Katja's Literature Journals

Katja
ENGL 48A
Journal #8, Margaret Fuller
October 27, 2006

"Man is of woman born, and her face bends over him in infancy with an expression he can never quite forget." (1633)

Fuller expresses the true connection between men and women in the excerpt above. It evokes all the conflicting feelings men have towards women; gratitude, terror and confusion.

As men mature into adulthood, they tend to forget the face Fuller is referring to; the loving face of their mother, without whom they would not be alive in the first place. The quote expresses a tension between men and women, stemming from the fact that men cannot forget their mothers' faces, but, I question, can they truly really remember?

At first glance, we assume the expression is reflecting a mother's love, but could it not also be one of rejection? Are there abject emotions showing in that face too, evoking the burden of bearing and rearing the human race?

Perhaps Nature has a way to make man forget the true nature of his mother's gaze in order to perpetuate the species. As a form of reverse imprinting it enforces the breaking of the bond between mother and son in order to ensure the future of humankind. However, when replicated in his lover's face, the expression promotes renewed feelings of gratitude towards mothers when a man reaches maturity and approaches fatherhood.

Fuller had some interesting views on men and women and the psychological bonds between them. Her work is a gauge that timelessly measures the complexities of gender relations.