Author(s)

Yue Ren ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ School of Foreign Languages, Changchun University, Changchun, Jilin Province, 130022, China

Corresponding Author

Yue Ren

ABSTRACT

The term "institutionalized motherhood" underscores that motherhood is both a lived experience and a systemic construct, interacting with other social institutions. Ariyoshi Sawako's novel "The Colorless" centers on the theme of racial discrimination, depicting the hardships faced by "war brides" who crossed oceans to live in the United States. This paper examines the survival conditions, identity traits, and dehumanizing constraints imposed on mothers under racialized institutional structures from three perspectives: the contradictions of institutionalized motherhood based on racial identity, the absence of maternal agency, and the loss of reproductive rights. Drawing on Western motherhood theories and the lived realities of ethnic minority mothers in the novel, the analysis explores Ariyoshi's critical reflections on institutionalized motherhood, revealing her profound philosophical engagement with the concept.

KEYWORDS

Institutionalized Motherhood; War Brides; Maternal Experience; Reproductive Rights

CITE THIS PAPER

Yue Ren, The Shackles of Institutionalized Motherhood: The Concept of Motherhood in "The Colorless". Lecture Notes on Language and Literature (2025) Vol. 8: 33-38. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/langl.2025.080406.

REFERENCES

[1] Ariyoshi Sawako. "Emiko in 'The Colorless': Against the Backdrop of Racial Issues" [N]. Tokyo: Asahi Shimbun, 1971-5-30(29).
[2] Wu Fei, Ren Changyi. "Not Because of Skin Color: A Postcolonial Feminist Interpretation of Ariyoshi Sawako's 'The Colorless'" [J]. Journal of Beijing International Studies University. 2007(08): 64-67.
[3] Rich, Adrienne. Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution [M]. Chongqing Publishing Group, January 2008, 1st edition.
[4] Ariyoshi Sawako. The Colorless [M]. Shanghai Translation Publishing House, June 1984, 1st edition.

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