a s is pe haps a symbol o he way she wan s he
son o ollow, he way o a wo ld whe e e e y hing —c ea i i y, pe sonal
au onomy and e en u opia— could be made possible. The mo he would like o
open he mind o he child o he explo a ion o he whole uni e se.
Non sangue do meu sangue.
Non ca ne da miña ca ne.
Son a g an e a o ecida,
a g an boca que e aga ima,
a man eno me en ecolle e.
Hei se quen che mos e e eña
po e di ixi quen sabe a onde,
anque coide p ocu a pa a i
o máis exac o ca ei o das es elas. (1996, 35)
The mo he has al eady assumed ha he day will come when he son will
say he goodbye, and she hopes ha all she will ha e augh him will enable him o
sha e he wo ld wi h o he people since he will be ca ying wi h him all he lo e
and ca e and e en some o he mo he ’s sins. The emphasis pu in he las wo d o
his sec ion, w i en in capi al le e s, plays wi h di e en meanings o he wo d
g ande in Galician language and unde lines he main hope o he mo he ha he
son will be no only big in size, g own up in age bu , abo e all, g ea :
E cando e despidas sabe
compa i-lo mundo cos demais.
Con igo ai
un cacho do meu aballo, al ez algún pecado,
o meu amo odo e po iba
i, sexas cando sexas, GRANDE. (1996, 35)
In he nex lines he mo he summa ises he ecei ed knowledge she al eady
has abou wha is good o he baby. She exp esses he conce n o a heal hy
physical de elopmen o he child as well as o se ing he bes en i onmen al

Tying and Un ying Bonds
119
condi ions ha will acili a e he in an ’s acquisi ion o language bu , abo e all, she
asse s he con ic ion ha she will no impose on he child he own ision o he
wo ld; he ask will be o p o ide he child wi h all he s imuli necessa y o spu
his c ea i i y, so ha he will be able o c ea e his own concep ion o he wo ld:
Se andas a ga iñas ó ma-la columna
e a plan a dos pés;
Se e alimen as ó meu pei o med as san,
exo e o e.
Se che alamos con ino, a modo
ecompós e mos e ases.
Se a luz non é moi o e
descansan os eus ímpe os de neno.
Se e-lo i mo da música has
ima-lo aceno dos días.
Se es imulado, c ea a-lo mundo sen que cho impoñan…(1996, 45)
The mo he makes un o he sel abou all he knowledge abou
educa ion she has shown in he p e ious lines, bu she s a es ha all o ha is
no hing compa ed o he new hings he baby su p ises he wi h con inually:
“¡Can o sei! E, sen emba go, / que ananez pe an e an a no idade / que i
agasallas a cada ins an e” (45). And she aknowledges ha “hai posible en se
mulle un p i ilexio imposible de ans e i ” (47).
Once again he mo he asse s he main aim in he educa ion o he
son, con adic ing once mo e he eeling o s ong possessi eness all mo he s
a e supposed o ha e: she wishes him o be he ac i e agen o his
de elopmen : “Que con cabeza e co azón limpo di ixas, / meu ben, / a
o ques a da úa ida” (49). She is pe ec ly awa e ha he e will be a lo o
people who will y o impose on he child’s mind a lo o di e en se s o
“moldes pe ec os” (51). E en she, who wan s he son o be ee, ecognises
ha she will y o model him a e o agains he sel , con adic ing he own
p inciples, bu she hopes ha he son will be able o ind his own way, e en
i i would be di icul o he o accep ha he boy did no choose he pa h
she shows him.
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Eu mesma que lib e e deseño, can o
de min po min, de min con a min non en a ei
in oduci .
Que saibas de uí-las ma cas e ap opia e,
ace eu o aceno, e só aquel que elixas. (1996, 51)
The mo he ’s lo e o he child will enable he o accep his eedom o
choice because she knows ha “así se an / as pe soas humanas” (53) and she will
be mos happy i he son ully achie es he ca ego y o a human being.
In Luz Pozo Ga za’s poem “A meniña Mónica iden i ica o Rei” (2004, 508-
509) he e is a e e ence in he i s line o Al a o Cunquei o’s no el Un homb e
que se pa ecía a O es es (1969), in which he old my h, oo ed in he T ojan wa s
and de eloped in Aeschylus’s O es iada, is eshaped in a way ha allows he
a empo ali y o he plo .11 In Cunquei o’s no el, Egis o and Cli emnes a a e
wai ing o he enge ul O es es, who wan s o ake e enge o he mu de ous
dea h o his a he Agamenon. Bu , despi e he deploymen o spies, hey mis ake
some o eigne s o O es es while he eal one was es his ime delaying his
e enge.
In his poem, he poe ic pe sona o Luz Pozo Ga za add esses he li le
daugh e Mónica asking he o look h ough he window and see i he King is
coming. When he gi l ells he ha she does no know he King, he answe o he
mo he c ea es an a mosphe e ha echoes ha o legends and ai y ales o ell he
li le gi l he signs ha will allow he o ecognize he king: “Coñece alo polo a co
da ne e / pola ola de lume / po canción mani es a…” (508).
The gi l imagines him like a ai y- ale king on ho seback and wea ing a
c own o diamonds, and asks he mo he i he is coming h ough he po ico o
d eams. Wi h his ques ion, he gi l adop s he wo ld o magic and an asy he
mo he is c ea ing o he , a wo ld in which d eams can be ul illed. The mo he
ein o ces his eeling gi ing he gi l mo e magical elemen s ha will announce he
coming o he King. She will ecognise him “polas a es sec e as / pola liña do
en o / polos ollos lu iais” (508). Bu in he wel h line a man appea s agains he
Tying and Un ying Bonds
121
ligh , who does no i he image o he wonde ul King since he is coming
“ ansido de noi e / ansido de mágoa / ansido de amo …” (508) and he is
ca ying in his hand a book and a blooming piece e o b oom. The mo he obse es
ha he akes a e he gi l’s a he and claims o him he honou s due o his ank
because he is hei King:
Que lle bo en axiña unha al omb a de lilas
unha ponla de pombas
unha palma de luz
¡Ese é o noso Rei! (2004, 509)
The b oom and he book he a he is ca ying ha e a special signi icance:
he b oom plan —also known as Sco ch b oom and I ish b oom— is linked in
Cel ic adi ion wi h he sac ed and magic, despi e, o pe haps because o , he ac
ha i con ains a oxic alkaloid called cy isine.12 The b ooms made wi h hem we e
ools commonly used o sweep he house and he ashes o he hea h. Bu hey also
had a highe unc ion when used o clean and pu i y i ual spaces. Besides, b ooms
ha e been adi ionally associa ed wi h wi chc a due o hei magical powe o
ly. Thus, he blooming b oom has a powe ul e oca i e sense o connec ion wi h
old concep ualisa ions o he sac ed and magic which links Galicia wi h he o he
Cel ic peoples and, a he same ime, wi h he wa m h o home. On he o he hand,
books a e ools o cul u e. They allow us o go beyond he bounds o space and
ime and nu u e ou imagina ion so ha we can li e in a dimension whe e
e e y hing, magic included, is possible. In his poem i is he mo he who nu u es
he imagina ion o he gi l and opens he mind so ha ha she will be able o
acknowledge he a he and he ools o cul u e he b ings wi h him.
In Sinéad Mo issey’s poem “Augus ine Sleeping Be o e He Can Talk”
(2009, 31), he e is a signi ican di e ence wi h he poems we ha e analysed so
a : he poe ic pe sona o he mo he does no add esses he child, bu adop s he
posi ion o a de ached obse e o he de elopmen o he son, ying o guess how
he may eco d and o ganise his expe iences while he is sleeping, and cons uing
he own heo y o how he baby is acqui ing knowledge h ough senso y
Reshaping Mi o s
122
expe iences. In he i s line she asse s ha “[ ]he only places he can di e o a e
he senses” and, in he nex lines, he e is no only a desc ip ion o he images he
child has pe cei ed, bu she also places he sel in a posi ion om which she can
expe ience he wo ld om he child’s pe spec i e and pu o wa d an in e p e a ion
o he child’s eac ions o hese s imuli. Thus, “[ ]he Ch is mas ligh s his a he
dangled om he co ne s / o his ceiling in July a e his palimpses o he wo ld—
/ a winking on and o o ebullien colou , unnamed and so un amed, / o be
commi ed o memo y and hen w i en o e ” (31).
The e is also a e lec ion abou language as he elemen ha will in oduce
o de and meaning in o he happy chaos o he child’s li e o whom he wo ld is
s ill a place o be enjoyed wi hou ea , be o e he ules and cons ain s o socie y,
he Lacanian symbolic o de , may all upon him and de e mine how he will be
modelled and i ed in o w i en heo ies “wi h he mean-spi i ed anishing ac o
an ink-black ho izon” (31):
Fo now he wo ld is simply o be c awled in o, like he sea,
o which he has no ea , a bubbling, ansmog i ying, all-
a ac ing mechanism ha has no ye disappoin ed
wi h he mean-spi i ed anishing ac o an ink-black ho izon. (2009, 31)
Meanwhile, he child has al eady explo ed he po en iali y o his senses. He
has al eady disco e ed he mys e y o he ongue as a si e o expe ience pleasan
sensa ions and as a ool o p oduce sounds, and “ ha when he opens / his mou h o
admi he spoon, any hing can happen, / om passion ui o pa mesan,” he
sounds o his name, “and he pu ing / o ca s and ca s and he howling o dogs and
i ewo ks. / His inge s adjus he u s o he sheepswool coa / he lies on in his
sleep” (31). And he mo he concludes ha hese a e he only hings he child can
di e in o, because i would be h illing o accep ha i could be possible o ace
back he child’s memo ies beyond he mo he ’s womb o “ he undisco e ed bou ne
poo Hamle d eamed / o en e ing” (31). The e e ence o Shakespea e’s Hamle
[1605] ein o ces he ea o he blu ing o bounda ies be ween his wo ld and
o he unknown wo lds ha may happen in ou d eams: “Bu ha he d ead o
Tying and Un ying Bonds
123
some hing a e dea h / Tha undisco e ’d coun y om whose bou ne / No
a elle e u ns, puzzles he will” (Hamle ac 3, scene 1).
All his can only be whe e he goes— he e can be no o he possibili y—
unless we accep ha memo y begins in he womb o back,
s ill u he , in he undisco e ed bou ne poo Hamle d eamed
o en e ing wi hou map o compass as a deli e ance
om he sigh o ou back ga den in Sep embe , he apple ee
keeled o e and canke ed and he uchsia dis obed. (2009, 31)
The mo he is a aid o wha could happen in hose places whe e he child
may be d awn by his d eams. She asks he sel wha will happen “[i] he e e
bombs inside a swimming pool, o deep-sea di es / o moon walks” (31). These
a e he hings on which she has no con ol and he only hope is ha pe haps “he
may emembe / wha i el like o wake when he was one, and ha i was / a slow,
ale su acing owa ds he mo ning” (31).
The issue o how language de elops and knowledge is acqui ed appea s
again in Sinéad Mo issey’s “Ca hed al” (2009, 53). In his poem, he poe ic
pe sona o he mo he add esses he son and ells him he p econcei ed ideas she
p e iously had abou how he was going o acqui e language, a p ocess in which
she was going o ha e an ac i e ole in ma king he s eps “[a]s hough he wo ld
we e a spi al s ai case, / and he o de in which you ascend i / al eady se , I
wan ed he wo ds / you a emp ed i s o be solid and ob ious: / apple, inge ,
spoon” (53). The men ion o he “spi al s ai case” eminds us o Alice alling
down in o he abbi ’s hole in Lewis Ca oll’s Alice’s Ad en u es in Wonde land
(1865). Bu he mo he hinks ha he child is no going o descend he s ai case
bu o ascend h ough i . She will censo he images she does no conside
adequa e, e en some animals in he “baby book”, and will choose hose she hinks
mo e app op ia e o be in oduced o he child:
[…] The ba
hanging like a blis e in you d ool-p oo
baby book o he lo esick c icke
wi h i s gossame ins umen

Reshaping Mi o s
124
we we e su ely o be held back:
un il I could explain, un il I could build
you a zoo o imp obable candida es
and p ope ly in oduce you. (2009, 53)
Howe e , he child does no ollow he o de ed s ages he mo he expec s o
and she has o admi ha he baby is “ oo quick” and he p ocess uncon ainable,
“like panic, he e was no s opping i ” (53). Language seems o be c ea ed by he
child a andom, ou o his own inne and ou e expe iences and, “in wha e e
amshackle o de / i made i s p esence el ” i is as i i “ ained down and in o” he
child like “Ca he ine Lin on’s wine- h ough-wa e / d eam o he hea h and
expulsion / om hea en” (53). The men ion o Ca he ine Lin on in oduces he
unconscious, he uncon ollable wo ld o d eams and e e s o Emily B ön e’s
Wu he ing Heigh s [1847], in which he cha ac e o his name ells Nelly Dean
ha she had had d eams ha changed he ideas: “ hey’ e gone h ough and
h ough me, like wine h ough wa e , and al e ed he colou o my mind” (B ön e
1963, 72) [1847]. The mo he in “Ca hed al” acknowledges ha i is impossible o
he o con ol he powe o expe iences ha ha e he capabili y o soaking he
child like ain:
[…] I canno hang
a cu ain o keep i o . I canno
sec ion i . I is en e ing ia
he ea ’s aqueduc , e e y
lis ening second, ickling in
o i s base equilib ium
and ca ying wi h i an image in nega i e
o be abso bed by he b ain and s o ed. (2009, 53)
Knowledge and language p o e o be able o bu s h ough he na ow limi s
o he home and o he amily and he child su p ises his pa en s when he is able o
epea wha he hea d om an unknown man and, mo e shockingly, when he can
cons uc and gi e u e ance o some hing ha expands he bounda ies o his
seemingly knowable wo ld, opening i o he uncon ollable powe o d eams and
Tying and Un ying Bonds
125
o an imagina i e wo ld o his own, as i he had allen in o he abbi ’s hole a e
all. I is he e i ica ion o his ha lea es his pa en s “speechless”:
Bah! Humbug! You say, aged wo,
like he e ible man
in he cape wi h he walking s ick
you glimpsed in he a e noon,
and wha we assumed you knew
is jol ed on i s axis; hen his:
a six o’clock he ghos
o a child migh come and ea po idge.
We a e speechless. (2009, 53)
The h ea ening powe o d eams o ep esen ou mos in ima e and
unconscious desi es and ea s appea s again in Sinéad Mo issey’s “Th ough he
Squa e Window” (2009, 32). The poe ic pe sona o he mo he desc ibes a
nigh ma e in which he dead a e haun ing he house and she is e i ied o hem
being a e he son. The scene is se in he beau i ul landscape o S ang o d
Lough.13 In he sky abo e he Lough he clouds “a e s acked” like hose in
Johannes Ve mee ’s View o Del , bu he s illness o he landscape in Ve mee ’s
pain ing does no conceal he h ea o ain, which in some o Mo isseys’s poems
is a h ea ening symbol o unknown dange . Thus, he dead, like ain had a i ed
“ o wash he windows o [he ] house” (32). The peace ulness o he landscape o
he Lough con as s wi h he anguish o he mo he who eels de enseless o
p o ec bo h he sel and he son agains he uncon ollable ea s ha haun he
d eams and “[ ]he e a e no blinds” (32) o shu ou he windows o he house no
hose o he mind, so ha she can p e en he huge heads o he dead o pee
h ough hem: “The heads o he dead a e huge. I wonde / i i ’s my son hey’ e
a e , his / e o less b ea h, his ibbon o yea s” (32).
Howe e , he daun ing appea ance o he dead has no a ec ed he child,
who “sleeps on un ega ded in his co , / inu ed, i would seem, qui e na u ally / o
he sluicing and ba e ing and pa ing back o glass / ha deli e s his shining
ex e io …”(32). The sense o mys e y is ein o ced by ano he dis u bing image:
“One blue boy holds a ag in his ee h / be ween panes like a conju o ” (32). The
Reshaping Mi o s
126
image o he blue boy migh e e o one o he mos popula ep esen a ions o
hand pain ed adi ional po e y o Del , bu i may also e e o Thomas
Gainsbo ough’s po ai o Jona han Bu al The Blue Boy (1770), called so because
he boy is d essed in blue silk.14 Wha e e possibili y we conside , i is undeniable
ha he poem sub e s a ep esen a ion o beau y and innocence ans o ming i
in o a menacing image o a boy wi h a “ ag in his ee h”, al hough he can ac as a
conju o and make possible he depa u e o he dead.
Once he dead a e gone, he landscape eco e s i s amilia appea ance,
al hough o he poe ic pe sona, waking up om he nigh ma e does no mean
ge ing id o he ea s. She eels all he anguish accumula ed in he body as i she
was su e ing om “d opsy”,15 bu she eels also like he bo le ha con ains he
“he balis ’s cu e” o his illness, and he mou h is closed wi h a co k, in an image
ha e lec s he impo ence o cu e he anguish and he impossibili y o alking
abou and/o ep esen ing hese i a ional ea s.
And hen, as suddenly as hey came, hey go.
And he e is a ho izon
om which only he clouds s a e in,
he massed canopies o Hazelbank,
he se e ed ip o he S ang o d Peninsula,
and he densi y o he oom I ind i di icul o b ea he in
un il I wake, la on my back wi h a co k
in my mou h, bo le-s oppe ed, in ac ,
like a he balis ’s cu e o d opsy. (2009, 32)
2.5. Conclusion
Th ough he poems analysed in his chap e we ha e seen mo he s’ oices
ha b eak he na ow limi s o adi ional discou ses abou he mo he -child bond,
which ha e ep esen ed silen , passi e images o a mo he embedded in abso bing
lo e wi h he child. I is ue ha he mo he s in hese poems a e engaged in a close
ela ionship wi h hei child en and ha hey enjoy his connec edness. Howe e , i
is also e iden ha hey see hei child as a subjec wi h an iden i y o his/he own,
Tying and Un ying Bonds
127
con adic ing he widesp ead heo ising o adi ional psychoanalysis abou he
undi e en ia ed uni y o he mo he -child dyad ha needs o be se e ed so ha he
child can achie e his/he own pe sonhood. In his chap e , we ha e ound
“ hinking mo he s” who, no only exp ess lo e o hei child en bu a e also able
o e lec abou hei ela ionship and wan o acili a e hei child en’s
de elopmen al p ocess. In doing so, hese poe ic pe sonae show an agency ha
disowns ep esen a ions o he mo he as a passi e objec o hei child en’s lo e
and/o ha e. Mo eo e , some o hese poems depic ma e nal unc ions, like
eeding he child, ha had been idealised o sublima ed, gi ing ep esen a ion o
ambi alen eelings ha e lec he momen s o in imacy bu also he i edness o
sleepless nigh s.
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134
ook away wi h he he clea ly es ablished assump ions abou he kind o issues
ha could be sui able o accep able o insc ibe in o he I ish poem:
The na ional e hos, as i had been allowed in o I ish w i ing, con inued o
issue ce ain pe missions as o wha he poem could be abou . You could ha e
a poli ical mu de in i , bu no a baby. You could ha e he Dublin hills, bu
no he subu bs unde hem. This is a i al poin in conside ing he poem
w i en by he I ish woman poe . The li e o he I ish woman — he o dina y,
li ed li e— was in isible and, when i became isible, was conside ed
inapp op ia e as a heme o I ish poe y. (Boland 2001b, 104)
In an in e iew wi h Jody Allen Randolph (2007) [1993] Boland obse es
ha “[ ]he o dina y li ed li e o he woman was some hing which migh come in o
he objec -ma e o he poem, bu couldn’ be imagined as he subjec i e s ance o
i ” (103). The poem a woman w i e was o e ed had o be “gende less” (103) and
he bes hing ha could be said o a poe ’s wo k was ha “you ne e know i was
by a woman” (103). Agains his, Ea an Boland eac ed claiming he igh o pu in
he poe y he li e as a w i e , wi e and mo he o young child en li ing in he
subu bia o Dublin.
In he poem “I ’s a Woman’s Wo ld” (1995, 79-80) he emale poe ic
pe sona explains how women’s li es ha e ha dly changed since p ehis o ic imes;
“since a wheel i s / whe ed a kni e” (79), and how women ha e been elega ed o
he enclosed domes ic space and excluded om his o y. The speaking oice admi s
ha he e ha e been changes ha may ha e imp o ed people’s li es, bu which
ha e no g ea ly a ec ed hose o women:
Maybe lame
bu ns mo e g eedily,
and wheels a e s eadie
bu we’ e he same. (1995, 79)
Wi h a sligh ouch o i ony, he poe ic pe sona emphasises he ac ha he
only “miles ones” ha migh ha e highligh ed he li es o women a e hei
“o e sigh s”. Women’s his o y has been de ined by e e yday asks ha ha e
main ained hem ou side his o ical and cul u al de elopmen : “li ing by he ligh s /

