Representation of motherhood in Game of Thrones

Ruf, Ann-Kathrin. (2020). Representation of motherhood in Game of Thrones. Dearcadh: Graduate Journal of Gender, Globalisation and Rights, 1. doi: https://doi.org/10.13025/ebh9-bb04

Abstract

The social and cultural construction of motherhood places countless rules and regulations upon women for both those who have children and those who do not. This article analyses how motherhood is portrayed in the popular TV series Game of Thrones (GoT) (HBO, 2011-2019). Using the radical feminist texts Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution (Rich, 1986) and Woman’s Work: The Housewife, Past and Present (Oakley, 1974), the article identifies three themes in the portrayal of motherhood: motherhood as duty, status, and ideal. GoT portrays motherhood as a duty that cannot, and should not, be evaded, but that simultaneously grants women unique power in the private sphere, all the while upholding the dichotomy of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ mothers. Ultimately, the portrayal of motherhood in GoT is multifaceted and at times critical of its social and cultural construction. But by depicting the punitive consequences of resistance, the series does not go far enough to challenge the construction itself.

Publisher

School of Political Science and Sociology, University of Galway

Rights

CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IE

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Collections

School of Political Science & Sociology (Scholarly Articles)