Our Mothers' Bones

The bond between mother and child has always been viewed as something profound. It is one that has engaged religious tradition and sacred ritual since the Stone Age. Though in the modern era childbirth has mostly been defined and explained in medical terms, Kimberley Patton demonstrates here that human beings have consistently explained the maternal relationship – as well as the real dangers and liminal risks involved in giving birth – in terms other than the anatomical or reductionist. Creatively using comparative religion and mythic stories to bring fresh insights to her subject, the author reveals how ancient rites, sacred histories and religious narratives all present the mother-child bond as extraordinary, blurring the lines of individualism throughout the lives of both. Patton shows here that the biological process whereby a mother and her child are `enjoined’ through a complex cell exchange reinforces a deep, atavistic belief that people are forever implicated in each other’s existences. This has vital implications for understanding human identity, and boldly challenges hegemonic Western ideas about separateness.