Red essing he Balance
135
o he loa le / by he cash egis e , / he washing powde / paid o and w apped”
(79). Women’s li es a e de ined “like mos his o ic peoples” by wha - hey-a e-no ,
by hei absence om he domain o his o y and cul u e, by he lack o possibili ies
o lying high, “by wha we ne e will be” (79):
s a -gaze s,
i e ea e s.
I ’s ou alibi
o all ime:
as a as his o y goes
we we e ne e
on he scene o he c ime. (1995, 79)
The poe ic pe sona pu s a leas pa o he blame on women hemsel es
who, in he ace o some d ama ic his o ical e en s, “when he king’s head / go ed
i s baske ”, hey ca ied on wi h he domes ic asks and adop ed a passi e posi ion
o spec a o s: “We we e g is ing b ead / o ge ing he ecipe / o a good soup / o
appe ize / ou gossip” (80). In he nex s anzas she lamen s ha he si ua ion has
no changed ye . Mo he s’ ole con inues o be a decisi e ac o in he socialisa ion
o child en in o adi ional alues, a ac ing hem like mo hs o he lame o home,
ins ead o pushing hem in o he s eam o his o ical changes. Al hough he poem
e e s o child en, wi hou dis inc ion o gende , i is undeniable ha his
socialisa ion has been mo e decisi e o daugh e s han o sons in he pe pe ua ion
o he oles ha ied women o he home. The poe ic pe sona lamen s he absence
o w i en eco ds ha can unea h he unw i en women’s li es —some hing ha
Vi ginia Wool had al eady unde lined in A Room o One’s Own— and lamen s he
lack o eac ions o his injus ice:
I ’s s ill he same.
By nigh ou windows
Mo h ou child en
To he lame
O hea h no his o y.
And s ill no page
Reshaping Mi o s
136
Sco es he low music
O ou ou age. (1995, 80)
And using again i ony, which is he pe ading one o he poem, she
compa es he sel —“he mou h / a bu ning plume”— wi h ano he woman she is
wa ching who, al hough she seems o be abso bed in he con empla ion o “ he
s a y mys e y”, is “no i e-ea e ”, bu only a neighbou who “is me ely ge ing a
b ea h / o e ening ai ” (80).
Ea an Boland has decla ed ha among he many challenges women poe s
had, and s ill ha e, o ace, one o he mos impo an is o “dis up he pe missions
issued by he adi ion o I ish poe y and pu hei li es— hei ga dens, hei
iendships, hei washing machines, hei ision o he connec ion be ween hei
li e and i s exp ession in o he I ish poem” (2001, 105). She has done i and he e
a e o he women poe s who ha e done i and who a e s ill doing his. She ci es
Paula Meehan, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, and Medbh
McGuckian among he poe s whose wo k she admi es. Boland claims ha hei
poems canno be conside ed poems w i en by women abou women’s issues and
aimed a women eade s. On he con a y, she a i ms ha hese poems a e
p ima ily “good poems” which “will be ead and alued in places whe e he e is
no knowledge o he dis up ion hey caused, he balances hey upse , he adi ional
silences hey b oke” (2001, 105). And she da es o assu e ha all his will b ing a
“gene ous es uc u ing o con ex ” in I ish Poe y (2001, 105).
Ea an Boland has also w i en ex ensi ely on he di icul y o in eg a ing he
p i a e sel wi h a pe sonal poe ic oice, bu she decided o do i and she explained
he eason why she did i : “I wan ed o p o e my li e in poe y. And ha in u n
had o do wi h he ac ha , un il hen, I couldn’ ind my li e in poe y. The
adi ion I knew and he poem I had lea ned o w i e didn’ name i ” (2007, 107).
In “The Women” (1995, 114), he poe ic oice desc ibes he happiness o he
momen when she can concen a e on he c ea i e powe s. The speaking oice o
he woman places he sel in a kind o liminal ime and space which can be seen as
a ansi ion be ween he wo iden i ies: The housewi e and he woman w i e :
Red essing he Balance
137
This is he hou I lo e: he in-be ween,
nei he he e-no he e hou o e ening.
The ai is ea-colou ed in he ga den.
The b ia ose is spilled c epe- he-Chine. (1995, 114)
The image o he woman “going up he s ai s in wo minds” sugges s a
shi ing om he ole o a housewi e, wo ied by household du ies, o ha o he
w i e who is seeking o ime o de elop he c ea i i y. As she goes up she is
“lea ing some hing behind”. The space downs ai s is he place whe e mos o he
du ies as mo he and wi e a e pe o med. I could also ep esen a lowe space
whe e unde alued asks ake place, in con as o he space ups ai s, whe e highly
alued c ea i e ask a e de eloped. Bu , signi ican ly, while going ups ai s he
poe ic pe sona is s ill ca ying hings, “clo h o glass”, which belong o he iden i y
as housewi e and she has doub s abou b inging wi h he some hing she “should
ha e le behind”. This line could be unde s ood as he need o he woman poe o
lea e behind he pa e ns and issues dic a ed by male poe s and o ind he own
oice. Howe e , she akes hese objec s ups ai s wi h he . The poe ic oice
exp esses he ins abili y o iden i ies and he di icul y o sepa a ing he wo
wo lds. Mo eo e , in b inging wi h he “clo h o glass”, he aim is o in eg a e he
wo sel es ansla ing in o he w i ing he li e as a subu ban woman.
The poe ic pe sona enjoys he ans o ma ion she expe imen s when she
can es he c ea i e powe s and a wo ld o in ini e possibili ies o ep esen a ion
opens up. The e o e, “in he wo ds [she] choose[s]” and “ he lines [she] w i e[s]”,
she can wea e a apes y ull o images o women ha “ ise like isions” be o e
he :
The hou o change, o me amo phosis,
o shape-shi ing ins abili ies.
My ime o six h sense and second sigh
when in he wo ds I choose, he lines I w i e,
hey ise like isions and appea o me. (1995, 114)
In he ollowing s anzas, he poe ic pe sona desc ibes he sel a he desk
engaged in an exci ing c ea i e ask, “ es ing he wa e wi h a swee qua e , / he
Reshaping Mi o s
138
physical o ce o a dissonance— / he ission o music in o syllabic hea ”, h ough
which she can ende he wide ange o women’s images ha can be he subjec
ma e o he c ea ion, om o dina y o my hical women:
women o wo k, o leisu e, o he nigh ,
in s o e-colou ed silks, in lace, in no hing
wi h c ewel needles, wi h books, wi h wide-open legs
who led he ho legs o he god pu suing,
who an om he spli hoo and he hick lips
and ell and g ie ed and healed in o my h. (1995, 114)
Bu c ea i e wo k is no an easy ask and, in he las s anzas, he poe ic
pe sona ge s “sick” o he s uggles wi h e ses and goes downs ai s “in o a
landscape wi hou emphasis, / ligh , linea , p ecisely planned, / a hemisphe e o
ie ed, ai ed co on,” (114). This going downs ai s can be ead om wo le els o
ep esen a ion: he i s one could be he dange o women o a e ea om he
s ain ha c ea i e wo k demands by seeking e uge in he es ablished domes ic
oles; he second one would be he di icul y o a woman w i e o c ea e new
li e a y image y and he emp a ion o go downs ai s o he male w i e s’
adi ional emale images, whe e e e y hing “is p ecisely planned” (114).
In “Limi s 2” (2001a, 43), Boland ep esen s he own expe ience as a
subu ban woman engaged in a ou ine ha , in acco dance o he i le, se s he limi s
ha encage he in he ole o housewi e and mo he o li le child en, whose li e
seems o be de e mined by he cycles o na u e and he domes ic asks associa ed
o hem:
I he e was
a na a i e o my li e
in hose yea s, hen
le his
be he sound o i —
he season, in, season ou
sound o
he g ind o
my neighbou ’s shea s. (2001a, 43)
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139
Desc ibing he li e in he subu bs Boland explains ha , in he lexicon, he e
we e “ he ke le and he s eam, and he machine in he co ne and he ki chen, and
he baby’s bo le” and ha “no o w i e abou hem would ha e been a i icial”
(2007, 108) since hey we e inse ed in he li e. Howe e , in he las lines o
“Limi s 2”, he beau y o Augus has o he he “music o limi a ion” (43) while
he landscape seems also educed o he Dublin hills ha delimi he ho izon which
encases he in a na a i e de e mined by adi ional images o homeliness:
O my child en sleeping in
A simple wo ld:
An i on edge
The o igin o o de . (2001a, 43)
The poe ic pe sona in Boland’s poem “Is I S ill he Same” (2001a, 47),
adop s a de ached pe spec i e o an obse e o ano he “young woman who
climbs he s ai s, / who closes a child’s doo , / who goes o he able / in a oom a
he back o he house?” (47). This scene may e e o any woman’s li e bu he
nex lines show he young woman “he head / ben o e he page, he hand
mo ing, / mo ing again, and he hai ” (47). The las lines o he poem e eal ha
he poe ic pe sona is seeing a e lec ion o he sel when she was younge and was
ying o ind a oice in I ish poe y:
I w o e like ha once.
Bu his is di e en :
This ime, when she looks up, I will be he e. (2001a, 47)
These las lines condensa e Ea an Boland’s e olu ion as a woman w i e .
They can summa ise he pe sonal de elopmen om a posi ion o he young w i e
who ied o make he way in o I ish e se, o he pe spec i e o a ma u e w i e
ha knows ha she has helped o place he I ish woman’s li e in o he I ish poem.
Boland’s poem “Subu ban Woman: Ano he De ail” (2001a, 48) can be ead
as he eeling o nos algia inged wi h guil ha a woman w i e exp esses because,
while she is w i ing a he desk, ano he woman is ca ing o he li le daugh e .
This is a si ua ion ha wo king mo he s can easily unde s and, as well as he

Reshaping Mi o s
140
sensa ion ha you wo k is dep i ing you o li ing in dep h some special momen s
o connec ion wi h you child:
He e a my desk I imagine
win y ai and he sma o pea .
And an uncu ained
on oom whe e
ano he woman is li ing my li e.
Ano he woman is li ing my child.
Is se ing he down.
Is cu ing oily ind om a lemon.
Is c ushing ha smell agains he skin o he inge s. (2001a, 48)
Howe e , he poem can also be unde s ood as he me apho o he di icul y
o mel ing he iden i ies o mo he and woman w i e , as i hese iden i ies
belonged o di e en people who a e li ing di e en li es. The poe ic pe sona
emphasises he owne ship o he spaces and he child, as i she we e ying o
eassu e and hold igh he iden i y: “The ki chen, / he child she li s again and
holds / a e all mine: / and all he ime / he bi e , ci ic ag ance s ays agains he
skin” (48). The poem is open-ended because he woman-mo he pu s he sel and
he child ou o each o he woman-w i e : “She s a es a he oad / in he
ea u eless No embe wiligh . / S a es o a momen a / he moon which has
d ained i . / Then pulls he cu ains igh ly shu . / And pu s he sel and my child
beyond i ” (48).
3.3. “Le me be. / The e is much / I am s a ing o ” (Ei hne S ong
1993, 22)
In he on co e illus a ion o Rep esen a ions o Mo he hood (Bassin e
al. 1994), aken om an ad e ising campaign in he 1940s, i can be seen how he
cha ac e s o mo he and child a e e e sed. A huge oddle looks a his iny
in an ilised mo he si ing in a swing wi h an a i ude ha looks mo e like ha o
Red essing he Balance
141
an au ho i a i e a he con olling his daugh e . Commen ing his pic u e in hei
“In oduc ion” o he book, Bassin, Honey and Kaplan obse e how his image can
be ep esen a i e o he eelings “ ha mo he s, especially mo he s in isola ed
nuclea amilies, o en ha e: he baby is in cha ge, con olling ime and space”. “I
is as i he belonged he e, as i making demands, domina ing, keeping he in he
place, doing wha pleases him we e his igh ” (1994, 1).
Basin Honey and Kaplan a i m ha his image sub e s he idealised ision
o he all-powe ul, all-gi ing mo he who p o ides all he ca e he de enceless
child needs. Ins ead o his, he pic u e shows he eac ion o he mo he as “a
mix u e o app ehension, in imida ion, cu iosi y and helplessness”, which
“sugges s he ho o o he mo he domina ed by he child” (1994, 1).
D awing on he sociological analysis o Jessie Be na d (1974), Bassin,
Honey and Kaplan unde line he ac ha Be na d was one o he i s eminis
c i ics ha explo ed “ he ension be ween he image o he all-gi ing mo he and
he ac ual li es o women” (1994, 3). Be na d denounced ha he Vic o ian
in en ion o he nu u ing, sel -sac i icing, e e -pa ien mo he is an image ha has
no been sui able o women o decades:
Be na d, poin ing o women’s en y in o he wo kplace, called o a balance
be ween wo k and amily wi hin women’s li es and o sha ed pa en ing as
ways o mo ing beyond s e eo ypical iews o mo he hood. She celeb a ed
ebellion agains ma e nal my hs and ound ha women o all classes had da ed
o say ha “al hough hey lo e hei child en, hey ha e mo he hood”. (Bassin
e al.1994, 3)
The di ision o expe ience be ween women’s p o essional ca ee and he
mo he hood had al eady been exp essed by Ad ienne Rich in O Woman Bo n.
When asked why she did no w i e poems abou he child en as many male poe s
did, she answe ed ha o he , “poe y was whe e [she] li ed as no-one’s mo he ,
whe e [she] exis ed as [he sel ]” (1986, 31).
Ei hne S ong is an I ish woman poe who has in eg a ed he li e and he
a in o mos o he poems. In “O Magni icen Why”, he in oduc ion o Ei hne
S ong’s Spa ial Nosing. New and Selec ed Poems (1993b), Ma y O’Donnell
Reshaping Mi o s
142
w i es: “A poe ’s ela ionship wi h wo ds and he ela ionship wi h li e a e
insepa able. The echnique e lec s he ision, he ision e lec s he echnique, and
as we li e, we w i e” (O’Donnell 1993b, unpagina ed). S ong, who b ed nine
child en and de eloped a ca ee as a w i e , has e lec ed on he di icul y o ying
o ind ime o w i e while a ending he unending asks o mo he ing.10 In he
au obiog aphical accoun , “Ma ied o he Enemy” (My Sel , My Muse, 2001), she
na a es he amily b eak she had o endu e because o he ma iage o he non-
Ca holic Englishman Rupe S ong and he subsequen decision o no ha ing
hei child en bap ised in he Ca holic ai h. Wi h he beha iou she ebelled
agains he imposed image o he ai h ul Ca holic mo he who humbly accep s o
b eed child en o achie e e e nal glo y. On he con a y, she challenges he
adi ional I ish mo ali y, which igno es o denies women’s sexual needs, and
asse s openly he sexual desi e, admi ing ha bo h she and he husband we e
nei he good “in es aining deligh s o leshly io ing” (2001, 88) no we e hey
e y en husias ic abou a i icial bi h con ol. Consequen ly, she ecognises ha
hei child en a e he esul o wha she calls he “ y anny o he o gasm” (88). She
accep s wi h esponsibili y he consequences o bo h he husband and he bodily
pleasu es. “E e y hing ca ies i s p ice. The li le babies, poo li le sc aps, did no
ask o be bo n—one wi h b ain damage. Clea ly my i s esponsibili y was o
hem” (88).
Howe e , she was deeply con inced ha she had been bo n o w i e and she
a i ms ha she ne e enounced he p ojec o becoming a poe . S ong desc ibes
he di icul ies and he lack o con inui y in he w i ing. In “Ma ied o he Enemy”
(2001, 88), she admi s ha she knew “ imes o discou agemen a he pauci y o
oppo uni y” as well as “ us a ion in his ega d, impo ence, ie ce esen men ”
(88).
On li le slips o pape we e o en jo ed ideas as hey sp ang in he mids o
impe a i e asks. The slips go h us in o a d awe , o be wo ked on, I hoped,
a a u u e poin . Tha poin equen ly had o wai a long pe iod, yea s
some imes. I was qui e ce ain he child en—in all he e would be nine—
we e my p io i y. (88)
Red essing he Balance
143
In a ime and a socie y in which he ideological cons uc ed image o he
pe ec , nu u ing and sel -sac i icing mo he was s ill deeply oo ed, i mus ha e
been shocking ha a nine child en’s mo he ied o igh he co ne in he male
domina ed I ish li e a y adi ion. I is easy o imagine he di icul ies she had o
ace. Mo eo e , she ansla ed some o he expe iences in o he poems, and his
was some hing a he unusual, since eal women’s expe iences wi h hei child en
we e conside ed ma e s which belonged o he p i a e sphe e o he home and no
sui able issues ha could be inse ed in o I ish e se. Howe e , S ong’s poems
del e deep in o a wide ange o women’s expe iences, highligh ing he injus ices
o a man-made cul u e, as Ma y O’Donnell has no iced:
Di e si y o hough and impulse makes hese poems adia e humani y, belie
and a e ela o y sense o jus ice. The inequi ies o human ela ionships is
some hing his poe is pa icula ly adep a explo ing, and none oo gen ly
ei he , wi h lesh locked be ween he ee h as she ea s back o he bone.
(O’Donnell 1993b, unpagina ed)
The s uggle be ween S ong’s ole as a mo he o nine child en and he need
o ul illmen as an indi idual is e lec ed in “S a emen o O sp ing” (1993b, 22)
[1974]. The poe ic oice o he mo he eassu es he child en ha hey a e he
p io i y and she could ne e lea e hem because hey a e pa o he lesh. The i s
line ies o s a e his clea ly and she lea es no space o doub :
Look, I’ll ne e lea e you, issue
o my bone: inside
he ma ow’s ma ow issue
I am ue no ma e wha . (1993b, 22)
Bu she needs oom o b ea he and o build he own iden i y as a sepa a e
indi idual. She assumes he implica ions o being he child en’s bi hgi e and
emembe s ha she has gi en hem “swea and pain” and “b eaking labou ”. Bu ,
a he same ime, she claims he igh o seek he own pe sonal ul illmen and she
i mly asse s ha she is no going o be hei sla e and allow hem o suck he
la e li e. As Habe s oh poin s ou : “Mo he hood can some imes seem like sla e y
[…] and mo he s a e en i led o he same space and nou ishmen hey gi e o hei
Reshaping Mi o s
246
Pichel’s “Le ei o pa a lab a na ped a do la adoi o” (29) is a poem ha
condenses in he Haiku s uc u e a whole s o y o desola ion. A li le gi l is c ying
while she is washing clo hes and he coldness o he place emphasises he so ow
and loneliness o he gi l, who canno ind a lo ing ace ha can com o he . The
only ace she can see is he own, e lec ed a he bo om o he washing place.
F io na on e.
A nena la a e cho a.
Vese no ondo. (2006, 29)
In “le ei o pa a colga no cobe izo cando non quede nada alí” (31) he
epe i ion, wi h sligh a ia ions, o he line “du mi ei ao quen e” exp esses he
longing o he wa m h o he ma e nal body, which can p o ide o shel e and
e uge agains he ha dness o li e. The non-p esence o a ma e nal igu e is
s essed when he poe ic oice s a es he possibili y o sleeping in he dog pound o
in he henhouse because all o hem a e wa m places and she en ies cal es,
because hey can come nea hei mo he s and sleep in he wa m h. She conside s
ha e en hose col s which die a e luckie han she is because hey can sleep in he
wa m belly o he ea h.
Se me dei o no cocho do can
du mi ei quen e.
Se coubese no niño das pi as
du mi ía ao quen e.
Os bece os achéganse á nai
e do men ao quen e.
Os pold os que mo en
do men ao quen e. (2006, 31)
As I ha e said abo e, he absen ma e nal igu e can be eplaced by a
mo he ly a he . Thus, in mos poems o Luz Pichel’s Casa pechada, he image o
he a he is endowed wi h he ende ness and homeliness adi ionally assigned o
he mo he . In “Dóeme es a man” (38), he daugh e shows he a he he wounds

