by Unknown
“Mother” as Role Performance
The mothers Harry encounters are almost always seen by him as performing a “mother” role, not as women, wives, or workers. For example, Molly Weasley demonstrates her status as mother by performing her role in a way that corresponds to normative expectations of mothers as responsible for most of the feeding work done by families. When Ron and his twin trouble-making brothers Fred and George rescue Harry from a sort of house arrest imposed by the Dursleys, they use their father’s illegally bewitched flying car to do so. They then attempt to sneak into The Burrow without their mother noticing, although she catches them in the act. After scolding the boys for taking the car and leaving without asking, Molly insists that they all, especially Harry, sit down and eat breakfast. The boys sit down to eat, are joined by their brother Percy, and as Molly continues to cook and serve breakfast, her husband Arthur Weasley arrives. Arthur asks who Harry is and then asks when he arrived. Molly answers while still standing at the kitchen stove: “This morning. Your sons flew that enchanted car of yours to Surrey and back last night” (HP2). She has already scolded the boys but looks to Arthur for further reprimand, implying that although mothers hand out discipline along with breakfast, the father’s authority takes precedence over hers. Arthur asks the boys, “Did you really? How did it go?” (ibid). Molly then hits him on the arm, a physical punishment for Arthur’s failure to perform the fatherly disciplinarian role to her satisfaction. He then reprimands the boys, albeit weakly.
There are many interesting things happening in this interaction. Firstly, Molly and Arthur demonstrate understanding and empathy for the reasons behind their children’s rule-breaking. Molly’s scolding makes the boys feel shame for their actions but is largely symbolic. Although she understands (along with Arthur) the reasons why they did what they did, as a “good” mother she still must reprimand them according to sociocultural expectations that parents are responsible for their children’s behavior and must discipline rule-breaking in order to appropriately socialize them. Secondly, Molly reinforces motherhood as a performed role when she serves everyone breakfast and continues to stand in service while the other family members (excluding Ginny who is hiding from Harry) eat. Thirdly, Molly’s behavior demonstrates the “social” in social role. Her role is carried out via interaction with others who are also performing social roles – Arthur as father and husband, Ron, Fred, George and Percy as sons and Harry as guest. Social theorist Simmel labeled this aspect of social roles “reciprocity”[xiii] and argued that roles have meaning through interaction (Levine 1971).
Lending further support to the idea of motherhood as a social role performance is the evidence that mothers are judged by broader society not only for what they do but for who their children are. Returning to the quote at the start of this chapter, Dumbledore was judging Petunia’s (and Vernon’s) parenting based on Dudley, the object of their parenting. Petunia, as mother to Dudley and Harry is either hot or cold. She either over-mothers or under-mothers. Dumbledore’s comments indicate that over-mothering in this case, judging by the final product, is worse. Harry is a better person than Dudley.
What is interesting is that Dumbledore himself indicates that he has known about the abuse Harry suffered under the Dursleys’ roof all along and yet he abdicates responsibility; after all, he wrote them a letter. The Dursleys were tasked with the unexpected burden of a raising a second child who scared the wits out of them. This is not to defend the Dursleys’ cruel and unusual treatment of Harry; instead it is to point out the differences in behavioral expectations based on the role one occupies. Dumbledore in his role as Headmaster was performing perhaps beyond expectation; and there is the matter of the blood kin protection which he explains to McGonagall who objects to Harry’s placement as a baby and finally to Harry shortly before his death. But we expect better from the Dursleys, particularly Petunia in the mother role because, after all, good mothers do not lock their children in cupboards under the stairs or allow others to do so.
