All the stories we read this week on motherhood addressed certain uncomfortable topics surrounding it. I think that has been an important aspect of the reading. Motherhood is a complicated topic, and it is far too often glossed over and portrayed as easy, full of love, and the standard of what it is to be a "woman". The stories have gotten down to the nitty-gritty. The subject of unwanted births is present in many of the stories. In "Bastard of Istanbul" Zeliha struggles with the prospect of terminating her pregnancy. In "Whose Baby Is It?" the mother in the story must confront her own past and how she had considered abandoning her child, and having to explain to her daughter that this terrible phenomenon exists in the world. "The Stolen Child" also deals with the regret of having a child, when the main character rejects the child she stole once she discovers it is a boy. These issues are a reality, and they ought not be ignored. I thought it was very empowering of the authors of these pieces to address these issues.
