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When Caregiving Becomes Desperate: Subjectivity, responsibility, and ethics in contemporary mother-daughter narratives of care

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Title: When Caregiving Becomes Desperate: Subjectivity, responsibility, and ethics in contemporary mother-daughter narratives of care
Authors: Hultman, Anna, Bernhardsson, Katarina
Contributors: Lund University, Joint Faculties of Humanities and Theology, Departments, Centre for Languages and Literature, Section 2, Division of Comparative Literature, Comparative Literature, Lunds universitet, Humanistiska och teologiska fakulteterna, Institutioner, Språk- och litteraturcentrum, Sektion 2, Avdelningen för litteraturvetenskap, Litteraturvetenskap, Originator, Lund University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Birgit Rausing Centre for Medical Humanities (BRCMH), Lunds universitet, Medicinska fakulteten, Institutionen för experimentell medicinsk vetenskap, Birgit Rausing Centrum för Medicinsk Humaniora (BRCMH), Originator
Source: Tidsskrift for Forskning i Sygdom og Samfund. 24(42):86-108
Subject Terms: Humanities and the Arts, Languages and Literature, Studies of Specific Literatures (including Literature from specific Language areas), Humaniora och konst, Språk och litteratur, Litteraturstudier (Här ingår: Litteraturer från särskilda språkområden)
Description: To be a caregiver while also being next of kin is emotionally charged. This article discusses narratives of care that goes beyond what Amelia DeFalco calls “caregiving at the limit”, i.e. care necessary for basic survival. In these narratives of what we call desperate care, not only is life at stake, but the care is anxious and urgent, partly done against the will of the care recipient, and the caregiver is exposed and vulnerable. To explore the concept of desperate care we analyze two contemporary Swedish narratives, in different media and from different perspectives. Marie Tillman’s graphic novel En trasig historia (2020) depicts a young girl, Mia, trying to care for a mentally ill and unpredictable mother. Sara Gordan’s prose work Natten (2022), tells the story of a mother who tries to prevent an unruly adolescent daughter from mismanaging her diabetes. A fundamental similarity between the works is how desperate care shapes the identity of the caregiver: their subjectivities become tied up in an intense, dyadic dynamic and highly calibrated towards and dependent on the care recipient. Through these works, the article explores the narration and practices of desperate care, discussing the subjectivity, responsibility, and hyper attentiveness of desperate caregivers, as well as their defeats, when the dyadic dynamic is abandoned as the caregiver turns to institutions for help. The article also discusses the ethics of narrating desperate care: the ethical challenges, as well as how the narration can be regarded as an ethical care practice in itself.
Access URL: https://doi.org/10.7146/tfss.v24i42.143746
Database: SwePub
Description
Abstract:To be a caregiver while also being next of kin is emotionally charged. This article discusses narratives of care that goes beyond what Amelia DeFalco calls “caregiving at the limit”, i.e. care necessary for basic survival. In these narratives of what we call desperate care, not only is life at stake, but the care is anxious and urgent, partly done against the will of the care recipient, and the caregiver is exposed and vulnerable. To explore the concept of desperate care we analyze two contemporary Swedish narratives, in different media and from different perspectives. Marie Tillman’s graphic novel En trasig historia (2020) depicts a young girl, Mia, trying to care for a mentally ill and unpredictable mother. Sara Gordan’s prose work Natten (2022), tells the story of a mother who tries to prevent an unruly adolescent daughter from mismanaging her diabetes. A fundamental similarity between the works is how desperate care shapes the identity of the caregiver: their subjectivities become tied up in an intense, dyadic dynamic and highly calibrated towards and dependent on the care recipient. Through these works, the article explores the narration and practices of desperate care, discussing the subjectivity, responsibility, and hyper attentiveness of desperate caregivers, as well as their defeats, when the dyadic dynamic is abandoned as the caregiver turns to institutions for help. The article also discusses the ethics of narrating desperate care: the ethical challenges, as well as how the narration can be regarded as an ethical care practice in itself.
ISSN:16043405
DOI:10.7146/tfss.v24i42.143746