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NOTES Preface 1. A n investigatio n o f th e impac t o f blac k cultur e o n mother-daughte r interactions woul d als o enhanc e th e effor t t o understan d th e relationshi p historically. Fo r an interestin g discussio n o f thi s topic, se e Patrici a Hil l Col lins , "Th e Meanin g o f Motherhoo d i n Blac k Cultur e an d Blac k Mother Daughter Relationships," Sage 4, 2 (Fall 1987) : 3-9 . 2. Tilli e Olsen , ed. , Mother to Daughter, Daughter to Mother (Ne w York , 1984), 275. 3. A relevant discussion of diaries as sources for women's history is Judy Nolte Lensink , "Expandin g th e Boundarie s o f Criticism : Th e Diar y a s Fe male Autobiography," Women's Studies 14, 1/ 2 (1987): 39-53. 1. "The Central Problem of Female Experience" 1. Nikk i Stiller , Eve's Orphans: Mothers and Daughters in Medieval English Literature, Contributions in Women's Studies, no. 1 6 (Westport, Conn., 1980) , xi. 2. Se e Adrienn e Rich' s statemen t t o thi s effect : "Bu t i n writin g thes e pages, I am admitting, at least, how important he r existence i s and ha s been for me. " Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution (Ne w York , 1976), 224. 3. Elle n Bayu k Rosenman , The Invisible Presence: Virginia Woolf and the Mother-Daughter Relationship (Baton Rouge, 1986) , ix. 4. Rut h Bloch , "America n Feminin e Ideal s i n Transition : Th e Ris e o f the Moral Mother, 1785-1815, " Feminist Studies 4 (1978): 101—26 ; Ann Dally, Inventing Motherhood: The Consequences of an Ideal (New York , 1982) ; and Jan Lewis, "Mother' s Love : Th e Constructio n o f a n Emotio n i n Nineteenth Century America, " i n Andre w E . Barne s an d Pete r N . Stearns , eds. , Social History and Issues in Human Consciousness (New York, 1989) , 209—29. 5. See , fo r example , Lydi a Mari a Child' s advic e t o mother s regardin g the "want of confidence between mothers and daughters on delicate subjects" in The Mother's Book (Boston, 1831) , 151-52 , quoted in Barbara Welter, "The Cult of Tru e Womanhood, " in Michae l Gordon , ed. , The Family in Historical 217 218 i . "TH E CENTRAL PROBLEM OF FEMALE EXPERIENCE " Perspective (New York , 1973) , 376 ; an d Lydi a Sigourney' s suggestion s abou t maternal responsibilit y fo r maintainin g femal e healt h an d strengt h "fo r th e community's welfare, " Letters to Mothers (Hartford, 1838) , 72-73, microfilm , Reel 181 , #1182, Schlesinger Library , Radcliffe College . For the turn-of-the century advic e literature , se e chapte r 2 . Se e als o Phili p Wylie , Generation of Vipers (Ne w York , 1946) ; Davi d Levy , Maternal Overprotection (New York , 1943); an d mor e recently , Selm a N . Fraiberg , Every Child's Birthright: In Defense of Mothering (New York, 1977) . 6. Nanc y Friday , My Mother, My Self (New York , 1977) . 7. Judit h Arcana , Our Mothers' Daughters (Berkeley, 1979) , 5 . Se e als o Marcia Westkott's observation tha t "the story of mothers and daughters take s place in the world of th e father " in "Mothers and Daughters in the World o f the Father," Frontiers 3, 2 (Summer 1978) : 16-17 . 8. Arcana , Our Mothers' Daughters, 18,9 . 9. Adrienn e Rich , Of Woman Born, 236-37 , 244 . Se e als o Dorothy Din nerstein , The Mermaid and the Minotaur (Ne w York, 1976) . 10. Rich , Of Woman Born, 248 . 11. Discussion s o f th e problem s engendere d b y maternal caretakin g i n a male-dominant societ y hav e no t bee n limite d t o a focu s o n daughters . Fo r more genera l commentary , se e Doroth y Dinnerstein , The Mermaid and the Minotaur; Jane Lazarre , The Mother Knot (Ne w York , 1976) ; and Shulamit h Firestone, The Dialectic of Sex (London, 1972) . 12. Jan e Flax , "Th e Conflic t betwee n Nurturanc e an d Autonom y i n Mother-Daughter Relationship s an d withi n Feminism, " Feminist Studies 4, 2 (June, 1978) : 171-89 . 13. Sign e Hammer , Daughters and Mothers: Mothers and Daughters (Ne w York, 1975...

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