Expanding Social Roles into Dynamic Interaction
West and Zimmerman (1987: 127) in their influential paper “Doing Gender,” argued that role as a concept may be too limiting in that it “...obscures the work that is involved in producing gender in everyday activities.” Looking at the mothers Harry encounters, I would make a similar argument for mother as a situated activity that an individual performs in interaction with others. The status of an individual as mother also “...is created through interaction and at the same time structures that interaction” (131). West and Zimmerman’s analytical shift helps to expand the concept of roles and make them more dynamic in that performance in a role can also change and challenge the meaning of the role itself. Mothers are mothers not because of who they are but because of what they do in social contexts with other social actors. The focus shifts to role as interaction versus internalized value system that guides behavior. West and Zimmerman are also making the argument that gender is more expansive than a static role concept because gender overrides the boundaries of a given social context. For example, women engineers are never judged simply as engineers but always first as “women” acting in a socially-accepted (or not) feminine way. Similarly, Molly Weasley is never seen outside of her role as mother. Motherhood, like gender, pervades, bleeding through the context-boundaries of other role performance spaces. Molly, a member of the Order, tries to screen off the Order’s activity from Harry despite the fact they are staying at Order headquarters and despite the fact that Harry’s godfather, Sirius Black, objects to keeping him out of the loop. Molly’s status as a mother changes the interaction and further she displays “motherly” protective behavior in opposition to Sirius who wants to treat Harry as an autonomous decision-making adult. Molly, in wanting to act as a good mother should, interacts with the other members of the Order in specific way; and her behavior then reflexively defines what a “good” mother is. Furthermore, Molly’s role as mother not only extends beyond the boundaries of her home into another social setting (her membership in the Order), it also extends beyond the relationships with her own biological children to the orphaned Harry. Molly’s interactions with the other members of the Order are both structured by and structure her role performance as mother. Her status as mother cannot be left at the door of The Burrow but instead affects all of her other interactions.
Gladstein (2004) argues that the wizarding world represents a world in which the goals of liberal feminism are achieved and one finally witnesses true equality between genders. From Gladstein (2004: 59): “Each [witch or wizard] is judged individually by what kind of person he or she is, and each [witch or wizard] is given the opportunity to be either good or evil...” As I have argued, however, mothers are judged differently than women. Harry may be subject to abuse by both villains and villainesses (e.g., Umbridge, Lestrange) but none of the latter are mothers; however, when Petunia abuses Harry she is specifically judged by her social role of adoptive mother.
This conceptualization of motherhood as an expanded, interactive role is supported by social science research on the “motherhood penalty.” Correll et al. (2007) found in an a lab experiment that varying only parental status between pairs of similar resumes correlated with lower offered starting salaries for mothers versus non-mothers and for mothers versus fathers. Test resume evaluators offered mothers an $11,000 lower starting salary than they offered non-mothers and a $13,000 lower starting salary than they offered fathers. By contrast, in addition to being offered a higher starting salary than mothers, childless women were offered a higher starting salary (by $4,000) than was offered to childless men and only $2,000 less (compared to mothers’ $13,000 less) than fathers. The authors explained the results as a conflict between sociocultural expectations of worker versus mother due to lower perceptions of competence and commitment for mothers. The juxtaposition of the social role of worker versus member of the female gender category (West and Zimmerman 1987) posed no such conflict.
In a follow up study
, Benard and Correll (2010) found that female testers rated mothers who were presented as committed and competent workers as less likable and warm than their non-mother counterparts. Male participants, however, rated successful mothers more highly on interpersonal variables than female testers did. This difference may suggest a greater internalized prioritization of the mother role for female testers and therefore harsher judgment for women who are perceived to have chosen the professional over the mother role. The authors argue that this experiment shows evidence of prescriptive stereotyping of mothers. In other words, when mothers fail to conform to the role performance expectations of mother and instead succeed in role performances as workers, they are still socially sanctioned (judged) by their mother role (Benard and Correll 2010). The results of these studies support the idea of motherhood as a pervasive social role.
In theory it would be possible to assess the activities of the mothers Harry knows separate from their status as mother; however, as we have seen, mothers’ behavior/actions in any context are judged according to broader values of what a mother is and what a mother does. For example, although Narcissa Malfoy may be on the wrong side, she displays her dominant role of mother when she implores Severus Snape to help protect her son, Draco. Narcissa “crumpled, falling at [Snape’s] feet, sobbing and moaning on the floor. ‘My only son...my only son...’” (HBP 35). Her sister, Bellatrix, on the other hand chastises her saying: “You should be proud!... If I had sons, I would be glad to give them up to the service of the Dark Lord!” (ibid). Narcissa’s performance of the mother role is in stark contrast to Bellatrix’s statement that she would willingly sacrifice her children (sons). Here Narcissa acts according to expected norms of what a mother does – she protects her children, even if it means defying Voldemort, and in so doing reinforces the notion that good mothers will risk their own lives to protect their children. Narcissa becomes an even more sympathetic witch when she lies to Voldemort about Harry being dead. Her role as mother wins out in the conflict between her role as mother and role as Voldemort supporter, further supporting the conceptualization of motherhood as a pervasive role.
