由於母親介於自然與文化間的曖昧身份，母性論述一直是女性主義中
一個重要而複雜的議題。母性論述之爭議性即是本質論與建構論長久以來
之爭辯。女性主義者多認為母職乃女性受壓抑之根源。然而母性論述絕不
是認同父權文化所定義之女性生理命運，而是坦然面對女性獨特的生理經
驗。母性論述其實與女性之情慾、性別差異、及所謂的女性特質息息相關
。本論文旨在討論母性論述之發展，並藉此來比較與解讀凱特‧蕭邦之《
覺醒》與瑪格麗特‧艾得伍德之《女侍的故事》兩本小說。 在後現代
之前，女性主義者多強調男女平等之重要性，因而多呼籲女性拒絕母職。
過度推崇母性往往導致女性情慾的壓抑，以及男女不平等的分工。因此，
母職成為壓迫女人的禍根，而拒絕母職則成為女性解放的必要手段。然而
，進入後現代之後，突顯女性身為「他者」之特性成為女性主義者最新的
議題。拒絕母職無異於漠視性別差異，認同男性為唯一的標準。因此，女
性主義者轉而探討母性經驗之潛能，揭露母體的顛覆力量，並呼籲女性書
寫的必要性。本論文之序論即是討論女性主義者由拒絕母職到擁抱母性之
轉變。 第一章探討在凱特‧蕭邦的《覺醒》中，母性與女性主體之對
立。在父權社會中，女性只能選擇全心投入母職或是犧牲女性特質來獲得
自我獨立。愛德娜雖然可以放棄婚姻，從事藝術創作，但她卻逃脫不了父
權論述對母親的壓迫與束縛。愛德娜的死正反映出母性與女性自我的衝突
。第二、三章揭露母性經驗的複雜性。在瑪格麗特‧艾得伍德的《女侍的
故事》中，身為母親既是痛苦又是快樂，既是弱點又是力量。艾得伍德一
方面探討父權社會如何物化女性，使女人成為生殖的機器。另一方面卻又
描述母親的愉悅經驗，展現母性論述的多面性，並瓦解母性與創造性的二
元對立。 蕭邦和艾得伍德的小說中對母性的不同描寫反映出母性論述
的發展趨勢。母職可能是壓迫女性的根源，也可能是女性快樂與力量的泉
源。

Motherhood is a very complicated issue in feminism
because of themother's ambivalent position between nature
and culture. To confrontthe problem of motherhood is to
deal with woman's reproduction in termsof the debate between
essentialism and constructionism. Many feministsconsider
motherhood the root of woman's oppression; however, to
talkabout woman's reproductive capability is not to
identify with woman'sbiological destiny as prescribed by
patriarchy, but to recognize thespecificity of woman's
physiology and experience. In fact, the maternaldiscourse
is closely related to the construction of femininity,
femalesexuality, and sexual difference. This thesis is
devoted to examining thedevelopment of maternal discourse in
feminism, and to demonstrating thosechanges within
motherhood through juxtaposing two women's noevls--
KateChopin's The Awakening and Margaret Atwood's The
Handmaid's Tale.Before the postmodern age, many feminists
stress the necessity and urgency ofthe pursuit of equality
between man and woman, and advocate a completerejection of
motherhood. The valorization of maternity leads to not only
therepression of woman's sexuality, but also the rigid sexual
division of labor.Thus, mothering for woman is nothing but
suffering and oppression, and onlythrough complete denial of
maternity can woman be emancipated. However, forpostmodern
feminists, the pursuit of equality is replaced by the quest
ofdifference or otherness. The rejection of motherhood is
actually an erasure ofthe sexual difference and an
identification with man. Hence, though stillrecognizing the
oppressive aspect of motherhood, they turn to concentrate
onthe positive side of the maternal experience through
advocating the ecriturefeminine and exposing the
disruptive power of the maternal body. Thisdevelopment of the
maternal discourse from negating to affirming maternity isthe
core of the introductory chapter. Chapter One examine
the conflicbetween maternity and female subjectivity in Kate
Chopin's The Awakening. Theconstrast between the mother-
woman's partial existence and the solitary andpassionless
autonomy of the female artist is woman's dilemma in
thepatriarchal society. Although Edna can leave her husband,
become economicallyindependent, and explore herselfhood by
painting and sexual relationship, shecan never get rid of the
maternal image constructed by patriarchy. Edna'sdeath
insinuates the incompatibility between motherhood and female
selfhoodin the patriarchal society. Chapter Two and Three
explore the complexity ofmaternal discourse in Margaret Atwood's
The Handmaid's Tale. In this novel,mothering is both painand
pleasure, weakness and power. On the one hand,Atwood
demonstrates that woman is dehumanized as an instrument of
reproductionin Gilead. On the other hand, she reveals the
pleasure of the maternalexperience, explores the ambivalence of
motherhood, and examines the dichotomybetween mothering and
writing. The different maternal discourses in these twonovels
best illustrate the development of motherhood in feminism.
Motheringmay be suffering and weakness, but it can also be
gratification and power.
Motherhood is a very complicated issue in feminism