When a Woman Turns into a Wife | Los Angeles Review of Books

🌈 Abstract

The article explores the connections between the works of Alice Munro and Sarah Manguso's novel "Liars", examining themes of women's identity, marriage, and motherhood. It delves into the complexities of Munro's personal life and the impact on her fictional portrayals, as well as the ways in which Manguso's novel extends these ideas. The article also reflects on the author's own experiences of motherhood and the challenges of reconciling personal desires with the demands of caregiving.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Connections between Munro's work and Manguso's "Liars"

1. What are the key connections drawn between Alice Munro's work and Sarah Manguso's novel "Liars"?

• Both stories confront the impossibility of marriage for women who long for an identity outside of it, and the ways in which husbands view their wives' independence as a threat.
• Munro's story "Too Much Happiness" explores the life of the real-life mathematician Sofya Kovalevskaya, whose marriage was a formality to enable her to pursue her education and work.
• Manguso's "Liars" follows a woman who is forced to abandon her academic and writing aspirations in order to fulfill the roles of wife and mother to her husband, an artist.

2. How does the author's understanding of Munro's work shift in light of the revelations about Munro's personal life?

• Initially, the author saw Munro's portrayal of Sofia's softness as a gesture towards her humanity, but now interprets it as compliance with her husband's misogyny.
• The author reflects that Munro's choice to stay with her husband after learning of his sexual abuse of their daughter complicates the interpretation of Munro's fictional women and their inner lives.

[02] Themes of marriage and motherhood in "Liars"

1. How does the novel "Liars" explore the experience of a woman becoming a wife?

• The novel presents the story of a woman whose life becomes a familiar narrative about what happens when a woman is "remade into a wife", losing her independent identity.
• The woman is forced to abandon her academic and professional aspirations to take on domestic responsibilities, while her husband pursues his artistic endeavors.
• The novel examines the woman's gradual awareness of the imbalance and control in her marriage, and her attempts to reframe her experiences.

2. How does the novel depict the woman's transition into motherhood?

• Initially, the woman fears that motherhood will further erode her independence and turn her into a "wife without a self".
• However, it is ultimately the act of mothering her child that both breaks and rebuilds the woman, allowing her to craft a new narrative for herself and her child.
• The child's experiences mirror those of the husband, highlighting the parallels between the two relationships, but the woman is able to use storytelling to provide her child with an alternative, more empowering interpretation of his experiences.

3. How does the author reflect on her own experiences of motherhood in relation to the themes in the novel?

• The author acknowledges the challenges of reconciling personal desires with the demands of caregiving, and the ways in which motherhood has not made her any less flawed, despite her naive expectations.
• However, the author is determined to continue writing a story of a "better mother" and hopes to one day become that version of herself.