Harry’s Generation and Changing Motherhood Roles
Through enactment of social roles, individuals change and evolve their role performances and redefine what it means to be an occupant of a status position (dynamic). In her critique of West and Zimmerman (1987), Deutsch (2007) points out that by focusing on the production of gender as a verb in nearly every interactional context, the authors do not sufficiently focus on how structural changes affect “(un)doing gender.” Also, although some social conservatives advocate a return to the family values of the 1950s with its normative male breadwinner and female homemaker division of labor, this ideal did not apply to non-white and non-middle class families. Motherhood, then, is a social role that is structured by the institutions of class and race (Hill Collins 1990). Molly Weasley’s role as a poor wizard mother entails very differently daily activities than Narcissa Malfoy’s role as a rich wizard mother. Molly does not have the luxury of house-elf labor to rely on and she must perform magic spells to facilitate keeping up on housework.
Harry, having been born in 1980, encounters mothers who for the most part do not work outside of the home. Currently in the U.K., however, 68% of women with dependent children work in the paid labor market (Office for National Statistics 2008) and anti-labor force discrimination and sexual harassment laws represent significant structural change. This generation of currently working mothers is reflected in the re-defining of the mother role for Harry’s female contemporaries. For example, both Ginny and Hermione work outside of the home after marrying and having children (Rowling 2007). Gladstein (2004) argued that the co-ed population of professional Quidditch players suggested gender equality. When Ginny becomes a mother, she retires from a successful career as a professional Quidditch player in order to work as a sports reporter for the Daily Prophet. Perhaps Ginny’s motivation for job change reflects what many women experience as role conflict and time constraints between the role of mother and the socially-expected duties that go along with it (housework, care work, feeding work, etc.), termed the “Second Shift” by sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild, and the role of professional. In Hochschild’s (2003) study, women often cut back on their work hours outside of the home perhaps in order to accommodate second shift duties. U.K. Labour Force Survey (Office for National Statistics 2008) results indicate that 38% of women with children versus four percent of men with children work part time suggesting support for Hochschild’s (2003) findings.
Hermione and Ginny may represent “transgressive” versus “transformational” change in that although individual women may challenge gendered norms the overall gendered distribution of power remains unchallenged (Deutsch 2007). While it is certainly normal and normative for childless women to work outside of the home there is a lag between large percentages of mothers working outside of the home and normative acceptance of this trend (Correll et al. 2007, Benard and Correll 2010). This is sometimes called the “stalled revolution” (Hochschild 2003). We would need to look for evidence of the “undoing” of gender (Deutsch 2007) and shifting definitions of motherhood as more women continue to pursue post-secondary degrees.
Harry Potter and his OtherMothers
Theoretically, we can label anyone a “mother” who performs the mother role (Ruddick 1989). Indeed, Harry is the object of “mothering” by various “othermothers,” people who may or may not be biologically related to the children for whom they provide some child care responsibilities (Hill Collins 1990). Perhaps the person who comes first to mind is Harry’s othermother Petunia Dursley. Harry also receives othermothering from Molly Weasley and Professor McGonagall who care for his physical and emotional needs at various times. Care from Harry’s othermothers demonstrates that what is lacking in Petunia’s care for Harry is the love and emotional attachment we expect from someone in the mother role.
Othermothers need not be women, however. As Ruddick (1989: 17) expresses: “To be a ‘mother’ is to take upon oneself the responsibility of child care, making its work a regular and substantial part of one’s working life.” It is the social expectation of responsibility and an individual’s response of taking on the goals of preservation and growth via acceptable methods that makes a person a mother (Ruddick 1989). From Bruce (1999: 22): “We expect mothers to behave in maternal ways to display appropriately maternal sentiments. We prescribe a cluster of norms or rules that govern the role of mother.” One non-female othermother figure for Harry is Rubeus Hagrid. Hagrid routinely feeds and expresses concern for Harry and his friends’ well-being. In fact, Hagrid’s mothering extends beyond the boundaries of humanity to various, often dangerous magical creatures (e.g., Norbert, Aragog).
