Trajectory experience of motherhood

Abstract

Motherhood, which includes the process of becoming and being a mother, is understood as an institution or as personal experience, and both these perspectives are interdependent. The institution of motherhood, which is necessary for the functioning of societies, shapes women’s living conditions, influences their choices, frames desirable behaviours, gives the highest priority to the social role of the mother, and limits women’s identity to a single dimension. The experience of women-mothers is juxtaposed with the idea of sacrificing oneself for the good of another human being. The stories of motherhood analysed for the purpose of this article were published on the fanpage Żałuję rodzicielstwa [I regret parenthood] and clearly indicate that being a mother can be a trajectory experience associated with overpowering suffering. Women’s experiences were inscribed in the subsequent phases of a trajectory process identified by F. Schütze and G. Reimann, and the reflection on those experiences leads, among other things, to the conclusion that both mothers who have undertaken biographical work on their own experiences, as well as those who have not done so, most often organise their further life with the trajectory in the background, without fundamentally changing their personal situation.

Keywords

• motherhood
• auto/biographical experience
• trajectory
• work on trajectory experience