In lic ing and Healing Wounds
247
in he hand and complains o him abou he physical pain she eels, which is he
consequence o ha d oil in he ields, as well as abou he mo e unde ined pain
caused by un ul illed hope and desi e, symbolised by he moon in he b ook whose
e lec ion, e y much like he memo y o he absence-p esence o he mo he , she
is no able o wash away:
Dóeme es a man, papá,
a de ap e a os caldei os e o sacho,
a de a anca as millás que a ogan o millo
e secan sen da nada,
[…]
Dóeme a man de ega a lúa no eguei o, papá,
mi a as e idas. (2006, 38)
In “O museo dos ces os que ixo o papá” (17), he poe ic pe sona o he
daugh e is lo ingly ga he ing he ools he a he used and he baske s he made in
o de o make a museum wi h hem. She wan s o p ese e he memo y o he
a he as well as he aces o he li e ha was li ed he e and she is eluc an o
disca d he baske s his a he did no sell as i , by h owing hem away, she would
be be aying his memo y.
Vou ace no si io do cu o o museo do ces o, papá,
pa a que eña a xen e e diga
a a ces os sabía ace o ei do pan de igo.
Como le a ao colec o do Concello
os ces os que i nunca i aches
nin endiches na ei a? (2006, 17)
In he ac ha i is he a he he one who wea es baske s and sells hem a
he local ai , we can ind no only a change o oles o an ac i i y usually
pe o med by women, bu also a link wi h he p ehis o ic G ea Mo he o G ea
Goddess and he sac ed cha ac e o po e y-making and essel-making, as E ich
Neumann (1972) [1963] and Robe B i aul (1969), obse ed. Neumann a i med
ha he unc ion o shel e and p ese a ion “was incumben on woman” and was
asc ibed o he “elemen a y Feminine cha ac e ” (1972, 284). He s esses he
Reshaping Mi o s
248
c ucial impo ance o ac i i ies like wea ing, binding and kno ing in he c ea ion
o a shel e , as well as hose closely ela ed o he clo hing o he body, such as
p epa a ion o animal skins o ob ain lea he and all he p ocesses necessa y o
ob ain h ead om bas o lea es. No less impo an we e hose ac i i ies such as
wea ing baske s and making po s o clay, since hese con aine s we e necessa y
o ga he ing ood and anspo ing wa e . Mo eo e , hey we e essen ial o he
s o ing o ood and played a decisi e ole in he de elopmen o ag icul u e and
cul u e:
These ins umen s o p ese a ion a e impo an o ano he aspec o
eminine domina ion ha is o c i ical impo ance o he de elopmen o
cul u e, namely, he s o ing o ood. This i s measu e o s a e o hunge
om he g oup when he hun ailed p o ed o be he ounda ion o p ope y.
The “s o es” belonged beyond any ques ion o he women, whose domina ion
was hus enhanced. (Neumann 1972, 284)
Ad ienne Rich admi s ha she is p ejudiced agains he symbolic
connec ion o women wi h con aine s, de eloped among o he s by E ik E ikson
(1968), since i en ails a lo o old associa ions ha ha e shaped a cons uc ed
emale iden i y as passi e, “ ecep i e” (97) and as a “ ecep acle” (97). Rich adds
ha , he ac ha many li le gi ls like playing wi h dollhouses and some boys do
no , would jus i y o pa ia chy he alloca ion o woman’s place and ole. She
ejec s he widesp ead ideology ha a i ms ha “[w]oman’s place is he ‘inne
space’ o he home; woman’s ana omy lays on he an e hical impe a i e o be
ma e nal in he sense o masochis ic, pa ien , paci ic: women wi hou child en a e
‘un ul illed’ ‘ba en’ and ‘emp y’ women” (Rich, 1986, 97).
Howe e , Rich ag ees wi h Neumann and B i aul on he impo ance o
he ans o ma i e cha ac e o he eminine: “The po en ial imp o emen and
s abiliza ion o li e inhe en in he de elopmen and elabo a ion o po e y-making
could be likened o he mos complex inno a ions o a echnological age” (Rich,
97).
In lic ing and Healing Wounds
249
In his way, he image o he a he who appea s in mos poems o Luz
Pichel’s Casa Pechada, is a ma e nal igu e ha can be endowed wi h some
cha ac e is ics ha ha e been adi ionally assigned o emale iden i y.
5.3. Rep esen a ions o Home as an Ambi alen Space
In he essay “Being and Doing” (1971), Nancy Chodo ow d ew on he
wo k o some an h opologis s like Ma ga e Mead (1949) He be Ba y, Ma ga e
Bacon and I ing Child (1959), as well as ha o Bea ice and John Whi ing
(1968), and she came o he conclusion ha , al hough he ga he ing o da a and he
me hodology employed in his c oss-cul u al esea ch may be subjec o c i icism i
showed ha “ he e a e no absolu e pe sonal di e ences be ween men and women”
(260), and ha he cha ac e is ics assigned o each sex in one cul u e may be he
e e se in ano he cul u e. Acco ding Ba y, Bacon and Child, he expec a ions
abou he beha iou o male and emale child en a e closely ela ed o he
economic ac i i ies ha de e mine he subsis ence o he amily and he di ision o
wo k wi hin i . In “Family S uc u e and Feminine Pe sonali y” (1989) [1974],
Chodo ow e lec s on how he s uc u e o he amily de e mines he socialisa ion
o he emale child and is a he basis o he cons uc ion o a eminine iden i y.
In he essay “Is Female o Male as Na u e Is o Cul u e?” (1974) She y B.
O ne analyses he his o ical, economic and social elemen s ha may explain he
cons uc ion o male and emale iden i ies and he easons ha migh ha e led o
an iden i ica ion o woman wi h na u e and man wi h cul u e, wi h he consequen
de alua ion o woman. O ne ag ees wi h Chodo ow in ha he di e ences
be ween eminine and masculine pe sonali y “a e no inna e o gene ically
p og ammed; hey a ise om nea ly uni e sal ea u es o amily s uc u es”
(O ne , 81). Among hese s uc u es, she unde lines women’s esponsibili y o
child ea ing and ca ing, which is ein o ced by he di e ences in male and emale
ole aining. I is undeniable ha child en o bo h sexes a e socialised by he
mo he in ea ly in ancy and ha boys and gi ls de elop a pe sonal iden i ica ion
Reshaping Mi o s
250
wi h hei mo he s. Howe e , boys “mus ul ima ely shi o a masculine ole
iden i y, which in ol es building iden i ica ion wi h he a he ” (O ne , 1974, 82).
Since he a he is no usually he one who s ays a home and is no in ol ed in
child ea ing and amily ca ing, his iden i ica ion wi h he a he is an
“iden i ica ion wi h a he ’s male ole as a collec ion o abs ac elemen s, a he
han a pe sonal iden i ica ion wi h a he as a eal indi idual” (O ne , 82). The
iden i ica ion wi h he a he also implies he assimila ion o ce ain social ules so
ha he son can ind his place in he wo ld ou side home.
O ne also ag ees wi h Chodo ow (1974) and Rosaldo (1974) when
explaining he di e en o ma ion o he gi l´s iden i y. Fo a young gi l, he ea ly
pe sonal iden i ica ion wi h he mo he does no equi e a change and “can pe sis
in he p ocess o lea ning emale ole iden i y” (O ne , 82). In con as o a boy,
“lea ning o be a woman in ol es he con inui y and de elopmen o a gi l´s
ela ionship o he mo he , and sus ains he iden i ica ion wi h he as an
indi idual” (O ne , 82). She does no need o go ou o lea n ex e nally de ined
oles because she inds a home he model o he mo he as well as he ole-
aining ac i i ies necessa y o shape he pe sonali y. Chodo ow asse s ha :
Feminine iden i ica ion is based no on an asied o ex e nally de ined
cha ac e is ics and nega i e iden i ica ion, bu on he g adual lea ning o a
way o being amilia in e e yday li e, and exempli ied by he pe son (o kind
o people — women) wi h whom she has been mos in ol ed. I is con inuous
wi h he ea ly childhood and a achmen s. (1989, 52) [1974]
Howe e , Chodo ow admi s he complexi y o sex- ole de elopmen o gi ls
in mode n echnological ad anced socie ies. Gi ls ha e had access o school and
ha e achie ed a p epa a ion ha allows hem o ake ac i e social oles and
de elop a ange o skills ha we e conside ed exclusi e o men’s ealm. Howe e ,
Chodo ow obse es ha his schooling is o en been conside ed a “pseudo-
aining” ha should no “in e e e wi h he much mo e impo an aining” (1989,
55) o a eminine iden i y ha will p epa e he woman o be a “wi e and mo he ,
which is embedded in he gi l’s unconscious de elopmen and which he mo he
eaches he in a amily con ex whe e she is clea ly he salien pa en ” (1989, 55).
In lic ing and Healing Wounds
251
Bo h Chodo ow and O ne ag ee on he ac ha his ole aining a home will
p epa e he gi l o he ca ing and nu u ing he child en as well as he o he
membe s o he amily, which will pe pe ua e he pe sis ence o hese eminine
oles.
This pe sonal iden i ica ion wi h he mo he and he emale g oup in he
enclosed domes ic space has c ea ed abundan images o home as a wa m shel e
p esided by a ca ing p o ec i e mo he , hough hey a e some imes an idealisa ion
o a eali y ha o en disa ows his image o bliss ul happiness. The house has also
been he si e o opp ession o daugh e s who wan ed o ebel agains he imposed
eminine oles and we e, some imes, he mu e wi nesses o he iolence exe ed
agains women and child en.
In his sec ion, we will ind a ac i e images o home in Lupe Gomez’s
Fis eus e a un mundo (2001), as well as in some pa s o he long poems o Ma a
Dacos a (1998), Anne Ha igan (1991) and Jessie Lendennie (2001) ha I ha e
analysed in p e ious chap e s and sec ions. I will also commen some poems o
Jessie Lendennie (2001), Paula Meehan (2000), (2003) and Ea an Boland (2007),
which a e he coun e poin o his idealisa ion o he home. They show helpless
daugh e s who wi ness o a e ic ims o domes ic iolence, as well as powe less
mo he s who canno p o ec hei daugh e s om he iolence exe ed on hem and,
some imes, help o main ain he si ua ion o opp ession. I will inally analyse he
ebellion o he daugh e agains he imposed domes ic ole in some poems o
Ma ila Aleixand e (1999), (2003).
The ambi alence o he domes ic space can some imes be ound wi hin he
same poem. Thus, in con as wi h pain ul scenes o iolence e oked in some
sec ions o Lendennie’s “Daugh e ” (2001), we also ind wa m memo ies o a
domes ic scene, such as washing he child en, which closes he mo he ’s daily
asks: “Emma’s mo he pushed he slee es up u he and ubbed he las child
ho oughly. The ound in ub c eaked wi h he s uggling, he laughing” (22).
In Ma a Dacos a’s Se emb o (1998), he wa m a mosphe e o he ki chen is
he place whe e he li le gi l ge s imme sed in a emale wo ld wi h he

Reshaping Mi o s
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ambi alence o meaning ha his space has: on he one hand, doing he asks o
cooking c ea es a eeling o solida i y among women and p o ides o a a ou able
a mosphe e o sha e in ima e eelings and sec e s: “Co acei e poñíamos seg edos, /
palab as, con e sas, / e a po a eben aba e endo de impaciencia” (47). On he
o he hand, he ki chen is he hea o a p i a e emale wo ld, whe e daugh e s
ha e been socialised in o de o ollow he oles o wi es and mo he s and
pe pe ua e hei con inemen a home. The poe ic pe sona explains he mono ony
o he asks and ou ines o he wo k in he ki chen and he eeling o impo ence
because long yea s o oil esul in no hing. Women ha e been igh ing a ba le
agains his unde alued domes ic wo k whose impo ance o he amily’s wel a e
has ne e been app ecia ed: “E así un día e ou o o on acendo cos a, / ixolas,
cazos, po as, / non houbo nunca auga que a as a a eses anos,/ nin xabón que
a e a an o empeño dia io (47).
In Lupe Gómez Fis eus e a un mundo (2001), he happy memo ies om
childhood o he gi l p o agonis and he mo e c i ical poin o iew o he adul
woman a e so closely in e wined in he na a i e oice ha , some imes, hey
could be seen as con adic o y, hough his appa en con adic ion de i es p ecisely
om he wo di e en pe spec i es. Thus, he daugh e can e i y he
consequences o pa ia chal ideology and speaks wi h he con ic ion ha “se
mulle na aldea e a como anda espida pola úa. E a algo sal axe. E a algo di ícil”,
and ha , on he whole, “mandaban máis os homes” (Gómez 2001, 100). We can
see an example o hese seemingly opposing eelings in he a i ude ha he
daugh e shows owa ds he mo he ’s wo k. On he one hand, he gi l exp esses a
eeling o exul an iden i ica ion wi h he mo he p esiding he wa m a mosphe e
o he ki chen: “Na paisaxe da la ei a es aba miña nai acendo queixos” (20).
Making cheese is, acco ding o Neumann, an essen ial pa o he ans o ma i e
cha ac e o he eminine, — he abili y o ans o m aw ma e ial in o ood ha
could be s o ed— and was c ucial o he su i al o he amily. The li le gi l
obse es wi h admi a ion he mo he ’s wo k enjoying his ins an o close in imacy
wi h he . She sees he as a powe ul lady despi e he wea ing ags: “Aquela dama
In lic ing and Healing Wounds
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es ida con a apos iña a a e de ace ben os queixos. Eu non o ía como un
aballo, eu íao como unha a e. Eu sen aba no banco. Ela no allo. E
mi abámonos. Nai e illa mi ándose. E a o amo ” (20). On he o he hand, he adul
na a o is well awa e o he ha dness o he mo he ’s li e: “No co po e na alma da
miña nai hai moi os es o zos, moi os aballos, moi a aleg ía, moi o cansazo.
T aballa e a o único que se acía en odo o día. Tan o aballo impedía ala ,
sen i , pensa . Impedía cousas como dialoga ” (105).
We can ind ano he example o he wa m h o his enclosed emale wo ld
o he ki chen in “G ow h”, (Ha igan 1991, 42). This poem p esen s he ki chen as
he only place whe e he newly ma ied woman, who has been sepa a ed om he
own emale g oup, can ind e uge om he ha dships o an imposed ma iage. She
eels welcomed in his space whe e women had wo ked be o e he and whe e she
can ind a subs i u e o he loss o he own amily: “Memo ies o women / Cling
o his house, / Wi h hem I laugh in he ki chen / Whe e b own c ocks gleam /
Wi h whi e milk / Down in he dai y / Gold easu es o bu e ” (42).
In Jessie Lendennie’s “Daugh e ” we ind wo scenes ha p esen a
powe less mo he unable o p o ec he daugh e om he iolence o he a he .
Following he pa e n I desc ibed in he p e ious sec ion, in he i s lines o each
poem he poe ic pe sona desc ibes i s , in i alics, he scene as i is expe ienced in
Emma’s mind. Thus, in he i s poem, he poe ic oice says ha “she / lay in he
da k in images o he da k” (23) and hen he e is a di ec desc ip ion o he
b u ali y o he co po al punishmen he a he is in lic ing on Emma be o e he
e i ied mo he .
Emma sobbed as he bel cu he , making a sha p
noise h ough he ai . She ied o un om he
a he , o whe e he mo he s ood whi e- aced,
hands clasped. (2001, 23)
In he second poem, he appa en ly domes ic peace ul a mosphe e is
dis u bed by he h ea o a dange ha is e ealed in he a i ude o Emma’s
mo he . The lines in i alics belong o Emma’s inne wo ld whe e he silence o he
Reshaping Mi o s
254
nigh is dis u bed by h ea ening images o a s o m ha is p emoni o y o he
dange ha haun s he :
She hough o he silence, he da kness o he s o m;
Da k wi h he edge o win e ligh . Ice like he ha dness
A he edge o he win e sky. (2001, 24)
The poem ollows wi h he na a ion o he way Emma is awaken by he
p esumably d unken a he who b ings he a pa akee he has won in he ai .
Emma eels how “ he smell o he a he en eloped he ” while she akes in he
hands he agonising bi d, which is “skinny, a aced blue-g een, dying”. Despi e his
insis ence on a i ming ha he has won he pa akee o he , Emma is igh ened
by he a he ’s swaying and he p esence o he ale mo he in he doo way
sugges s ha Emma’s ea o he a he is no an i a ional one, bu he esul o he
iolence she has su e ed: “She el he dead weigh o he bi d; looked pas / he
a he , saw he mo he hesi a ing in he / doo way” (24). Emma’s ea o he a he
is so deeply ing ained ha e e y a emp o he a he o egain he is des ined o
die, like he bi d.
Domes ic iolence is also p esen in Paula Meehan’s poems “The View
om Unde he Table” (2000, 12) and “Thunde in he House” (2000, 20-21). In
hese poems he e is a signi ican di e ence wi h hose o Jessie Lendennie
commen ed abo e. The mo he s in Meehan’s poems a e no jus he passi e
powe less women who canno p o ec hei daugh e s, bu he ansmi e s o
pa ia chal ideology and ac i e agen s in he iolence exe ed on he daugh e s, a
iolence o which hey a e p obably ic ims as well. In “The View om Unde he
Table (2000, 12) he li le gi l akes shel e om a scene o domes ic iolence
unde he ki chen able. The enclosed space limi ed by he able and he ableclo h
isola es he in he la ge space o he ki chen, c ea ing he illusion o a small home
in which she can eel sa e. Bu she canno a oid wa ching he scene ha akes
place ou side he e uge and decides o ake his place as a p i ileged posi ion om
which she can see he play ha is unning in he oom, in he hope ha “ he able
i sel kep he sky om alling” (12). Bu he e is no possibili y o de achmen o
In lic ing and Healing Wounds
255
he : “I was he audience. Lis en o me laughing. Lis en / o me weeping. I was a
child. Wha did I know?” (12). When he s o m ceases only he g andmo he sees
he and gi es he he wa m h and lo e ha can ans o m he ki chen in o a home.
Howe e , he gi l is unable o ell he g andmo he wha igh ens he and his
e eals a ac ha has helped o pe pe ua e domes ic iolence: he silence o he
ic ims, who canno a icula e hei su e ing, because hey eel ha i would be
like a be ayal o hei pa en s, as well as he incapabili y o close ela i es o see
o admi his eali y. When he g andmo he asks he , he poe ic pe sona in his
poem p e e s o gi e an easie explana ion o he ea saying ha she is a aid o
he shadows ha chase he all a ound he house. Telling he g andmo he ha she
was a aid o he di e en kinds o ghos s ha a e “wai ing o sna ch [he ]” (12)
seems a plausible jus i ica ion o he ea , because ghos s a e, a e all, pa o
popula olklo e and child en a e old ha mos e ils come om o he wo ldly bad
beings.
Ou , she’d say. Ou . And up on he lap he smell o ki chen and
Sleep.
She’d ock me. She’d lull me. No one was kinde .
Wha ails you child? I ne e old he . No
one wo d would c oss my lips. Shadows I’d say. I don’ like he
shadows. (2000, 12)
In his poem he e is a change o oles in he Deme e -Pe sephone plo , since
i is he daugh e he one who is wo ied abou he mo he , los in he ain. The
poe ic pe sona shi s in ime and seems o be spli in o wo con lic ing eelings: on
he one hand, she is he adul woman who ep oaches he mo he o being he
ansmi e o pa ia chal iolence “wi h he big wo ds” (12), as well as an ac i e
agen o ep ession h ough “he bel and he bea ings” (12). On he o he hand,
she can ecall he mo he ’s “young ace” (12) and can imagine he sadness and
loneliness o he mo he and e i e he longing o he mo he she expe ienced
when she was ou yea s old.
Somewhe e, elsewhe e, my mo he was sulking in he ain. I call up
he young ace. Who did she hink she was wi h he big wo ds
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house because she does no wan o ollow he pa e n o daugh e hood, by which
daugh e s we e supposed o subs i u e hei mo he s and accep he ask o being
he ca e s and nu u e s o he amily. Closing he house implies ha she is looking
o ul illmen in he public sphe e. In his poem, he daugh e asks he sel why i
has o be she, as one o i e o sp ing, he one who main ains he i e o he hea h
aligh . In he ebellion, she announces ha she will sweep he ashes o he hea h
—an ac ion ha will igh en away he ances al spi i s o he amily and,
consequen ly, will de ini ely close he his o y o he house. Pa adoxically, i was
he a he , “ eading book a e book”, who plan ed in he child en “wind seeds”
(18).
a e as cinzas
no la mo e á o lume
p endido hai ca o séculos
e non ou ecolle o izón
caído da úa man
pai
á noi e a e ei as cinzas
aída que esco en e as ánimas
dos an epasados
se a cheminea
cala as súas palab as de ume
g i ando en silencio
a soidade de casa
non me omes a eques a
¿po que a min de cinco i máns? (2003, 17)
On he one hand, we can iden i y a eeling o nos algia o a place and ime
long gone con eyed in he silen c y o he i eplace, which symbolises he cen e
o amily li e. Howe e , he poe ic pe sona in “ a e as cinzas” will no ake he
bu ning s ick ha ell om he a he ’s hand and will no keep ali e he i e o a
home ha has been li o ou cen u ies. She does no accep he ole o a du i ul
daugh e who con ines he sel o he esponsibili y o sus aining he home while
he b o he s go away. On he con a y, she emembe s how i was he a he
himsel who, wi h his ondness o books, sowed he seeds o wind ha would ake