While Hagrid can be seen as one of Harry’s othermothers, Sirius Black, although caring deeply for Harry, cannot be called a mother. Sirius treats Harry as more of a friend or companion than a child, which Harry at times greatly appreciates. Sirius encourages rebelliousness in Harry and argues in favor of treating Harry as an autonomous adult, capable of making decisions about putting himself in harm’s way. Also, unlike Hagrid or McGonagall, Sirius does not “do motherhood” in that he does not physically provide for or discipline Harry. In this way, Sirius fails to conform to normative expectations of mother as protector, sheltering children from an unsafe and dangerous world. As pointed out previously, it is Molly Weasley and also perhaps Minerva McGonagall who perform the mother role in this sheltering dimension.
Lily Potter - The Perfect Mother?
While Molly is perhaps the “best” mother Harry knows, Harry’s own mother, Lily Potter, is the epitome of what a mother “should” be about – love and sacrifice. In giving her life for her son, Lily performs the ultimate sacrifice and does the most any mother can ever do for her child. Her sacrifice ends up saving the world because if Lily had not chosen to die for Harry, Voldemort would not have been defeated. Lily’s example, while noble, is difficu
lt to aspire to. It is arguably harder to live for your children than to die for them. Lily does not have to “do” the oftentimes tedious daily chores of motherhood role performance. She does not have to pick up Harry’s dirty socks or listen to him complain about what she prepared for dinner. She will never make him treacle tart for his birthday.
What does it mean for understanding the meaning of motherhood as a social role that this level of sacrifice on Lily’s part is expected and revered or at least not questioned? If Lily had stood aside or if she had shown hesitation we would judge her harshly. Furthermore, Lily’s perfection is not limited to her unselfish final act. Harry never encounters evidence that Lily was anything but a model witch and never hears someone speaking ill of her – except for Petunia who is jealous of what Lily is, not necessarily critical of what she does. While glimpses into Snape’s memory reveal James, Harry’s father, to have had a reckless and sometimes cruel streak, Lily is remembered as Snape’s defender and Horace Slughorn’s favorite student. Indeed, Lily is so loving that her love not only saves her son, but she forever endears herself to Snape who despite hating Harry’s father is fundamentally motivated by his love for the girl, Lily, who was kind to him. In society we expect different behaviors from women than from men; and even before they are mothers, or even if they never become mothers, women are expected to demonstrate compassion and protectiveness of the weak and the marginalized. Lily perfectly embodies this expectation. This expectation of gender-based compassion for children is also what makes Umbridge and Lestrange, who fail to demonstrate it, so despicable.
If Lily’s sacrifice, bravery, and protectiveness are what define her as a “good” mother in terms of taking her role performance in service of societal norms to its logical conclusion, then her motherly analog is Narcissa Malfoy. As mentioned previously, Narcissa shows bravery and protectiveness of Draco in her interactions with her husband, Snape and later Lord Voldemort. Narcissa defies Lucius’ wish that Draco attend Durmstrang and instead insists he be sent to Hogwarts (GOF 165). She asks Snape for help despite the Dark Lord forbidding her to speak of Draco’s mission. At the Battle of Hogwarts she is completely unarmed due to giving her wand to Draco to use since he had lost his to Harry during the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor (DH 628). Through her actions she demonstrates that, despite being a Voldemort supporter, she loves her son as much as Lily loved Harry. Narcissa and Bellatrix’s relationship to Draco is similar to the complementary good/bad mother pair of Lily and Petunia with respect to Harry. Bellatrix and Petunia, although biologically related to Draco and Harry, respectively, fail to live up to sociocultural expectations of what a good mother or othermother is/does. Bellatrix has no problems with Draco being in harm’s way; Petunia treats Harry as more of a burden than a son. Dichotomizing good/bad mother of Lily/Petunia and Narcissa/Bellatrix illustrates Simmel’s (1971) concept of “dualism.” It is through the bad examples that we understand what behaviors constitute the appropriate role performance of the good mother and vice versa.
