In this article I illustrate the central role of dynamic conflict in the identity changes involved in becoming a mother for the first time. I look in depth at two salient themes in Justine's case: the conflicts between mothering and work and those surrounding separation with her daughter. My analysis of this single case is psycho-social; that is, without reducing to either social or psychological explanations, I attempt to articulate the connections among them. The analysis is informed by a psychoanalytic account of conflict-based unconscious intersubjectivity as a foundation for self-formation and demonstrates how these dynamics work across generations to shape a woman's identity as she becomes a mother. I briefly contrast the mother's experience with the father's. Methodologically, I pay attention to the workings of transference dynamics in the interpretation of empirical interview-based data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved). (journal abstract)
CITATION STYLE
Hollway, W. (2010). Conflict in the transitions to becoming a mother: A psycho-social approach. Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society, 15(2), 136–155. https://doi.org/10.1057/pcs.2009.34
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