In lic ing and Healing Wounds
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he child en away om home: “na cociña que o lume non quece / aínda ba e o eco
da úa oz / lendo lib o as lib o plan ando / en nós / semen e de en o” (2003,
18).
5.4. Rebellions
In he p e ious sec ion we saw a demys i ica ion and ejec ion o domes ic
oles by daugh e s who adop a c i ical s ance agains he posi ion o subo dina ion
o hei mo he s. In his sec ion we a e going o analyse some poems om Paula
Meehan’s Dha makaya (2000), Luisa Cas o’s Baleas e baleas (1988), Anne
Ha igan’s To Keep he Ligh Bu ning (2008) as well as om Ma ila Aleixand e’s
Ca alogo de elenos (1999) and Desmen ido a p ima e a (2003), in which he
poe ic oices o daugh e s go one s ep u he in open ebellion agains hei
mo he s’ con ol o e hem o p e en hem om lea ing he odden pa h o
pa ia chal oles. These poems ange om he adolescen ’s disco e y o sex, which
mus be hidden om he mo he , o he posi ion o adul daugh e s who ejec he
image o he mo he as a mi o o posi i e iden i ica ion and claim hei igh o
ge id o he cons ic i e ules es ablished o women. In mos o hese poems
hei ebelliousness is di ec ed agains hei mo he s since hey ha e been
impo an agen s in he ansmission o pa ia chal ules and alues. Howe e ,
he e is a signi ican di e ence be ween Meehan’s poem ”On Poe y” (2000, 55-
58), which ep esen s he ejec ion o he idealisa ion o an all-powe ul mo he
and he mo e pe sonal, in ima e ebellion we ind in Cas o’s, Aleixand e’s and
Ha igan’s poems.
Paula Meehan’s “On Poe y” engages wi h he di icul y o a woman w i e o
ind he way in o he I ish li e a y epe oi e, which is pe aded by he
iconog aphy o Mo he I eland and i e lec s he poe ic pe sona’s ebellion agains
he use o symbols which do no ela e o eal women’s li es. The poem consis s o
h ee sec ions: “Vi gin” “Mo he ” and “Who e”. Lau a Lojo poin s ou ha “és as
no son concep ualizaciones disociadas, sino que más bien co esponde ían a la
Reshaping Mi o s
264
e olución del yo poé ico como muje y como esc i o a” (2008, 51). In he i s
pa , “Vi gin” (55), he poe ic pe sona looks back a he young woman she was
once and emembe s some hing ha happened when “one pa icula moon sna ed
in he willows” (55). In his memo y she links he expe ience o pleasu e o he
i s lo e encoun e —which had aken place “ea lie ha day in he abandoned
ga den” (55)— wi h he pleasu e and he hope o ansla ing all he expe iences
in o he poe ic c ea ion: “a no ebook beside me wi h gi l poems in i / and many
blank pages o ill” (55). These blank pages on which all he memo ies o he li e
will be eco ded: “and le he e be a ose and he memo y o i s ho n / and a sca
on my high whe e he o n had ipped” (55). The las lines o he poem cas a
shadow on he ul illmen o his hope: “And le me be peace ul / o I wasn’ . /
No hen, no o many moons a e ” (55). The men ion o he moon and i s
associa ion wi h he mens ual and ep oduc i e cycles, hin s a a non desi ed
p egnancy ha may cu sho he young woman’s expec a ions. The uneasiness o
he young woman abou he biological p oc ea i e powe also symbolises he
doub s abou he c ea i e capabili ies.
In “Mo he ” (2000, 56-57), we can ind se e al laye s o meaning which ange
om a pe sonal ebellion o a daugh e agains he mo he o a ejec ion o he
na ionalis cons uc ion o he image o Mo he I eland as a mi o o adi ional
mo he hood. In Meehan’s poem, he poe ic pe sona o an ang y Pe sephone cas s a
e ocious i ade agains an image o Deme e who embodies o he all he bad
a ibu es o a de ou ing mo he : “mo he you e o is / muck mo he mud mo he
/ you chewed me up / you spa me ou / mo he you de ou e / plucke o my soul
bi d / mammal sel abuse / nigh ma ix hun ess” (56). The Goddess mo he
depic ed he e has mo e in common wi h he powe ul mo he , who sees he sel as
a jealous “old wi ch” and wa ches he “beau i ul gazelle”, in Ei hne S ong’s
“Mo he and Daugh e ” (1993b, 4-5), a poem ha has al eady been analysed in
chap e ou . The e e ence o calenda s and he locking o he g ain b ings he
image o an ang y Deme e who does no wan o allow he ea h i s ui unless
Pe sephone e u ns, and, a he same ime, he “ icking o moon days” (56) is a
In lic ing and Healing Wounds
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clea e e ence o he mens ual cycles ha de e mine he woman’s p oc ea i e
powe s, hus highligh ing one o he main issues o mo he s’ opp ession: he ea
o he consequences o hei daugh e ’s sexuali y. The dia ibe o his ebellious
Pe sephone is aimed a con adic ing some o he key elemen s o he ideology o
mo he hood and goes agains he whole socie y ha ies o pe pe ua e he
iden i ica ion o woman o na u e, while na u e is being des oyed and e en he
ma e nal milk is con amina ed wi h s on ium.10 Thus, he mo he is no he ende
nu u ing being whose ealm is he home; she becomes he symbol o he house as
a place o imp isonmen o he daugh e ’s desi e and eedom. E en he b eas s
canno p o ide heal hy milk o he child en anymo e: “mo he house and omb /
you wo b eas s s o ing / s on ium and lies / when you c ea ed ime” (56).
The poe ic pe sona endows his mo he wi h he a ibu es o he g ea
ancien Goddesses. She acknowledges he as he sup eme c ea o o uni e se as
well as he o igin o all he majo achie emen s o humani y:
mo he you c ea ed plen y
you and you se pen conso
you and you nes s
you and you alphabe s
mo he you pic og aphs
you mandalas you unes
you inches you seconds
you logic you g amma . (2000, 56)
The men ion o he “se pen conso ” (56) makes e e ence o he snake as a
symbol ha is, in Neumann’s wo ds, “uni e sal and poly alen ”, wi h a “hyb id
na u e” (1972, 144). I allows o a wide ange o a eas o meaning, bu i
equen ly appea s as eminine, connec ed o he goddesses in G eek, Roman and
Egyp ian ep esen a ions as well as in India.
The snake is associa ed wi h i in a subo dina e ole. Like he male and
phallic elemen , i appea s as a pa o he Feminine o as i s companion. Thus
he snake in C e e and India is an a ibu e o he emale dei y, and is a he
same ime he male-phallic companion. (Neumann, 1972, 144).
Reshaping Mi o s
266
The poem goes on desc ibing he mo he wea ing a “necklace o skulls”,
which b ings o h he image o he Indian Goddess Kali who ep esen s no only
he c ea i e o ce o na u e bu also i s all-consuming des uc i e powe . A c ea o
“who calls in o being / by u e ing he name / ma e logos me ic” (Meehan, 25),
bu also he Te ible Mo he who exac s bloody sac i ices, whose de o ional image
has been desc ibed by Hein ich Zimme , in “The Indian Wo ld Mo he ”, as
“d essed in blood ed, s anding in a boa loa ing on a sea o blood” (1968, apud
Neumann 1972, 152). Despi e he dis ance in ime and place be ween Indian and
I ish adi ions, hey a e closely ela ed acco ding o Ba ba a Walke (1983), who
d aws on he wo k o Me lin S one (1976), A hu A alon (1978) and Aus ine
Wadell (1972) and asse s he simila i y be ween he h ee old aspec s o he G ea
Goddess.11
Thus, he e is in Meehan’s poem a connec ion wi h he my hog aphy o
Mo he I eland, which was p omo ed by na ionalism as an elemen necessa y o
shape na ional iden i y, so ha i could be opposed o ha o impe ial B i annia.
This my h s ill in luences, as Anne Foga y obse es, “ he ways in which
eminini y is cons ued in he coun y oday” (2002, 87). I adop s h ee di e en
ep esen a ions: he young maiden, he old c one and, mo e ele an o his wo k,
he “melancholic mo he who demands unceasing sac i ice and de o ion om he
child en and is he sel de ined by an unswe ing p opensi y o sel -immola ion”
(Foga y 2002, 87). In his con ex , he poe ic pe sona in Meehan’s poem ebels
agains he na ionalis cons uc ion o a Mo he I eland ha has jus i ied he
bloodshed and imposed a model o mo he hood comple ely disconnec ed om he
eali y o mo he s and daugh e s. In he las s anzas we ind he exp ession o
con adic o y eelings in he daugh e : on he one hand, a e en ing he age, she
wan s he Goddess o ecognise he as he b eed: “old cow I’m you cal ” (56), on
he o he hand, he e is a g adual so ening o he ange ha gi es way o he
exp ession o eg e o he loss o he mo he . The las lines e lec he dea h o
his powe ul mo he who is bu ied unde a “g ani e heads one” (57). Killing he
me apho ical mo he may be a necessa y s ep o women w i e s o achie e
In lic ing and Healing Wounds
267
independence and ma u i y, bu i is undeniably a loss and so i is exp essed wi h
he weeping o he daugh e in he las line.
mo he e ishis
hea b eake
o sake and ool
in he pou ing ain
mo he I s and
o e you g a e
and you g ani e heads one
and I weep. (2000, 56-57)
In he hi d pa o he poem, “Who e” (58), he poe ic pe sona ells us ha
she lea n he alue exchange o emale sexuali y e y ea ly and decided o ake
ad an age o i ins ead o was ing i by accep ing he cons ain s a ep essi e
socie y pu s on women. Thus, she chose o p o i om sex and “be cu e, be wized /
up and sussed, commodi y he un” (58). She adop s a c i ical s ance agains
ma iage as a con ac o p ope y on emales’ bodies and he icks women ha e o
use in o de o en e in o his ma ke . She ejec s “ he way he
goodwi es/gi l iends did / p e ending o be meek and do as bid / while close-
managing hei men olk” (58) and she a i ms ha “i wasn’ igh ” (58). This
ebellion agains he meekness and submission o wi es and gi l iends can be seen
as well as a me apho o he ejec ion o he images o women ha ha e been
adi ionally used in poe y.
The one o he poem changes in he las s anzas in which he poe ic pe sona
add esses he eade as a wi ness o he decay: “See me now — / I’m old and blind
and pas my sexual p ime / and i ’s been such a long and lonely ime / since I el
i e in my belly” (58). Howe e , like he ancien Goddess who ma ied a young
husband, he poe ic pe sona s ill wai s o he young boy who will kindle “ he
spa k ha wakes he body in o dance” (58), and will allow he a new inca na ion.
Lau a Lojo obse es ha his iad o “Vi gin”, “Mo he ” and “Who e” “exp esa la
e olución sexual, psicológica y poé ica de un suje o emenino has a alcanza

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268
conocimien o, expe iencia au én ica y pode , que le es con e ido a a és de la
insc ipción de lo co pó eo en sus poemas” (2008, 51-52).
In some poems om Luisa Cas o’s Baleas e baleas (1988), we ind he
con lic ing eelings o an adolescen gi l who wan s o adjus he beha io o he
ules o a nun’s school and be app ecia ed as a good gi l, while he disco e ies
inside and ou side he school con adic he au hen ici y o he ole models she is
augh . The poe ic pe sona expe iences he spli be ween he idealised no ma i e
model o a gi l and he au hen ic sel . She add esses he mo he and ies o
con ince he ha she does all he hings a good gi l should do o please he nuns.
This desc ip ion o a good gi l’s beha io is in e up ed om ime o ime by he
accoun o he spon aneous mani es a ions o he pe sonali y ha con adic s his
idyllic image. We can de ec ha , despi e he e o s, she has no succeeded in
ge ing he nuns’ app o al and she can eel hei con emp uous c i icism abou he
pa en s.
As monxas mándanme le as esc i u as
po que son buena e eño ca a de buena, loi iña, así,
e eño ca a de ocación
e son a p imei a
en esol e os p oblemas de Rubio
As eces xu o, pe o iso é po que non eño pais, mamá
Pe o son buena
e can o no co o lo es a Ma ía,
ou ás no enas de maio có uni o me cheo de ba o
de xoga cos píca os a ei os e e dades
pe o as monxas pensan que é po que son medio neno
e xogo ó ú bol. (1988, 49)
In he backg ound o hese poems, some issues s and ou : co po al
punishmen , disc imina ion acco ding o social class and he con adic ion be ween
he hypoc isy o eligious discou se abou sexuali y, which was conside ed he
wo s o sins,12 and he ac o sexual abuse o child en ha ook place a some
nuns’ and p ies s’ schools. The poems also highligh he need o he gi ls o
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disco e he eali y o sex and o expe ience sexual desi e, despi e he ep ession
hey a e subjec ed o. The poe ic pe sona in Cas o’s poems ells he mo he how
some o he school’s iends a e punished, “péganlle nas pun as dos dedos coa a a
de limi a a peninsula” (51), and how she is spa ed physical punishmen , “a min
non me pegan po que pago o in a. / Eu son pob e mamá / pe o pago o colexio e
sei demos a o cocien e” (57). Howe e , she canno a oid ano he kind o
chas isemen , despi e all he e o s o beha e as a good gi l:
a min non me pegan, mamá, po que son a p imei a en ap ende
onde queda Ca aluña chis-pun- uego, po que son
a p imei a
en demos a o cocien e
aínda que xu e;
a min, mamá, se ago asnadas
mé enme man no cua o do bo iquín e non me pegan,
mé enme man e que non ande en mo o cos píca os
que son uns xíba os e só que en
baixa mne as b agas. (1988, 51)
The gi l ies o minimise he sexual abuse by con incing he mo he ha
he ime she is exposed o i is sho e han ha o o he gi ls, because she does no
do he bad hings hose o he gi ls do: “Se ago asnadas / échanme no cua o do
bo iquín po pouquiño empo / po que son buena e non son coma Ana F anco”
(53). Thus, she ies o sa egua d he image o a good gi l as opposed o some o
he school iends ha , acco ding o he nuns’ s anda ds, a e bad gi ls, like
“Ca me”, who shows hem he i s in he oile and smokes, o “Ana F anco”, who
laughs a he nuns and igh ens hem. We can see how he nuns’ obsession abou
sex, cold showe s and Sain Thomas a e echoed in he daugh e ’s ques ions o he
mo he : “Mamá, / ¿Qué se sin e debaixo dun home? ¿Qué se sin e lendo a San o
Tomás debaixo da ducha ía?” (51). These ques ions a e epea ed in e mi en ly as
he gi l disco e s ha sexuali y is no only a h ea ening sin in he nuns’ wo ds,
bu a eali y ha is e e ywhe e a ound he : “Mamá, qué se sin e debaixo de meu
pai, os sábados” (57).
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270
The lack o eedom o deal wi h he issue o sex, as well as he
con adic ion be ween he eligious discou se o pu i y and he hidden sexual
abuse, c ea ed an a mosphe e o guil and blame a ound sexuali y. This b ough
abou he need o gi ls o disco e and expe ience i in hidden da k places o
which mo he s we e supposed o ha e no no ice.
Mamá,
i non sabes o que pasa na úl ima ila do cine
coas máis g andes.
Rosa ás eces amén pe o ago que non mi o.
Mamá, i non sabes o que pasa cando me quedo soa con Ca me
a a e a clase. (1988, 53)
[…]
As in e nas danlle b omu o á cea
Pe o despois, pola noi e, déi anse xun as de es.
Mamá, i non sabes o que pasa coas in e nas cando se quedan soas. (1988, 55)
In spi e o all he e o s o he young gi l o i in o he mould o a good
gi l, he ebelliousness and spon anei y b eaks ou he s i ness o he model and,
consequen ly, she is o en expelled om he class and has o expend long hou s in
he co ido s: “As eces xu o e bó anme ó a. / En e cei o paséi odo o ano nos
co edo es / endo oa a Sampi” (59). Al hough he gi l boas s abou he lack o
ea o un eal dange s, such as lions in he ci cus, she acknowledges ha she is
a aid o he medicine cabine oom and co ido s, since hese a e dange ous places
whe e he gi l is unp o ec ed om abuse: “Só lle eño medo ós co edo es / e a
queda me soa coa monxa no cua o do bo iquín” (59).
Ma ila Aleixand e’s Ca álogo de elenos (1999) is dedica ed o he
mo he : “á miña nai Ma ila Aleixand e, / que esc ibía poemas pa a ompelos”. I
is impo an o obse e ha bo h he w i e and he mo he ha e he same name
because in he i s poem o his book, “baixo as uñas” (1999, 13-14), he poe ic
pe sona acknowledges ha she had usu ped he mo he ’s name. This app op ia ion
e eals a eeling o econcilia ion wi h he dead mo he and he ecogni ion o he
as an agen who p opi ia ed he daugh e ’s ebellion. In he essay ha closes he
book, “A mazá en elenada sobe aos labios” (67-71), Pila Palla és a i ms ha
In lic ing and Healing Wounds
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Ca álogo de elenos “é un ac o de amo e un axus e de con as” (67). The cha ac e
o he daugh e who ques ions he sel abou he mo he has no been equen in
Galician poe y and o speak o his con lic ing ela ionship was a kind o aboo o
ce ain ends o Feminism. Howe e , he da k aspec s o he mo he -daugh e
bond appea in ai y ales and we ind he cha ac e s o Snow Whi e and he
jealous S ep Mo he in some o Aleixand e’s poems we a e going o s udy nex .13
They e lec he complexi y o eelings ha a e in e mingled in he mo he -
daugh e ela ionship, as Pila Palla és explains:
Dese amo es e ebado con ódio ala on máis os con os de adas que a
li e a u a adul a, an ben compo ada. Renco pola mad as a que nos
en elena, que é a nosa i al, a que nos clausu a na casa coma Cincen as ou
nos abandona nun bosque eneb oso. (Palla és 1999, 68)
In “baixo as uñas” (1999, 13), he poe ic pe sona o he daugh e add esses
he dead mo he and emembe s how he nigh be o e she died she was emo ing
he pink enamel om he mo he ’s inge nail so ha he doc o could see he blood
unning unde nea h. A he same ime, she emembe s ha , he p e ious yea , she
was wen y i e yea s old and she was e y busy a no being like he mo he and
e asing he enamel o all he inge nails. Wi h his ac ion she symbolises he
ejec ion o he emale ole ha akes o g an ed ha i is pa o he eminine
iden i y o be a ac i e in o de o seduce a a boy iend ha will become a
husband: “es aba an ocupada / en non se coma i / non c ia se e illos / bo a os
esmal es / de odas as uñas” (13). She emembe s ha he e is a pa o he li e,
ha ela ed o sexuali y, which was hidden om he mo he , since sex was usually
one sou ce o misunde s anding be ween mo he s and daugh e s. Now ha he
mo he is dead, he poe ic pe sona con esses he exis ence o a lo e ha he
mo he would no ha e app o ed.
Howe e , despi e he e o s o be di e en om he mo he , he daugh e
acknowledges now ha unde he su ace, once he enamel has been e ased, he e
is he blood she has inhe i ed om he mo he . In ac , i was he mo he who
Reshaping Mi o s
278
Anne Ha igan explains, in he same book, he eason behind he w i ing o his
poem:
In ‘Song’ I was elling mysel and my long dead mo he ha I was abou o
li e my li e my own way, ha he inhe i ed ules I ecei ed om he we e no
going o hold me any longe , ha I was going o s ep ou and li e by my own
ules. (2008, 62)
The poe ic pe sona is eady o o ge e e y hing she has been augh and o
be guided only by “ he ing a ound he moon” ha “is playing on he loo ” and “is
singing in [he ] head onigh ” (63). The moon ings a e op ical e ec s p oduced by
ligh e lec ion ha , in wea he olklo e, o en p edic s o ms. Besides, he moon
has been associa ed in pa ia chal ideology wi h he da k c ea i e o ce o emale
biology. Howe e , in his poem he coming s o m is a posi i e one and is caused
by lo e. The las s anzas a e add essed o he lo e and a e ull o hope and
de e mina ion:
I’ e li a li le lamp, my lo e,
I ’s bu ning in my mind,
The doo is c eeping open
I’m li ing up he blind.
I ha e undone my ap on s ings
I ’s allen on he loo ,
The moon has winked he eye a me,
My hand is on he doo . (2008, 63)
5.5. Re e sing Roles
The eminis s uggle in he se en ies claimed o he need o sha ed
pa en ing and i also helped o inc ease he c ea ion o public child ca e cen es in
o de o allow women o combine mo he hood wi h wo k ou side home. Thus, he
p oblem seemed o be, a leas pa ially, sol ed. Howe e , he p esen economic
c isis oge he wi h he inc ease in li e expec ancy cons i u es a new h ea o
women’s independence, since hey a e conside ed he na u al ca e s o hei old
pa en s in he absence o enough public social se ices. In Spain, he high a e o

