From icon to person: Findings from a qualitative study of motherhood in Crete

Abstract

An exploratory study sought to reconcile certain contradictions regarding the role of mothers as presented in the social science literature through probing subjective accounts of mothers in the rapidly changing social milieu of Greece. Previous research that has focused on motherhood in Greek society has highlighted how women who become mothers have been given iconic status. However, modern Cretan mothers are increasingly faced with novel challenges. The subjective perceptions of motherhood of Cretan women attending a community group which focused on parenting were probed. Qualitative analysis was carried out on the written narrative accounts. Participants’ responses corresponded to the following levels of narrative analysis: personal, interpersonal/transgenerational, and societal-ideological. Narratives revealed that mothers were experiencing high levels of personal and interpersonal dissonance which impinged upon their identities and challenged them in their roles as mothers. The women’s narrative accounts underscored the emotional and social importance of having achieved the coveted role of being a mother, the stressful and pressure inducing social context which mandates how the mothering role should be enacted, and dialectics between the personal, intergenerational and social levels of experience. The implications of these findings are discussed with regard to identity and relatedness within the family and how social and professional constructs of mothering lag behind social changes.