The Mother, the Other and the Posthuman: Speculating Motherhood as a Posthuman Condition through Jessamine Chan’s The School for Good Mothers

Abstract

The contemporary anthropocene, with its scientific breakthroughs in fertility treatments and increasingly regressive stance on female reproductive rights, along with escalating violence against women all over the world, is an intriguing time for women and mothers alike. The modern woman, often raised witnessing traditional gender roles while simultaneously growing up with the teachings of feminism and women empowerment, finds herself at the crossroads more often than not. This particular paper aims to investigate the nuances attached to the idea of motherhood as propagated by the existing society, with the aid of theories of posthumanism and feminism, among others in Jessamine Chan’s debut novel The School for Good Mothers (2022). Through a close reading of this novel, this paper aims to elaborate the condition of modern mothers in the society and tries to define motherhood. Furthermore, it will attempt to understand motherhood in the context of dystopia, and speculate whether the idea of motherhood can be established as a posthuman condition.