In lic ing and Healing Wounds
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unemploymen a ec s specially women and his a ou s he op ion o emaining a
home ca ing old and disabled people, a he cos o us a ing hei hopes o a
pe sonal ul illmen as well as he ealisa ion o being le alone o ace a si ua ion
ha is o en di icul and dis essing.
In he p e ious chap e , we al eady analysed he p esence o aging mo he s
h ough he oice o Ce es in Ea an Boland’s poe y. In his sec ion we a e going
o see he p ocess o illness and decline h ough he oice o he daugh e , as well
as he changes in he ela ionship when he daugh e becomes he one who ca es
o he mo he . I will ocus on he wo k o Ma y Do cey o analyse how she
ep esen ed his pain ul expe ience in some poems published in Mo ing in o he
Space Clea ed by Ou Mo he s (1994) and in Like Joy in Season, Like So ow
(2001) as well. In he poem i led “G is o he Mill” (2001, 8-9), he poe ic
pe sona emembe s he mo he saying ha e e y hing can be “g is o he mill”
and she has o emind he sel “[ ]ha a w i e can make / Use o e e y hing” (8).
Thus, she has decided o ans o m in o poe y he pain ul expe ience o seeing he
mo he losing he memo y o he sel and he p og essi e ans o ma ion in o a
dependen child.14 In he e iew, w i en in he back co e o his book, Ea an
Boland says ha “[ ]his poe y is, abo e all, a celeb a ion o he powe o he
memo y in he ace o i s des uc ion”.
The poem is se in a hospi al oom while he daugh e is eeding he mo he
and, a he same ime, she is ansc ibing he dialogue ha akes place be ween
hem. The image o he daugh e eeding he mo he wi h a spoon and wiping he
chin sugges ha o a mo he wi h he child, bu o he dialogue, which has he
one p ope o adul people. The daugh e epea s he mo he ’s wo ds: “No hing is
was ed, / you say, / No expe ience, / Howe e dismal — / En i ely edundan ”
(2001, 8). She unde s ands hese wo ds as bo h an o e and a pe mission o make
he mos o his si ua ion by gi ing i poe ic ep esen a ion and, on doing so, she
will b ing o he ligh his eali y ha , like many o he aspec s o women’s li es,
has been absen om a is ic c ea ion.
To ake his so ow —
Reshaping Mi o s
280
This i epa able loss;
The e asu e
By s eal h,
O cul u e and pas —
This commonplace and
Un epo ed su e ing,
And pu hem o wo k. (2001, 8)
Mo eo e , he daugh e wan s o escue om e asu e he image o he
mo he she once had. She needs o econs uc h ough memo ies a solid image o
he woman who inhabi ed his body be o e and eco e om obli ion he
“laugh e ”, he “sudden sha s o ision”, he “da k i onies” and e en he p ide, so
ha she can gi e hem he shape o “an a e ac ” (9), o “[s]ome hing / One can
ake up / And pu down” (9). And wi h his econs uc ion o he woman he
mo he was once she will be able o ace he ac ual woman, wi h “[ ]his sly
dispossession — / This in an dependence” (9). The daugh e is de e mined o be
hones and use e e y hing and, despi e he p ide she has inhe i ed om he mo he ,
she will no mask he ha d eali y o he p esen : “Damage and indigni ies, / Piled
day by day, on o / The w eckage o sel ” (9) and she will do i o he mo he ’s
sake and o he own.
The poem which opens he book, “Uncha ed Passage” (2001, 3-4), is a
e lec ion on he sense o p o ec ion agains he s o ms o li e and agains dea h we
eel when we s ill ha e pa en s ha p ecede us in his s uggle. I seems ha , as
long as hey a e ali e, hey a e like a bulwa k ha p o ec s us agains dea h. In his
poem, he poe ic oice o a daugh e add esses he mo he compa ing he o he
lagship ha di ec s he cou se o he amily:
You a e he lagship —
gladly o no
we a el in you wake.
So long as he mas head
bea s you colou s
we hold cou se. (2001, 3)
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281
Howe e , he sense o secu i y abou he s eadiness o he hand ha go e ns
he ship has disappea ed and bo h cap ain and c ew ha e o ace his p og ession
h ough illness and loss ac oss his “uncha ed passage” “[w]he e he s o ms and
shallows / h ea en alike” (3) and hey ha e o s and helpless “[w]hile hal a
li e ime’s / ca go is je isoned / and he lo sam / O memo y; he silks / and he
b ic-a-b ac, / loa ou , / On an ebb ide” (3). Pa en s ha e been he eposi o y o
he s o y o he amily and he memo ies o ou childhood, which a e an impo an
pa o ou pe sonal s o y. When he mo he loses he memo ies i seems ha an
impo an pa o ou li e is in dange o dissol ing in o no hingness since he
pe son who ga e us li e canno ecognise us as he child en. The me apho o
w eckage sugges s his sense o des uc ion and i epa able loss. The poe ic
pe sona wan s o hold igh o his mas o delay he momen o he de ini e
des uc ion.
So long as you hoa d
a emnan o sel
abo e wa e ,
A ail bulwa k
su i es.
In he la e middle-age
We emain, all
o us — somebody’s
child en, s ill. (2001, 3-4)
In “Each Day Ou Fi s Nigh ” (2001, 5-7), he i le o he poem sugges s
he sense o epe i ion o ou ines and dialogues in which ime seems o ha e come
o a s ands ill since he mo he canno emembe wha has been alked abou he
p e ious day. The poe ic oice o he daugh e looks back o y yea s o eco e
he images o he mo he she had when she was young and compa es hese images
wi h hose o he old woman who can be “anybody’s mo he ” (5). This con as
p oduces in he a eeling o es angemen as i ime had no been linea and he e
had been a gap be ween pas and p esen ha p e en s he om ecognising he
Reshaping Mi o s
282
cou se o ime. The daugh e exp esses he ado a ion o a mo he who was in he
memo ies “beau i ul”, “ all and g ace ul”, “da k hai ed” and “laughing” (5). These
memo ies had no hing o do wi h he wo n ou old woman she li es wi h and who
answe s when she calls ou he wo d mo he :
Now I climb he s eps
To a cold house
And call ou a wo d
Tha used o summon he .
An old woman
Comes o he doo :
Gaun eyed, g ey hai ed,
Feeble. An old woman
Who migh be
Anybody’s mo he . She
Fumbles wi h he locks,
And smiles a g ee ing
As i he name spoken
Belonged o he . (2001, 5)
The daugh e ies o build b idges be ween pas and p esen h ough
ou ines and ques ions ha can b ing he back o he p e ious sel and place he in
ime, bu he e o s a e useless and ha e only he e ec o ein o ce he simila i y
o his scene wi h ha o a mo he ying o each he li le child he basic
knowledge abou seasons, hou s and days. Bu eaching a child is a g a i ying
ac i i y, which b ing su p ises e e yday and allow pa en s o enjoy hei child en’s
p og ession owa ds you h and adul hood. On he con a y, he e is no hope o his
child-mo he being able o emembe any hing ha has been augh he and he
only esul is o make he eel ashamed o he incapabili y o e aining any hing.
She canno emembe
The day o he week,
The hou , no
The ime o he yea .
Look a he g ass,
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I say,
Look a he lea es —
You ell me!
Au umn, she answe s
A las . He hands
Wind in he lap,
He eyes like a child’s,
Full o shame. (2001, 5-6)
Howe e , his kind o s agna ion in ime is no a sa egua d agains loss. The
daugh e knows ha all he e o s o ancho he mo he in he p esen and delay
he de ini e annihila ion o he iden i y a e doomed o ailu e: “Each day, / A li le
mo e / Is los o he , / Cap u ed o an ins an , / Then gone” (6). Agains his, he
daugh e has o hold on o he memo ies o a younge mo he and she accep s hese
p esen ou ines ha he old woman is s ill able o pe o m, as he epe i ion o an
“[e]xpe imen al piece” in which he mo he can s ill ollow he “s age di ec ions”
she has p ac ised all he li e and can li he hand o wa e he daugh e o “[w]i h
such command — / Wa ching he / Take a bow / F om he cu ain — / You could
swea she / Was bo n o i !” (7).
In “Fi s Lo e” (1994, 17-19) he i s s anza migh seem he oice o a
lo e desc ibing wi h ado a ion he beau y o he lo ed one, bu we soon disco e
ha he poe ic pe sona is a daugh e who add esses he mo he , going back o a
ime when she was a beau i ul and cha ming woman and he daugh e was a li le
gi l in lo e wi h he . The poem ep esen s momen s o happiness and pe ec
connec ion be ween mo he and child walking oge he hand in hand. The mo he
was s ill young enough and he child was old enough o sha e sec e s o childhood
and bo h o hem could look a he u u e wi h g ea expec a ions because illness,
decay and dea h we e no in hei emo ional landscape.
You we e all and beau i ul.
You wo e you long da k hai
wound abou you head,
you neck s ood clea and ull
as he s em o a ase.

Reshaping Mi o s
284
You held my hand in you s
and we walked slowly
alking o small amilia happenings
and o he los sec e s
o you childhood. (1994, 17)
The nex s anzas place his sha ed expe ience in a ime o he yea which
seemed o ha e come o a hal since i was “always au umn” and in a beau i ul
wild landscape ha is desc ibed as he scene y in which mo he and daugh e
enjoyed he play ul expe iences ha linked each o he . They “laughed in a wind” /
ha c acked he lea es om black boughs /and sen hem scu ling abou [ hei ]
ee ” (17). They “would climb” “ o he cli ’s edge” and would enjoy “ he wind
howling” and “ he b ea h om whi e checked wa es” (17), and he gi l is no
a aid o hese imp essi e na u al elemen s because he mo he is he e o p o ec
he .
You s eadied me
agains he wheeling sc eech
o gulls and I lo ed o hink
ha bu o you s eng h
I would umble o he ocks below
o he a ed dea h
you s o ies made me d eam o . (1994, 17-18)
The daugh e emembe s ha hey had no need o asking ques ions no
e en looking in o each o he ’s eyes o communica e. She says ha hei blood was
he way h ough which hei hough s passed “and he sligh es p essu e / o [ hei ]
hands / decided all issues wo dlessly” (18). The ac ha no con e sa ion be ween
hem is necessa y ein o ces he gi l’s eeling ha he sole p esence o he mo he
and he physical connec ion es ablished be ween hem a e enough o gi e he he
wa m secu i y o a p o ec i e lo e. Fu he mo e, he sense o p o ec ion can
change e en he h ea ening aspec s o na u e, o “ he wa e ’s ie ce, inhuman /
company”, which can be ans o med in o a p omise “o some u u e, imeless /
e uge om he ixed / anxie ies / o ou wo ld” (18). The p o ec ion o he mo he ,
who enw aps he in he coa , gi es he gi l s eng h o ace he “ice ee h” (18) o
In lic ing and Healing Wounds
285
he wind. Al hough his scene may ela e o ac ual memo ies o he gi l, i also has
a s ong symbolic powe wi h he image o a lo ing mo he who is powe ul
enough o p o ec he daugh e agains he s o ms o li e. And his sense o
p o ec ion is emphasised by he wa m a mosphe e o he home when hey a i e
he e. This home means “ i e” and “swee , s ong ea” bu also he s o ies ha link
he cha ac e s wi h adi ion and olklo e in he songs he mo he sings. These a e
songs ha ha e an e oca i e powe o ep esen a ion because hey speak “o
I eland’s oubles / and o p oud women lo ed / and los ” (19) and he i idness o
he images se o he gi l “a b illian s age o cha ac e s” ha seem mo e ali e
han he “own chosen iends” (19). These songs connec he o a oman icised
pas inhabi ed p obably by b a e he oes and beau i ul he oines like he mo he .
The poem s a s and inishes wi h he same desc ip ion o he mo he ’s beau y, bu
in he las ou lines he daugh e exp esses he nos algia o a pas ha has o e e
gone: “I was young – / you we e my mo he / and i seems / i was always au umn
hen” (19).
The happy memo ies o a ime sha ed wi h a beau i ul young mo he
desc ibed in he p e ious poem con as sha ply wi h he eeling o wi nessing ou
own oyage owa ds dea h in he ace o ou mo he ’s decline ha is ep esen ed in
Ma y Do cey’s “Repossession” (1994, 56-57). The poe ic pe sona add esses he
old mo he whose womb has been aken ou because she has “no use o i ” (56).
In p e ious chap e s we ha e seen how women ha e o en been conside ed bodies
by pa ia chal ideologies and, equen ly, as wombs o be used. Consequen ly,
losing he c ea i e unc ion o he womb has symbolically been equa ed o losing
eminine iden i y. The daugh e desc ibes he old mo he as “s ooped and ail /
and hin” wi h “ inge s swollen” and knees ha “don’ wo k” (56) and, on seeing
he decay o he mo he ’s body, she inds di icul o imagine ha his same body
was once so young and s ong, ha i was he daugh e ’s “cha io ” and “ ee
house” and, be o e ha , i was he essel ha con ained he .
Reshaping Mi o s
286
To hink ha once
you lesh
was a and ull enough
o eed me
o hink you suckled me –
o hink I b oke om you body
we and da k –
sleek as a seal’s head
b eaking wa e . (1994, 56)
The ealisa ion o he changes in he mo he ’s body awakens he daugh e ’s
awa eness o he own changes since ha ime when she b oke om he mo he ’s
body and obliges he o ace he own ageing p ocess. She obse es how he decline
a ec s also he old woman’s mind, who “mislays e e y hing / bu he pas ”. She
ge s los in he house bu he mind goes back o he pas , o he memo y o he own
mo he , “who died in a Home” (57) because she had all he child en “ o hink o ”
(57) and could no ake ca e o he . The poe ic pe sona a ends o his imagina y
con e sa ion be ween mo he and g andmo he ha e lec s he sense o guil and
he need o jus i ica ion and ecogni ion ha can heal he wounds o he pas . Fo
he daugh e i seems ha as he mo he ’s mind is g adually ailing o g asp he
p esen , he igu e o he g andmo he is g owing mo e and mo e impo an as i
she we e epossessing ha body which was once pa o he .
Becalmed a you i eside –
you alk o he
and she alks back –
endlessly si ing
he a gumen .
Hou by hou
she eclaims you
She has g own in o you lapses –
in o you hands
in o you walk.
Like mo he – like daugh e
I say: excuses – jus i ica ion. (1994, 57)
In lic ing and Healing Wounds
287
When he daugh e ge s i ed “o all his bla he ” and s ands up “ o clea
he able” (58), she ca ches a glimpse o he sel in he mi o he g andmo he ga e
o he mo he and she can see wi h su p ise ha he ace e lec ed in “ he gil -
amed glass” (58) is he mo he ’s ace “looking ou om / [ he daugh e ’s] eyes”
(58). Thus, beyond he ac ha , as we g ow olde , he physical esemblance o ou
pa en s ge s mo e and mo e conspicuous, hese las lines s ess he eeling o
belonging o a chain o women who ha e p eceded us in he pa h o li e and whom
we a e going o ollow owa ds dea h. Tha is he eason behind he uneasiness and
anguish we can eel when we wi ness ou mo he s’ decline because i o ebodes
ou own.
The poems I am going o commen nex , “When You’ e Asleep” (1994, 79-
82) and “Going Home Wi hou You” (2001, 10-11), e lec a wide ange o
eelings he daugh e expe iences be o e he no comple ely assumed ac o he
mo he ’s g adual in an ilisa ion and dependence, as well as he eluc ance o
accep he e e se o oles ha o ce he o adop he iden i y o a mo he .
In “When You’ e Asleep” (1994, 79-82) we ind a si ua ion easily
iden i iable wi h ha o a busy mo he doing he domes ic ou ines while a ending
he unceasing demands o he child. In he opening line, “I’m wo n ou wi h you”
(79), which is epea ed wo mo e imes along he poem, he daugh e exp esses he
exaspe a ion owa d he child-mo he , who ollows he es lessly e e ywhe e
asking ques ions ha may help he o econs uc he amily’s s o y and he own
pas , like a child who wan s o hea he mo he epea s o ies she al eady knows,
bu he de ails o which she has o go en. So, she wan s he mo he o go h ough
hem o e and o e so ha she can build he whole pic u e. Howe e , he e is a
c ucial di e ence be ween he scene desc ibed in he poem and he one ha migh
ake place in a eal mo he -child ela ionship because, o an ac ual child, hese
de ails a e e ained in he mind and help he o build he own iden i y as pa o he
amily, bu o his old child-mo he all he e o s aimed a he econs uc ion o
he pas a e useless since he mind is unable o hold on o hese memo ies and he
Reshaping Mi o s
294
The li e o his “Ma e amilias” is placed in he con ex o a “ all-s o ied
own house” wi h “a mys e ious a ic gloom”, “[b]eds wi h bols e s” and “a sunny,
summe si ing oom”, which migh gi e us he image o he scene y whe e he
g andchild en’s happy memo ies belong. Howe e , he poe ic pe sona anscends
he p i acy o his indi idual li e by placing i in a his o ical con ex in which
women had o ace he consequences o g a e illnesses and wa s and she ells us
ha his house was also he place which wi nessed how he g andmo he
“[b]a e ed away wi h diph he ia, TB om he b ood / Be ween wo wo ld wa s
and a e ” (77). The s o y o his indi idual woman b ings o he ligh he silenced
s o ies o women ha a e no ep esen ed in o icial His o y, al hough his is no
mean o ans o m his woman in o a ic im o in o a symbol. The poe ic pe sona
gi es us de ails o he g andmo he ’s pe sonali y ha make he a lesh and bone
woman, who did no enounce some ashionable luxu ies, o he con ol o e he
educa ion o he child en: “A pansy-eyed lappe she ended o he sel / Obliquely,
in as akhan, o snug suede shoes; / Ambi ious o all, ye slow o p aise o ea /
O spoiling wi h Hollywood no ions, child-d eams” (77). A woman who su i ed
he dea h o wo sons and “wo e Queen Mo he / Ha s” (77). When he daugh e
asked he whe he she would do i again, he answe she gi es, “no chance” (77),
exp esses bo h he ac ha she had no had any o he possibili y o choice and,
e en in he case ha i had been possible o he o go back and s a he li e anew,
she would no eel like going h ough his expe ience wice. The poe ic pe sona
ag ees wi h he : “Womanhood, he s uggle be ween sel and o he s, / Was cos ly;
o deal once wi h he ise and all / O li e, o dea h, enough” (77).
In Sinéad Mo issey’s “My G andmo he h ough Glass” (The e was Fi e in
Vancou e 1996, 42-45), he cha ac e s who appea in his poem a e based on
o me membe s o Mo issey’s amily.15 The e is a symbolic chain ha connec s
he women o he amily and e ases he bounda ies be ween li e and dea h. The
s o ies o he g andmo he , he g ea aun Sa ah, —who sec e ly lo ed he
g and a he —, he mo he and he daugh e , who is he poe ic oice, a e
in e wined a c ucial poin s o bi h and dea h, as wo sides o he same p ocess.

