A Woman's Story

Gender Identity Construction of Mother in A Woman’s Story Based on Social Identity Theory

“…Instead, she attempted to reshape herself through deliberate social categorization. "She was aware that she belonged to the lower class and she resented it, refusing to be judged according to her social status" [8] , and she also "tried to escape the dull certainties of her fate: inevitable poverty, the threat of alcoholism, and else that happened to a factory girl who had slipped into bad habits" [8] . All these thoughts indicated that Mother felt cut off and alienated from other people around her, suggesting that Mother disagreed with many "others," who are her siblings and villagers.…”

“…Instead, Ernaux's description of her grandmother's skills as a housekeeper would paint a picture that Mother's clothes were torn and worn out. Grandmother "turned back the collars and cuffs of the boy's shirts so that they would last twice as long", "she kept everything," and "the dresses and pairs of shoes handed down from one sister to the next," which all suggest that Mother was a countryside girl who was of lower social class [8] .…”

“…Furthermore, Mother's observations and views on her church and school life showed that she was not satisfied with her original identity. Mother's deep impression of primary school was that "the schoolmistresses expected the girls to be polite and clean; they inspected their collars and fingernails and asked them to remove one of their shoes" [8] . Nevertheless, she never knew which foot to check, indicating her sense of being lost in the unknown world as the costume bothered her self-identity.…”

“…The choice of Mother was not only due to economic factors but also the result of pursuing a positive social identity driven by her self-esteem. Because attending mass allowed her to "share in the beauty, opulence, and the spirit of the ceremony gold chalices, embroidered chasubles, hymns" [8] , which vividly portrayed Mother's unique observation and pure sensory impression as a rural child. She perceived the stark contrast between the church's embroidered robe and her coarse cloth, with the former signifying wealth and dignity and the latter representing poverty and rusticity.…”

“…She perceived the stark contrast between the church's embroidered robe and her coarse cloth, with the former signifying wealth and dignity and the latter representing poverty and rusticity. Additionally, "Catechism was the one subject she studied with a passion, and she knew all the answers by heart (as if to show that she knew)" [8] , so that she could get the impression that she did not live in total poverty. All these descriptions indicated Mother's initial awareness of identity, which inspired her pursuit of different identities.…”