In lic ing and Healing Wounds
295
This p ocess es ablishes among all he emale membe s o he amily a quasi-
eligious ela ionship ha allows hem o c oss he bounda ies o li e and dea h in
o de o help each o he .
In he i s s anza he poe ic oice add esses he dead mo he who is going o
mee in he a e li e hose who lo ed he and e en he spi i s o he child en she
could no ha e, in a possible e e ence o abo ion o misca iages. The poem
ans e s he yea ning o he mo he o he child en she did no ha e o he o he
side o li e, whe e she will mee “ he spi i -child en” [w]hose aces pushed agains
ha line o yea s” (42 and whose deep desi e o be bo n is exp essed wi h a
pa adox, since hey we e “dying o be bo n” (42), linking dea h and bi h in hei
yea ning. In he nex s anzas he poe ic pe sona emembe s how hese spi i -
child en ha e haun ed he mo he un il i was impossible o he o concei e hem:
You said you el he weigh o hei plea
As eyes on you back in an emp y oom
O a lock o pes e ing oices beyond you ange.
Thei whispe ing nagged you mind.
Then his pi acciden , you hys e ec omy
O he usual, age-seep o indi e ence
S opped in e cou se o good
A e ha , hose iny moon- aces we e c ushed. (1996, 42)
In ano he sec ion o he poem he poe ic pe sona desc ibes he bi h as
some hing supe na u al due o he mys e ious in e en ion o he g ea aun Sa ah
who, “ om he o he side” (44), helped he niece in he deli e y o he g and niece,
because “[s]he’d seen enough o childbi h o know / How he unnel o pain can
e i y” (44). Thus, Sa ah sen he niece “sleep in labou ” and “when she woke
om he d eaming she jus wan ed o push” (44), while “ he nu ses wep wi h
laugh e ”. The poe ic pe sona in his poem subs i u es he eligious iconog aphy o
he Vi gin Ma y and he sain s, who a e belie ed o help humans o o e come
di icul si ua ions, by a genealogy o lay women linked by amily ies ha can
help each o he o c oss he “ unnel o pain” bo h ways. Thus, as he newbo n
“en e ed he wo ld wi h a showe o blood” (44) “Sa ah saw [he ] o wi h a
Reshaping Mi o s
296
message o lo e” (44) o he g andmo he in o de o epai he misunde s anding
hey could no sol e when bo h o hem we e ali e.
In his s o y o he women o he poe ic pe sona’s amily, as po ayed in
“My G andmo he h ough Glass”, he igu e o he g ea aun Sa ah is
ep esen a i e o housands o women who did no ma y and whose li es we e
in isible and made i ele an in a pa ia chal socie y since hey did no ul il he
es ablished oles o wi es and mo he s. Howe e , hey equen ly ac ed as
mo he s, ca ing and nu u ing he whole amily while hei eelings abou lo e,
decep ion o jealousy we e igno ed o laughed a . In his poem, he oice o he
g and-niece, ecognises he impo ance o his woman: “She laid ou he dead,
deli e ed / The u ious child en, bu ied / Two sis e s who we e o en wi h
an h ax, / And ne e ma ied” (43). In con as o he magical help Sa ah can exe
because she is dead, hese lines desc ibe he as a woman who played a decisi e
ole in he his o y o he amily and place he in he eal con ex o a di icul ime
ma ked by Wo ld Wa II.16
The cha ac e o Aun Sa ah when she was s ill ali e appea s again in he
poem “Aun Sa ah’s Cupboa ds and D awe s”, collec ed in The S a e o he
P isons (Mo issey 2005, 39). The poe ic pe sona desc ibes he con inemen ha
age and a b oken hip ha e b ough o he old lady whose li e is s ill ull o li le
hings she can enjoy. She si s now in “he high-backed chai wa ching ele ision
/as dus alls o e he soup- in lids/ in he in cupboa d in he ki chen”. Bu she is
no comple ely alone because he si ing oom is “chee ul wi h pho os o ela i e’s
child en” and, he p e ious yea , she had enjoyed ollowing he sun’s eclipse and
seeing how “ he days collapsing wa age” “shu e ed each ace in unison / and hen
eleased hem” (39). Bu now ha Sa ah is dead, he poe ic pe sona, gi es he he
s a us o a i gin mo he , in a domes ic scale, because she s esses he ac ha she
died a i gin bu she sha ed mo he hood.
The sepa a ion be ween li e and dea h is ep esen ed wi h he image o he
glass, h ough which he cha ac e s go and whose anspa ency shades o he
bounda ies be ween he wo wo lds. This image is opposed o he da kness ha
In lic ing and Healing Wounds
297
o en cha ac e ises images o dea h and exp esses he hope o ano he kind o li e
a e dea h, which allows a woman, “ om he o he side” o help hose who s ay
on his side o li e as well as he possibili y o healing he wounds in lic ed o
su e ed in his wo ld. Thus, he poe ic pe sona desc ibes he mo he ’s dea h as he
c ossing o his glass, wi h he se ene con ic ion ha she is going o mee he
people who lo ed he in ano he dimension, in which ime canno be measu ed by
human s anda ds:
You’ e gone h ough he glass and in o he a ms
O he child en who c ied o b eak in o you body.
You mo he will be young again.
No nego ia ion om his side in—
The glass descended and shimme ed open
And hen oze ha d again beyond all no mal iew.
No doub you own ace changed.
No doub memo y ollowed you. (1996, 44)
This blu ing o space- ime bounda ies could be ela ed o a pe cep ion o
ime which is non linea , as Julia K is e a explains in “Women’s Time”, (1986,
187-211). K is e a a i ms ha “ emale subjec i i y would seem o p o ide a
speci ic measu e ha essen ially e ains epe i ion and e e ni y om among he
mul iple modali ies o ime known h ough he his o y o ci iliza ions” (191). The
epe i ion o cycles de e mined by he biological hy hms o woman´s body is
associa ed o hose o na u e and “imposes a empo ali y” “whose egula i y and
unison wi h wha is expe ienced as ex a-subjec i e ime, cosmic ime, occasion
e iginous isions and unnameable jouissance” (191). In ela ion o his, K is e a
obse es he ecu ence o he my h o esu ec ion:
O one is eminded o he a ious my hs o esu ec ion which, in all eligious
belie s, pe pe ua e he es ige o an an e io o concomi an ma e nal cul ,
igh up o i s mos ecen elabo a ion, Ch is iani y, in which he body o he
Vi gin Mo he does no die bu mo es om one spa iali y o ano he wi hin
he same ime ia do mi ion (acco ding o O hodox ai h) o ia assump ion
( he Ca holic ai h). (K is e a 1986, 191)
Reshaping Mi o s
298
The poems o Galician w i e s ha we a e going o commen nex e lec he
need o eco e he s o y o ou emale ela i es and inse hei li es in o a his o y
ha has unde alued and igno ed hem. In Ana Romaní’s “A oa” (A den, 1998),
in one sec ion o Ma a Dacos a’s Se emb o and in Xohana To es’ “Elexías a
Lola” (2004) [1980], he poe ic oices o g anddaugh e s pay homage o he
unknown li es o hei emale ances esses.
In Ana Romaní’s “A oa” (1998, 29-31), he poe ic pe sona emembe s he
s o ies he g andmo he old he and he expe iences hey sha ed oge he . In a
coun y like Galicia ha has been p edominan ly u al un il he second hal o he
wen ie h cen u y, g andpa en s ha e been he eposi o y o a ich o al adi ion
which co e ed, no only olk ales, bu also deep knowledge abou plan s, animals,
as well as he language and he non-w i en his o y o he land, which ha e been
igno ed o ma ginalised by he dominan Spanish cul u e. To his, i mus be added
ha a close ela ionship was o en es ablished be ween g andmo he s and li le
child en, who s ayed a home while adul s we e ou side, wo king in he ields, wi h
he ca le, o , in ishing illages, a sea. Thus, in he wa m a mosphe e o he
ki chen, g andmo he s we e he ansmi e s o a cul u e ha is abou o disappea .
In Romaní’s poem, he g anddaugh e asks he g andma o ell he again “os
alcumes e as his o ias /os pe ís das xeog a ías que habi amos e nos posúe / a e a
desde Noia nun ma que non exis e / que in en amos” (30). Mo eo e , he young
woman wan s he olde one o acompany he o be wi ness o he des uc ion o he
ma ine en i onmen : “Baixemos a oa ó malecón e mo e os peixes e o ma ”
(30).
In Ma a Dacos a’s Se emb o (1998, 99), om which we ha e analysed
some agmen s in chap e ou , he e is a pho og aph o a gi l and an old woman
wi h a dedica ion: “Á memo ia de Saladina O ega. A odas as mulle es da miña
amilia, illas, ne as e bisne as”. I is e iden he in en ion o he au ho o inse
he own li e as a link be ween a lineage o women ha li ed be o e he and hose
who may possibly con inue he chain, as Te esa Sea a poin s ou in “Re elación da
mulle ocul a” (1998):
In lic ing and Healing Wounds
299
Na igu a undacional da nai eside po én un dob e ínculo que nos ala
ecoicamen e das ou as, elos dunha cadea ma e na que se es ende a a os
p incipios do mundo e das es i pes, e an icipa a nai que ela mesma se á, as
u u as illas e ne as. Me gullándose nesa xinea de descoñecidas an eceso as
— an as que son innomeables e an diluíndo o seu as o acuá ico nas augas
i ais do p opio se — así como nas nais máis p óximas —Saladina,
Manueliña, Rosa, Pepa ou Te esa—, o eu poé ico inicia a p ocu a da súa
de inición xené ica e amilia . (1998, 10)
In Chap e ou we ha e al eady seen he symbolic connec ion ha
Dacos a’s poe ic pe sona es ablishes be ween he bi h and he e ision o E e’s
bi h, placing he sel in a my hological cou se o his o y ha goes back o he ime
when he i s woman was bo n, bu , in his sec ion, he poe ic pe sona looks back
o he s o y o he eal women ha belonged o he amily and places hem in a eal
pas and in a eal Galician landscape. Thus, she can see he image o he
g andmo he “que aínda é an pequena como eu a eco do / e segue alí no ello
paseo Al onso XII” (99). This u ban landscape, “ encido de uídos” which is
sepa a ed by one hund ed s eps om he amilia space o “a p aciña de ped a en
que aínda hai un pozo / ou a casa pequena da indomable Manuela” (99). This
sepa a ion/connec ion be ween spaces e lec s he changes in bo h u ban and u al
Galician landscapes, due o he mig a o y mo emen s om he coun y o he ci y
ha happened in he second hal o he wen ie h cen u y, which was cha ac e ised
by he coexis ence —no always ha monic— o g owing u ban spaces su ounded
by u al and ishing illages and hamle s whe e old people emained li ing in hei
old houses, keeping he ies wi h hose who wen o li e in he ci y and p ese ing
he memo y o a u al wo ld om i s o al disappea ance. Thus, he poe ic pe sona
wan s o eco e he memo y o hese li es and o he people who li ed hem:
Recupe o a memo ia de Pepa silenciada
pola pes e da g ipe cando empezaba o século,
e o mis e io da ida en ga a as de ba o
e algodón po Gonzalo, que naceu a des empo.
Recupe o a iaxe e o sal do ma na noi e
e a chalana a ogada na ou a bei a da ía. (1998, 99)

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She emembe s especially he mo he “ i ando ca bon desde a bu a da / ou
a ada a unha silla de ala cas ellano” (99). Speaking he Galician language
iden i ied you as a peasan , poo and uneduca ed pe son and, in o de o a oid he
consequen disc imina ion and ma ginalisa ion, people compelled hemsel es o
speak Spanish, which was he only language allowed a school. The las lines o
he poem exp ess he iden i ica ion o he poe ic pe sona wi h all he women o he
lineage: “E eu sin o que son hoxe an as que en ón me o on, / Saladina,
Manueliña, Rosa e amén Pepa, / e a mesma Te esa que nos ala incansable /
men es o empo ai odando pola a de” (99).
Xohana To es dedica es he se en poems collec ed unde he i le “Elexías a
Lola” (2004, 189-200) [1980] o he dead g andmo he “Dolo es, nun cemi e io
pe o do ma ” (2004, 185). These poems a e, in ac , pa s o a long poem made o
an in oduc o y one and six sec ions. All o hem ha e an elegiac one in
acco dance wi h he i le and, h ough hem, he powe ul image o he
g andmo he becomes ali e in he ememb ance o he poe ic pe sona. In he
in oduc o y poem she iden i ies Lola wi h he i e A ia, which lows h ough he
ineya ds she cul i a ed. The cons an lowing o a i e has o en been used as a
me apho o he con inuous changes in he cou se o li e, which d aws all human
beings owa d dea h.17 The pe manence o he i e , on whose banks Lola li ed
and wo ked, s esses he eeling o an absence ha can only be coun e ac ed
h ough he memo ies ha link g andmo he and g anddaugh e o a sha ed
e i o y and a sha ed ime o childhood:
Podo dici “O A ia” e es i,
calmo xu a do ío anegando as o elas.
Tamén podo dici “Dela non queda nada”
senón es e umo que deixa a olla”…
O meu co azón coñece e i o ios
que non some e á noi e: País onde nacemos
lib e de oda somb a.
Así o decla o odo: In ancia coma as a es
e a humidade na a bo eda. (2004, 189)
In lic ing and Healing Wounds
301
The me apho o li e as a i e ha uns o he sea o dea h appea s again in
a agmen o sec ion “I” (191-192). The poe ic pe sona places he sel in he eal
se ing o a house whe e he sounds o he wind and he sea can be hea d and a an
speci ic ime o he yea , Sep embe , ha signals he end o summe and he s a
o au umn. Bo h place and ime acqui e explici symbolic meaning, since he sea
symbolises dea h and Sep embe is he ime o ha es ing he ipe ui . Also, he
alling o lea es has usually been used as me apho s o dea h. The choice o ime
and place o say goodbye o he g andmo he , ep esen s he accep ance o he
ine i able low o li e and dea h and he solemn in oca ion “[m]ulle da miña
cas a, Lola das oxas iñas” (192) exp esses he p ide o belonging o he lineage
o his woman, o whom she gi es a i le o nobili y, bo owing he way kings used
o ecognise he deeds o some ou s anding assals. By calling he “Lola das oxas
iñas” he poe ic pe sona wan s o unde line he nobili y o wo k and s ess he
cha ac e o a ha d-wo king woman as well as he sense o a achmen o he land
she wo ked and li ed in.
Polo silencio des a casa g ande consigo o son do ma .
Ouh, que en o das illas, Lola de amo , que en o,
xa que odos os gozos inan nun ma , ben salado, o
da mo e!
Mulle da mina cas a, Lola das oxas iñas,
es e mes e se emb o a edimi se
madu amen e pa a alguén no oi o.
Ti, acouga en paz. Sob e a iolen a e du a da úa
umba
aballan en inglei as a anosas o migas. (2004, 192)
In pa “II” (193-194), he poe ic pe sona desc ibes wi h admi a ion he
s ong pe sonali y o Lola, and admi s ha she has no inhe i ed he con idence,
al hough she had always ied o imi a e he : “E as p ecisa e o e. Non iñas medo
a nada. / Lei ex aña do he do: non obs an e eu, / aínda na escu idade, aínda hoxe
con usa, / ¡ an o que e imi aba!” (2004, 193). The g anddaugh e can s ill eel he
powe ul in luence in he a mosphe e o he bed oom whe e she can en e he
magic ci cle ha , as i has been said in p e ious sec ions, symbolises he p o ec i e
Reshaping Mi o s
302
sac ed space o he g ea Goddesses: “Cando en o na alcoba / no o no ambien e o
eu cí culo máxico / e os anos non o le an” (193).
This g andmo he , like he one in Ma a Dacos a’s poem and he as
majo i y o Galician women o hei age, did no ha e access o wha was o icially
conside ed cul u e, bu hose who li ed in close con ac o na u e had he ances al
knowledge o i s cycles and he ag icul u al p ac ices ha did no des oy he
en i onmen . The poe ic pe sona wan s o p esen he au hen ic cha ac e o his
woman o coun e ac he bou geois image o he , d essed in el e o he
occasion, which has been immo alised in a pho og aph ha hangs in he dining
oom. The pho og aph e lec s a s e eo yped image o a woman and he poe ic
pe sona conside s his o be he pho og aphe ’s ailu e. Agains his a i icial s a ic
ep esen a ion, she p e e s o symbolise he wi h he image o a “[s]imple cunca /
pa a un simple xan a / conseguido, se cad a, coa suo co iá” (193) and gi es us a
desc ip ion o he dynamic ha d-wo king woman p oud o he ineya ds:
“Todas as bei as do A ia o on miñas”…
Na encos a campesiña, ao eclamo das cepas,
¡en ón si que ba ías, Viña ei a, nas inas,
cando oda e idencia e a unha luz de ou ono
ecub i de ou os cada acio! (2004, 193)
In pa “III” (195-196), he poe ic pe sona desc ibes he amily house as he
place ha has wi nessed he li es o he membe s o he amily, whose names a e
emembe ed o escue hem om obli ion: “Aquí xoga on / An ón, Manuel,
Rosiña, Pepe, Basilisa, Ma ciana, / a Ma uxa, os ne os. Tamén mo eu Rosa io.”
(193). The house is emembe ed h ough memo ies o senso ial expe iences and is
i sel pe soni ied as one li ing being ha is cons an ly wai ing o hea he dogs
ba k which will announce he p esence o isi o s. I is also he place ha
cong ega ed he amily a ound he g andmo he , who helped o main ain he amily
ies and p ese e hem om b eaking up, hanks o he decision o emain he e
and no o be ansplan ed o he ci y. A decision ha has he powe o
compensa ing e en o he disin eg a ing o ce o emig a ion and he will o
In lic ing and Healing Wounds
303
main ain he memo y o he ha d li es o unknown peasan s who a e pa o he
unknown his o y o he land.
Casa a en a aos lad idos dos cans,
a po a de empa ado que se g a a nos ollos
cando imos no en; a cancela sen cha e,
os igos migueliños, os ca o limoei os
que nos con idan dende que nacemos.
Ía e iña a amilia só po e e a i,
os illos que co ían as millas dos océanos,
os ou os, seden a ios, lab egos sen his o ias
a e ados ás cepas e ao pan de cada día. (2004, 195)
Now ha he g andmo he is no he e, he ha mony o na u e canno ill he
emp iness o he absence and he poe ic pe sona knows ha no ma e how ha d
she would wish o conju e up he p esence h ough he bi ds, he moon, o he
wind, nobody is going o come: “Ninguén i á. Ninguén. / Polo ellado es a a esa
is eza, / oco de i, e a chu ia, miudiña” (196).
Luciano Rod íguez a i ms in “As ma eas poé icas de Xohana To es”
(Poesía eunida 2004, 9-37), ha “Elexías a Lola” is “un homenaxe á mulle
labo iosa, independen e, en egada, eble e o e, dona da casa, encello social,
alen e e a iscada, mulle que camiña ca a ó solpo , conscien e de que é a e de
paso” (Rod íguez 2004, 31).
5.7. Conclusion
The aim o his chap e has been o show an o e iew o he mul i ace ed
and, some imes con lic ing, aspec s o he ela ionship o he daugh e s wi h hei
mo he s as hey a e ep esen ed in he poe y o some o he I ish and Galician
w i e s objec o his s udy. The main conclusion is ha hese ela ionships a e
g ea ly de e mined by age, as well as by economic, social and pe sonal
ci cums ances. Consequen ly, he mo he -daugh e bond canno be o ced o i
in o any o he o alising discou ses —Psychoanalysis o Radical Feminism, o
ins ance— ha ied o ind a uni ying heo y ha could explain he di e si y o

311
NOTES
In oduc ion
1. Unde a law imposed in 1847, called he “G ego y Clause” no enan holding mo e
han a qua e ac e o land was eligible o public assis ance. Thus, hose who sough
en ance in o he wo khouses in o de o a oid dea h by s a a ion, had o su ende
hei holdings o hei landlo ds. I is es ima ed ha o e a qua e o a million people
su e ed he mass e ic ions o clea ances by which hey we e dispossessed o hei
land and hei homes we e le elled o bu n . These e ic ions wo sened he al eady
despe a e si ua ion o he peasan y. See Ch is ine Kinealy (1994).
2. Ch is ine Kinealy a i ms ha “o e one million people died and an e en g ea e
numbe emig a ed” (2002, 2).
3. ‘Fo o’ is a sys em o enancy o land ha allowed peasan s o cul i a e he as
amoun o land which belonged o he monas e ies, he cle gy and he nobili y. Fo
u he in o ma ion abou he sys em o o os in Galicia, see Ramón Villa es (1982a,
1982b).
4. I is es ima ed ha he I ish popula ion was cu by o e 25% a e he Famine. Fo
u he in o ma ion see Pe e G ay (1995), Ca hal Poi ei (1995), Ch is ine Kinealy
(2002) and James S. Donnelly (2005). In Galicia, seasonal emig a ion o Cas ile had
aken place along he eigh een h cen u y and con inued du ing he nine een cen u y
bu , om 1850 on, massi e emig a ion o La in-Ame ica p oduced a cons an
dec ease o popula ion. Fo u he in o ma ion see Ramón Villa es (1985) and Pila
Cagiao (1997).
5. “The Galician na ional an hem, based on a poem by Edua do Pondal (1835-1917),
claims ha Galicia is he home o B eogán, Ame gin g ea -g and a he ” (Palacios and
Lojo 2009, 13). Acco ding o he Lebo Gabála É enn —known in English as he
Book o In asions— Ame gin, is a my hological I ish d uid and ba d among he sons
o Mil “who allegedly depa ed om Galician sho es” (Palacios and Lojo, 2009, 13)
and in aded I eland.
6. Resea ch done in he ield o I ish S udies is cu en ly held in he h ee Galician
uni e si ies.
7. This p ojec was unded by he Spanish Minis y o Educa ion (2005-04897) and has
been con inued in wo u he ela ed p ojec s (2009-08475, 2012-35872).
8. Th ough his p ojec , I ish and Galician women w i e s, as well as schola s, li e a y
c i ics and edi o s, ha e collabo a ed in di e en ways —con e ences, semina s,
poe y eadings, essays and ansla ions o poems om I ish and English in o
Galician and ice e sa. All hese ac i i ies ha e been ex emely ui ul and hei
Reshaping Mi o s
312
esul s can be ound in he books published: Plu i e sos: Seis poe as i landesas de
hoxe. (Manuela Palacios ed. 2003) Palab as Ex emas: Esc i o as gallegas e
i landesas de hoy (Manuela Palacios and Helena González eds. 2008), W i ing
Bonds. I ish and Galician Con empo a y Women Poe s (Manuela Palacios and Lau a
Lojo eds, 2008), To he Wind Ou Sails. I ish W i e s T ansla e Galician Poe y
(Ma y O’Donnell and Manuela Palacios eds. 2010), C ea ion, Publishing and
C i icism: The Ad ance o Women’s W i ing (Mª Xesús Noguei a, Lau a Lojo and
Manuela Palacios eds. 2010) and Fo ked Tongues: Galician, Basque and Ca alan
Women’s Poe y in T ansla ion by I ish W i e s (Manuela Palacios ed. 2012).
9. Xela A ias died in 2003, aged 41.
10. All he wo ks by Galician women w i e s selec ed o his disse a ion a e w i en in
Galician, excep o some poems by Luz Pozo Ga za, —w i en in Spanish— which
we e i s published in 1956.
11. To ci e only a ew examples: Ei hne S ong also w o e sho s o ies and no els; Ea an
Boland, p ose essays; Ma y O’Donnell and Ke y Ha die, no els, and Anne Ha igan,
d ama; Ma ila Aleixand e, Xohana To es, and Luisa Cas o, ic ion.
12. Al hough adically di e en in hei poli ical aims, I ish Republican na ionalism and
P o es an na ionalisms —Unionis and Loyalis — in No he n I eland sha ed wi h
Spanish F ancois na ionalism he pa ia chal discou se abou he place hey assigned
o women. Rega ding No he n I eland, Monica McWilliams a i ms: “ he
adi ional link be ween na ionalism (bo h o ange and g een) and hei espec i e
chu ches has ensu ed ha he ul a-conse a i e iew o women as bo h he p ope y
o and he in e io o men emains s ongly en enched in I ish socie y” (1993, 81). In
Spain, Galician, Basque and Ca alan na ionalisms we e banned —as poli ical
pa ies— a e he Ci il Wa .
13. In I eland, he lack o ep esen a ion o women w i e s became e iden when, in
1991, The Field Day An hology o I ish W i ing I, II, III was published by Seamus
Deane as gene al edi o and i was ound ha he as majo i y o women w i e s and
a is s we e omi ed in he h ee olumes. Heidi Hansson (2003) obse es ha “[i]
would ha e been conside ed ludic ous” (149) i hose i s h ee olumes had been
sub i led “Men’s W i ing and T adi ions” (149), al hough his was wha hey we e
abou . Hansson sugges s ha his was due o he ac ha all edi o s we e men bu
also ha “women’s issues did no i in o he agenda” (149). In o de o epai his
omission, which aised a g ea con o e sy a he ime, a eam o women schola s co-
edi ed The Field Day An hology o I ish W i ing Volumes IV and V: Women’s W i ing
and T adi ions (Angela Bou ke e al. 2002), which was he esul o a en-yea s wo k
p ojec in which hey compiled a g ea bulk o women’s w i ing om di e en ields.
Hansson unde lines “ he ema kably long ime i has aken o challenge he
pe cep ion ha he e ha e been no no able I ish women w i e s” (2003, 149).
The si ua ion in Galicia has some simila i ies wi h ha in I eland. In An ologia de
poesia galega (ed. Ya a F a eschi Viei a, 1996) i e women and wen y i e men
we e ep esen ed. In A ibo das baleas. Poe as de a es o a. (ed. Helena González,
2001) he e is a balance be ween con empo a y women and men w i e s. Howe e ,
No es
313
wo yea s la e , he An oloxía consul ada da poesía galega 1976- 2000 (ed. A u o
Casas, 2003) is again unbalanced in a ou o men; —six women and wen y men. In
his case i is in e es ing o know he me hodology employed o he selec ion o
au ho s and wo ks, which he edi o explains in he “P oemio”: He asked wo hund ed
people —au ho s, edi o s, eache s, c i ics and e en his o ians o Li e a u e— o
elabo a e a lis o i een au ho s and en poe y books. Almos hal he people
answe ed and he inal selec ion o poe s was he esul o he lis s o mo e o ed
au ho s and books. Casas unde lines he ac ha , al hough he i s lis o people
consul ed was gende balanced, among hose who answe ed, only 27% we e women.
I seems p obable ha his may ha e in luenced he esul s, bu he ac emains ha
in 2003 he wo k o women poe s was nei he as well known no alued as men’s.
14. Cla a Campoamo , along wi h some colleagues om o he Eu opean coun ies
c ea ed he In e na ional Fede a ion o Women Lawye s in Pa is in 1928.
15. Vic o ia Ken was Gene al Di ec o o P isons om 1931 o 1934. Du ing his sho
pe iod she implemen ed a g ea numbe o measu es des ined o imp o e he
condi ions o li e in p ison. Fo u he in o ma ion abou he li e and wo k o
Vic o ia Ken , see Villena (2007) and Balague Cas ejón (2007).
16. Cla a Campoamo e lec ed he s uggle in he book El o o emenino y yo: mi
pecado mo al (2006) [1935].
17. Pa adoxically, igh -wing pa ies suppo ed women’s su age on he same basis.
They hough ha women would o e conse a i e, which in ac happened: in 1933
igh -wing pa ies won and Cla a Campoamo was no e-elec ed. Howe e , in 1936,
le -wing pa ies won, showing a signi ican shi in women’s o e in he sho span
o h ee yea s.
18. We canno conside as uni e sal democ a ic su age he igh o pa icipa e in he
elec ions o ganised unde F anco’s dic a o ship, since poli ical pa ies we e o bidden
and so was he possibili y o campaigning agains he p oposals o F ancois
go e nenmen . Besides, i could be dange ous o abs ain om pa icipa ing in local
elec ions and he wo e e enda, since his could signal you as a disa ec ed pe son by
he au ho i ies.
19. This encyclical s a es: “Le i be epea ed as an immu able and in iolable
undamen al doc ine ha ma imony was no ins i u ed o es o ed by man bu by
God; no by man we e he laws made o s eng hen and con i m and ele a e i bu by
God, he Au ho o na u e, and by Ch is Ou Lo d by Whom na u e was edeemed,
and hence hese laws canno be subjec o any human dec ees o o any con a y pac
e en o he spouses hemsel es” (Cas i Connubii 1930, 5).
20. Among he o ganisa ions Mac Cu ain men ions I will ci e The I ish Women’s
F anchise League, ounded by Hanna Sheehy Ske ing on and Ma ga e Cousins in
1908, he I ish Su agge Socie y, ounded by Anna Haslam in 1876 and he Ladies
Land League, ounded by Fanny and Anna Pa nell as an auxilia y b anch o he Land
League, which had played an impo an ole in u al a eas a e he Famine. Ano he
impo an women’s o ganisa ion was ounded in 1914, he Cumann na mBan — he
I ish Women’s Council─, which was conse a i e in i s aims bu “in he a e ma h o
Reshaping Mi o s
314
he Rebellion i p o ed i eless in o ganising poli ical p isone s” (Mac Cu ain 2008,
95).
21. Fo u he in o ma ion abou women’s po e y see Ma y Daly b (1993).
22. Michaela Sch age-F üh obse es ha he ideal o he Vi gin Ma y as he model o
Ca holic I ish mo he is una ainable and poin s ou ha “[b]esides poli ical and
ma e ial consequences, he psychological con lic su e ed by indi idual women
aced wi h he ideal o i ginal pu i y can be equally de as a ing” (2006, 124).
23. The P o ec ion o Li e Du ing P egnancy Ac became law in July 2013. Abo ion is
pe mi ed when he e is isk o loss o li e om physical illness (sec ions 7 and 8).
Among he isks, suicidal idea ion is included (sec ion 9). The e a e no law ul
p o isions o abo ion in case o ape o inces in his ac . Abo ion is no pe mi ed
when he e is a se ious illness o he e us, e en i he e is no possibili y o i being
iable.
24. Fo u he in o ma ion abou Galician women’s emig a ion see Cagiao Vila (1997)
and Liña es Gi au (2009).
Chap e 1. P egnan Bodies/Embodied Subjec i i ies
1. Acco ding o adi ional psychoanaly ic heo y, he lack o a penis o igina es in
woman a eeling o cas a ion ha would only be compensa ed by ha ing a child.
2. In I eland, The P o ec ion o Li e Du ing P egnancy Ac became law in July 2013.
Abo ion is pe mi ed when he e is isk o loss o li e om physical illness (sec ions
7 and 8). Among he isks, suicidal idea ion is included (sec ion 9).The e a e no
law ul p o isions o abo ion in case o ape o inces in his ac . Abo ion is no
pe mi ed when he e is a se ious illness o he e us, e en i he e is no possibili y o
i being iable.
3. In he Spanish O ganic Law 9/1985, induced abo ion was legalised in h ee cases:
se ious isk o he physical o men al heal h o he p egnan woman, ape and
mal o ma ions o de ec s, physical o men al, in he e us. The O ganic Law 2/2010
o sexual and ep oduc i e heal h allowed un es ic ed abo ion du ing he i s 14
weeks o p egnancy. F om hen on, i was only pe mi ed when he li e o ei he he
mo he o he e us was in se ious isk. This isk mus be es ablished by a commi ee
o specialis s. Deba e abou abo ion is a cu en issue again, in 2014, because he
p ojec o a new law has been launched by he Minis e o Jus ice Albe o Ruiz
Galla dón. This p ojec conside ably es ic s he possibili y o women o decide
abou hei p egnancy.
4. “In he Phaedo passion [ he body] dis ac s he philosophe om he pu sui o
knowledge, bu in he Symposium i mo i a es ha pu sui : lo e o he body is he
essen ial i s s ep on he spi i ual ladde ha culmina es in ecogni ion o he e e nal
o m o Beau y” (Bo do 1995, 3-4).
5. Desca es a i ms ha by body he unde s ands “all ha can be e mina ed by a ce ain
igu e; ha can be comp ised in a ce ain place, and so ill a ce ain space as
No es
315
he e om o exclude e e y o he body; ha can be pe cei ed ei he by ouch, sigh ,
hea ing, as e, o smell; ha can be mo ed in di e en ways, no indeed o i sel , bu
by some hing o eign o i by which i is ouched [and om which i ecei es he
imp ession]” (h ml edi ion 2005. John Vei ch’s ansla ion 1901).
6. A new law was p esen ed in he Spanish pa liamen in No embe 2010. Acco ding o
his law, an ag eemen be ween bo h pa en s is equi ed o decide which su name
goes i s ; o he wise, he su names will be assigned in alphabe ical o de .
7. Agus ine a i ms ha hese animals’ seeds a e no in hei bodies, “bu in he elemen s
om which hey a ise by spon aneous gene a ion”. See Edmund Hill and John E.
Ro elle (2002, 227)
8. This labo a o y expe imen won Pas eu he p ize o e ed by he Academy o
Sciences o Pa is in 1864.
9. Anne Ha igan’s poems “In Tha Ga den”, “E e—New Mou h” and “F om Eden”
(1993) sub e he my h o he Fall by ep esen ing a powe ul E e who disdains
Adam’s cowa dice and claims he igh o ea he apple. See González A ias (1998).
10. Fionn/Finn Mac Cumhaill was a my hical hun e -wa io o I ish my hology,
occu ing also in he my hologies o Sco land and he Isle o Man. The s o ies o
Fionn and his ollowe s, he Fianna, o m he Fenian Cycle (o Fiannaidheach ).
James MacKillop a i ms ha “ he Salmon has been especially impo an in Cel ic
adi ion, bo h Goidelic and B i honic as a eposi o y o o he wo ldly wisdom” (1986,
20) The Salmon o Knowledge episode was he i s o a se ies o magical ad en u es
which p epa ed Fionn o his ca ee as a g ea chie . When he was young, Fionn me
he d uid and poe Finnegas, and s udied unde him. Finnegas had ied
unsuccess ully o ca ch he Salmon o Knowledge, which li ed in a pool on he i e
Boyne —whoe e a e he salmon would gain all he knowledge in he wo ld.
E en ually he caugh i , and old he boy o cook i o him. While cooking i , Fionn
bu ned his humb, and ins inc i ely pu his humb in his mou h, swallowing a piece o
he salmon's skin. This imbued him wi h he salmon's wisdom and wi h he powe o
di ina ion. He hen was able o call on he knowledge o he salmon by sucking his
humb. Fo u he in o ma ion see MacKillop (1986).
11. The Cancione o de Uppsala —named a e he Swedish uni e si y in whose lib a y
he book was ound— also known as Cancione o del Duque de Calab ia o
Cancione o de Venecia, is a collec ion o Spanish Renaissance illancicos published
in 1556.
12. Deme e , Heca e and many o he goddesses bea a o ch as hei symbol. Fo u he
in o ma ion see Neumann (1972).
13. Mi cea Eliade (1958) a i ms: “P inciple o wha is o mless and po en ial, basis o
e e y cosmic mani es a ion, con aine o all seeds, wa e symbolizes he p imal
subs ance om which all o ms come and o which hey will e u n ei he by hei
own eg ession o by a ca aclysm” (1958, 188). In his line, Ba ba a Walke d aws on
Campbell (1959) and Neumann (1972) and explains ha wa e is “ he A ché, mo he
o all hings. Wa e ga e bi h o spi i , supposedly a male p inciple; hence he idea o

Reshaping Mi o s
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bap ismal ebi h ha Ch is ians copied om he pagans in ol ed bo h wa e
( eminine) and spi i (masculine)” (Walke 1983, 1066).
14. The poe ic pe sona in “Found A chi ec u e” may be add essing Ke y Ha die, o
whom he poem is dedica ed.
15. Theo ising in a ou o su ogacy con ac s akes o g an ed ha he e is no a ec i e
bond be ween he p egnan mo he and he child she has been ca ying inside o nine
mon hs and ha gi ing he child away will no a ec he physical and men al
in eg i y.
16. The Ame ican ac o Michael Douglas acknowledged some yea s ago ha he was a
sex-addic .
17. This men ion o a new p esiden may e e o Bill Clin on whose Swea ing-In
Ce emony was on 20 h Janua y 1993.
18. Fo u he in o ma ion abou he meaning and symbolism o he ci cle see Mi cea
Eliade (1957) and E ich Neumann (1963).
Chap e 2. Tying and Un ying Bonds.
1. In Spain, ma iage be ween same-sex pe sons was allowed in he Law 13/2005, “po
la que se modi ica el Código Ci il en ma e ia de de echo a con ae ma imonio”.
Chap e 44 o he exis ing Ci il Code was modi ied by adding: “El ma imonio end á
los mismos equisi os y e ec os cuando ambos con ayen es sean del mismo o de
di e en e sexo” (BOE 157, 2/07/2005).
2. In he USA, i is widely assumed ha any pa y can b each a con ac . The majo
emedy a ailable a common law o b each o con ac is an awa d o damages. This
is a mone a y sum ixed by he cou o compensa e he inju ed pa y. The amoun o
damages is o compensa e he claiman o his loss, no o punish he de endan .
(www.goldsmi hibs.com).
3. In Spain, he Law 14/2006 s a es clea ly in a icle 10: “Se á nulo de pleno de echo el
con a o po el que la ges ación, con o sin p ecio, a ca go de una muje que enuncia a
la iliación ma e na a a o del con a an e o de un e ce o. La iliación de los hijos
nacidos po ges ación de sus i ución se á de e minada po el pa o”. (BOE,
27/5/2006)
4. In 1987 he New Je sey Supe io Cou alida ed he su ogacy con ac and awa ded
cus ody o Baby M o he S e ns. Howe e , in 1988 he New Je sey Sup eme Cou
in alida ed su ogacy con ac s as agains public policy bu “in he bes in e es o he
child”, emanded he case o amily cou which awa ded he S e ns cus ody and
Ma y Be h was gi en isi a ion igh s. See Chessle (1989).
5. Al hough he unc ions o co isol a e complex, his ho mone has been called,
oge he wi h ad enalin, he s ess ho mone, because i is sec e ed in highe le els as a
body’s esponse o s ess in igh -o - ligh si ua ions.
6. Resea ch lead by Ma ga e Al emus, wi h he collabo a ion o Pa icia Deus e , Elise
Galli en, Sue Ca e and Phillip W. Gold (1996), explo ed he co ela ion be ween
No es
317
lac a ion and s ess esponses in humans. Al emus and he colleagues ound ha
lac a ion seems o educe he symp oms o anxie y diso de s. Howe e , hey
acknowledged ha mo e wo k needs o be done o de e mine exac ly which a e he
elemen s o lac a ion physiology ha a e esponsible o p oducing his an i-s ess
e ec . In ano he s udy done by Vic o ia Hend ick, Lo i L. Al shule and Ri a Su i,
“Ho monal Changes in he Pos pa um and Implica ions o Pos pa um Dep ession”
(1998), hey conclude ha he e seems o be some e idences ha he highe o lowe
le el o some ho mones like oxy ocin —which s imula es u e ine muscle con ac ion
a labou and p omo es elease o b eas -milk— “appea s o s imula e ma e nal
beha iou ” (Hend ick e al 1998, 97). Howe e , i has no been assessed o i s
ela ionship o pos pa um dep ession. Among hei conclusions, Hend ick and he
colleagues emphasised he social aspec s ha can al e he mo he ’s mood a e
childbi h: “Clea ly, psychosocial s esso s con ibu e o he synd ome in many
women: a lack o suppo , ma i al con lic , unemploymen , an unplanned p egnancy,
single mo he hood, and younge age a e some ac o s associa ed wi h pos pa um
dep ession” (Hend ick e al, 1998, 98).
7. In he c i ique o pos -F eudian psychoanalysis, Jane Flax (1991) disag ees wi h
Lacan and objec ela ions heo is s wi h ega d o he ela ionship be ween sel and
o he , al hough she inds ele an di e ences be ween hem. Flax a i ms ha Lacan
“is so unne ed by his disco e y o he desi e o he m/o he ha his disco e y esul s
in he ( heo e ical) annihila ion o he sel . Fo Lacan he sel canno eally exis
p ecisely because i comes in o being in and h ough he desi e o he m/o he ” (18).
Flax obse es ha objec ela ions heo is s di e om Lacan in ha hey “belie e i
is possible o be a ‘ ue’ sel , bu only in and h ough a ela ionship wi h a ‘good
enough’ mo he who exis s o he child and in he heo y as an objec ” (18). Flax
admi s ha objec ela ions heo y is mo e compa ible wi h eminism because i has
emphasised he impo ance o p eoedipal mo he -child ela ion in he o ma ion o a
sel as well as he ole o play “as a sou ce o knowledge” (19). Howe e , she
unde lines ha “despi e he cen ali y o he concep o ecip oci y in objec ela ions
heo y, he mo he ne e appea s as a complex pe son in he own igh , wi h he own
p ocesses ha a e no simply isomo phic o hose o he child” (19).
8. An in an ’s liquid ood p epa a ion based on milk o cows o o he animals and/o
o he ing edien s, gi en as a subs i u e o b eas milk.
9. Vi go is he second la ges cons ella ion in he sky. The name means “ i gin” o
“young maiden” in La in. D awing on Jack Lindsay (1971), Ba ba a Walke a i ms:
“Vi gil said he cons ella ion o Vi go ( he Vi gin) was E igone, Goddess o Jus ice,
also known as A aea o “S a y One”. She iden i ied wi h Libe a, o Lib a, he Lady
o he Scales, judge o men and and ule o hei a es” (Walke 1983, 1051). I has
been also associa ed wi h Deme e and ep esen ed as a i gin holding a shea h o
whea . The b igh es s a in Vi go is Spica —espiga in Spanish and Galician, ea o
g ain o whea — which is also how bo h Deme e and Pe sephone a e ep esen ed.
10. Xela A ias had al eady de eloped a ca ee as a w i e be o e she became a mo he .
Reshaping Mi o s
318
11. In Cunquei o’s Un homb e que se pa ecía a O es es (1969) he cha ac e s o
Aeschylus’ agedy ade and dissol e in a wo ld in which unbounded an asy is
mixed wi h elemen s o Galician landscape and e e yday li e. Thus, Egis o and
Cli emnes a a e ge ing olde and lead an impo e ished li e while hey a e wai ing
o he a i al o he enge ul O es es who, in u n, delays o yea s he ul illmen o
his aim. Cunquei o changes he he end o he agedy. O es es gi es up his e enge,
abandons he ci y and becomes o e e “una somb a pe dida po los caminos” (1969,
227). Cunquei o also changes he a e o Iphygenia. The na a o a i ms ha she did
no die and was li ing in a owe wi hou doo s in which Egis o o de ed o enclose
he so ha she could no ecei e sec e messages announcing he a i al o O es es
(1969, 218-221).
12. The I ish called i “ he physician’s powe ” because o i s diu e ic p ope ies
and hei lowe s, when d unk in ea, ha e i s an exci ing and hen a seda i e
e ec .
13. S ang o d Lough is a la ge sea lough in No he n I eland sepa a ed om he I ish
Sea by he S ang o d peninsula.
14. The boy in his pain ing, which has been endlessly ep oduced in Flemish apes ies,
is d essed in a Flemish ashion ha was 150 yea s behind he ime i was pain ed.
15. D opsy is an old e m ha gi es name o an illness cha ac e ised by he swelling o
so issues due o he accumula ion o wa e .
Chap e 3. Red essing he Balance
1. I ish Female ci il se an s and o he public se an s had o esign om hei jobs
when hey go ma ied, on he g ounds ha hey we e occupying a job ha should go
o a man. Banks ope a ed a simila policy.
2. In Spain, a ound 1939, women we e o bidden o egis e as wo ke s in he
Unemploymen O ices wi h a ew excep ions: unma ied women, ei he wi hou
esou ces o wi h a deg ee ha would allow hem o ha e a p o ession, women who
we e heads o he amily and ma ied women who had a handicapped husband. Fo
u he in o ma ion see O iz He as (2006).
3. A ound 1961 wo king egula ions in Spain ceased o include clauses o dismissal o
women when hey go ma ied. Howe e , ma ied women s ill needed he husband’s
pe mission o wo k ou side home, o sign a con ac , o open a bank accoun o o
ob ain a passpo . Fo u he in o ma ion see O iz He as (2006) and Ruiz F anco
(2007).
4. The Ci il Se ice Ac 1973 emo ed he ban on ec ui men o employmen o
ma ied women in he Ci il Se ice, Local Au ho i ies and Heal h Boa ds.
5. The Ac s 13/1972 and 14/1975, ha e o med he Código Ci il y de Come cio,
emo ed he need o he husband’s au ho iza ion o ac i i ies like signing a con ac
o asking o a passpo . In he Ac 11/1981, he husband ceased o be he only
adminis a o o he amily inances.
No es
319
6. I eland became a membe o he EU in 1973 and Spain in 1986.
7. A epo om he Sec e a ía de Es ado de la Segu idad Social done by Ma a O ega
Gaspa (2006) s a es ha in couples wi h child en unde six yea s old, men did
be ween 25% and 30% o he asks ela ed o child-ca e. Fo u he in o ma ion see
Ma a O ega Gaspa (2006). Fo in o ma ion abou he in ol emen o a he s in
child-bea ing in I eland see Pa icia Kennedy (2002, 156-160).
8. The i s olumes o The Field Day An hology we e no an isola ed example o he
absence o women in canonical an hologies. Joan McB een, who eco ded samples o
one hund ed and hi een women poe s only in he las cen u y in The Whi e Page.
Twen ie h-Cen u y I ish Women Poe s (1999), lamen s in “The Edi o ’s In oduc ion”
ha he e was “a se ious unde - ep esen a ion o poe y w i en by women” (1999,
ii) in some an hologies published in he las decades o he wen ie h cen u y. She
obse es ha women poe s like Ea an Boland, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, Ei hne S ong
and Mái e Mhac an Saoi, who by 1980 had al eady published “subs an ial bodies o
wo k” ( ii), did no appea in The New Ox o d Book o I ish Ve se (ed. Thomas
Kinsella 1986). McB een also unde lines he scan ep esen a ion o women poe s in
The Penguin Book o I ish Ve se (ed. B endan Kennelly, 1970) —only i e women—
, in Con empo ay I ish Poe y (eds. Pe e Fallon and De ek Mahon, 1990), — ou
women— in Pa ick C o y’s olume, Mode n I ish Poe y: an An hology (1995) —
se en women— and in Sebas ian Ba y’s olume The Inhe i ed Bounda ies —
Younge Poe s o he Republic o I eland (1986), om which women we e excluded.
Mo e ecen ly, in chap e VIII o The Penguin Book o I ish Poe y (ed. Pa ick
C o y, 2010), which co e s he pe iod om 1971 o 2009, ele en women and wen y
nine men a e eco ded.
9. The T oubles is he name gi en o he con lic ha , o abou hi y yea s, ook place
in No he n I eland be ween Unionis s and Loyalis s, who wan ed he egion o
emain wi hin he Uni ed Kingdom, and Republican Na ionalis s, who wan ed o join
he I ish Republic. 3.500 people a e said o ha e died in his con lic , which ended
o icially wi h he Good F iday Ag eemen o 1998.
10. Vi ginia Wool e lec ed abou he s a e o mind equi ed o w i ing poe y and he
di icul y o women o achie e his s a e o mind (2000, 52-53) [1928].
11. Vi ginia Wool poin s ou he hos ile ci cums ances women w i e s had o ace;
among hem, she men ions he lack o a oom o hei own (2000, 54).
12. The CRSEV s a es ha he numbe o child en mu de ed a home ha e inc eased
be ween 2000 and 2004 a 77% in Spain, om 9 o 16. (p ensa.com 01/10/2007).
13. The news unde lines se e al ac s: he pa en s we e unde di o ce p oceedings and
he judge was abou o es ablish he sha ed cus ody o he child en. The mo he ea ed
ha he main enance allowance ha was going o be a o ded would no be enough o
p o ide o ood and shel e o he and he child en. So she decided o pu an end o
hei li es and ca e ully planned he necessa y s eps which esul ed in poisoning he
child en i s , and ying, unsuccess ully, o commi suicide he sel a e wa ds.
Reshaping Mi o s
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347
SUMMARIES
English
Reshaping Mi o s: Mo he s and Daugh e s in Con empo a y I ish
and Galician Women’s Poe y
Summa y
Among he g ea plu ali y and a ie y o women’s oices ha can be hea d
bo h in I ish and Galician women’s poe y, I ha e ocused my a en ion on hose
who belong o a gene a ion o women who we e b ough up in a pa ia chal socie y
and ha e had o s uggle ha d o ge id o all he opp essi e ideological s uc u es
ha subdued women’s li es so ha hey could ind hei way in o a p o essional
ca ee wi hou enouncing mo he hood. Fu he mo e, mos o hese women w i e s
ansla e in o hei c ea i e wo k hei pe sonal expe ience as mo he s and/o
daugh e s and, pu ing in o p ac ice he eminis claim ha he pe sonal is poli ical,
hey gi e oice o issues ha had p e iously been conside ed p i a e ma e s no
wo hy o a is ic ep esen a ion.
These women’s w i e s speak om di e en pe spec i es and poin s o
iew and ye , we can pe cei e a common h ead unning h ough mos o hei
poems: he need o b eaking women’s silence and gi ing oice o issues which had
been igno ed, as well as p oducing coun e discou ses o a numbe o my hs and
s e eo ypes which ha e shaped he cul u ally cons uc ed concep s o eminine and
masculine iden i ies. Mo eo e , pa ia chal discou ses ha e o en iden i ied
eminini y wi h mo he hood and ha e cons uc ed an ideology ha has idealised

Reshaping Mi o s
348
he image o he woman-mo he and, a he same ime, silenced o igno ed he
eali y o lesh and bone mo he s.
The aim o his disse a ion is o see o wha ex en hese mo he s’ and
daugh e s’ oices ha e become he speaking subjec s o hei own expe iences in
he li e a y c ea ion o some con empo a y I ish and Galician women w i e s. My
analysis is indeb ed o hose eminis heo ies abou mo he hood ha ha e
challenged he alidi y o a supposedly uni e sal ep esen a ion o he mo he
igu e, in a ou o un ixed mul i ace ed images o mo he s ha ake in o accoun
no only he sociopoli ical and economica ci cums ances ha condi ion hei li es,
bu also he changes in hei ela ionship o hei child en in he di e en s ages o
hei de elopmen . I y o demons a e ha he e is no single mo he ’s oice ha
can ep esen no ma i e mo he hood, bu mul iple mo he s’ and daugh e s’ oices
as di e se as mul iple and a ied a e he ac o s ha de e mine women’s li es.
Summa ies
349
Español
Rehaciendo espejos: Mad es e hijas en la poesía de esc i o as
i landesas y gallegas con empo áneas.
Resumen
En e la g an a iedad y plu alidad de oces que se pueden oí en la
poesía de las esc i o as i landesas y gallegas con empo áneas, yo he que ido
cen a mi a ención en aquellas que pe enecen a una gene ación de muje es que
ue on educadas en una sociedad pa ia cal y u ie on que lucha du amen e pa a
desp ende se de las op esi as es uc u as ideológicas a las que han es ado
some idas las idas de las muje es, a in de pode desa olla una ca e a
p o esional sin ene que enuncia po ello a la ma e nidad. Además, muchas de
es as esc i o as asladan a su c eación poé ica su expe iencia como mad es e/o
hijas y, poniendo en p ác ica el lema eminis a de que lo pe sonal es polí ico, le
dan oz a emas que siemp e habían sido igno ados po conside a los como
asun os p i ados, no dignos de ep esen ación a ís ica.
Es as esc i o as nos hablan desde pe spec i as y pun os de is a di e en es
y, sin emba go, podemos pe cibi un hilo conduc o a a és de sus poemas: la
necesidad de ompe el silencio de las muje es y con adeci algunos mi os y
es e eo ipos que han con o mado la cons ucción social de las iden idades
emenina y masculina. Más aún, los discu sos pa ia cales han iden i icado con
mucha ecuencia emineidad con ma e nidad cons uyendo, po un lado, una
imagen idealizada de la muje -mad e, mien as que po o o se silenciaba o
igno aba la ealidad de las mad es de ca ne y hueso.
El obje i o de es a esis es analiza en la c eación poé ica de es as
esc i o as i landesas y gallegas, como las oces de mad es e hijas se con ie en en
suje os que desc iben sus p opias expe iencias y e lejan los cambios en las eo ías
eminis as ace ca de la ma e nidad. Teo ías que han desa iado la alidez de
discu sos, supues amen e uni e sales, que de inie on una imagen monolí ica y ija
Reshaping Mi o s
350
de la mad e, en a o de imágenes cambian es y mul i acé icas de mad es que
in eg an, no solo las condiciones sociopolí icas y económicas que a ec an a sus
idas, sino ambién los cambios en la elación con sus hijos/hijas en las di e en es
e apas de su desa ollo. En es e abajo in en o demos a que no se puede habla
de una única oz de mad e que ep esen e la ma e nidad no ma i a, sino que las
oces de mad es e hijas son an múl iples y a iadas como lo son los ac o es que
de e minan la ida de las muje es.
Summa ies
351
Galego
Re acendo espellos: Nais e illas na poesía das esc i o as i landesas e
galegas con empo áneas.
Resumo.
En e as ca ac e ís icas que compa en Galicia e I landa podemos ci a a
súa si uación a lán ica, que de e mina o clima e a paisaxe e unha his o ia de
pob eza, como consecuencia dunha agmen ación da e a que ob igou a millei os
de pe soas a eco e á emig ación na p ocu a dunha mello a das condicións de
ida. Tamén é impo an e subliña a o e in luencia da elixión Ca ólica, que
inspi ou o o denamen o legal an o en I landa como en España, ademais da
ei indicación das o ixes cel as an o en I landa en Galicia. Un pasado cel a
baseado en mi os e lendas comúns, que, no caso de Galicia, oi elabo ado polos
esc i o es galegos do Rexu dimen o e os polí icos nacionalis as, os cales se
inspi a on amén na loi a dos i landeses con a o dominio colonial b i ánico pa a
desen ol e a ideoloxía dun nacionalismo que eclamaba a au onomía dunha
cul u a e dunha pa ia galega.
Non obs an e, a coincidencia máis ele an e pa a o p opósi o des a ese é a
ex ao dina ia eme xencia de esc i o as que se deu, an o en I landa como en
Galicia, nas de adei as décadas do século in e, en pa icula da poesía de au o ía
eminina. Ademais, nas es uni e sidades galegas, aumen ou conside ablemen e
nes e século in e e un o in e ese polos es udos i landeses en xe al e,
especialmen e, pola c eación li e a ia das esc i o as i landesas. Nes e senso, que o
ace mención do p oxec o Poesía y Géne o: Poe as i landesas y gallegas
con empo áneas, coo dinado po Manuela Palacios e desen ol ido no
Depa amen o de Inglés na Uni e sidade de San iago de Compos ela, xa que oi
nese con ex o onde xu diu es e es udo.
En e a g an a iedade e plu alidade de oces que se poden oí na poesía
das esc i o as i landesas e galegas con empo áneas eu quixen cen a a miña
a ención naquelas que pe encen a unha xe ación de mulle es que o on educadas
Reshaping Mi o s
358
non poden se is os exclusi amen e como unha eacción ex ema an e un con li o
indi idual, senón que supoñen ao mesmo empo unha ebelión con a os modelos
emininos de submisión, paciencia inesgo able e esignación an e a ad e sidade e a
inxus iza.
No capí ulo 4 aise un b e e pe co ido polo eido das in es igacións
a queolóxicas e an opolóxicas ela i as a an igas elixións que ado aban a unha
pode osa Deusa-Nai en an o que eses descub imen os p opicia on discu sos
eminis as que se en pa a con adici imaxes da mulle de i adas das elixións
Xudeo-C is iáns, cuxas eg as o on p esun amen e di adas po un deus sup emo
masculino e de e mina on a des alo ización e submisión da mulle ao dominio do
home. Nos poemas de Ke y Ha die (1996) e Anne Ha igan (1991) podemos
de ec a os sen imen os de nais e illas que eñen que some e se á au o idade
pa ia cal, a cal é p esen ada como unha lei insc i a na o de inmu able es ablecida
po Deus. Nes e capí ulo á anse así mesmo as e isións do mi o do pecado
o ixinal e da igu a de E a ei as po Ma y O’Donnell (1993), Ma a Dacos a
(1998), Ma ila Aleixand e (2003) e Ma ica Campo (2007). De igual manei a
analízanse algún mi os e a que ipos ela i os á ma e nidade que poñen o én ase na
elación en e nais e illas adul as e ep esen an unha ampla gama de sen imen os.
Es es sen imen os ab anguen desde ciumes e sob ep o ección po pa e da nai, en
Ei hne S ong (1993) e Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin (2001), a a o uso do mi o de
Deme e e Pe sé one que an Ea an Boland (1995, 1998), Ma y O’ Malley (2003)
Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill (1999) e Luz Pozo Ga za (2004). Es as esc i o as ap ópianse
do mi o clásico pa a man e un diálogo en e nais e illas adul as que abo da emas
de ac ualidade como a sexualidade, a iolación, a a a de b ancas, a emig ación e
a ellez.
No capí ulo 5 hai un cambio de pe spec i a en elación cos an e io es nos
que as pe sonas poé icas das nais e an os suxei os na mei ande pa e dos ex os
analizados. Nes e capí ulo a e lexión sob e a elación nai- illa es á con emplada
desde o pun o de is a da illa. En p imei o luga aise un b e e esumo do deba e
eminis a que i o luga nos anos se en a e oi en a, en e aquelas co en es que

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