Global Journal of Human-Social Science, A: Arts and Humanities, Volume 22 Issue 11

inhabitants of diasporic homes” is validated in the novel in differing contexts ( Park, 13 ). Through queer mothers like Anjum and Saeeda, Roy challenges the traditional concept of Motherhood and focuse on the lived reality of LGBTQI populations in India. Another image of Motherhood can be added in motherhood studies by mentioning the single mothers, which is quite common in contemporary patriarchal social circumstances but never accepted as a part of normative parenting. Moreover, the term ‘single mother’ does not cover all the aspects and circumstances related to a single mother. Valerie Heffernan & Gay Wilgus tried to demonstrate the limitations of the concept of a single mother by stating that, We recognize the myriad ways in which mothers can find themselves parenting alone, whether by circumstance or by choice, as well as the multiple ways in which this can affect their mothering decisions and identities. We use the blanket term ‘single mothers’ here in full knowledge of its shortcomings, but as a means of pointing to how culture, the media and public discourse have tended to marginalize mothers whose family situations do not follow normative patterns, and make sweeping assumptions about their experiences ( Valerie Heffernan & Gay Wilgus, 4-5 ). Hence, it can be assumed that, a single mother does not mean only being the mother of a fatherless child, rather, there may be some unnoticed, unaccepted patriarchal circumstances that compel a mother to be single. Contemporary critiques have also asserted that single mothers can be single either by personal choice or by some forces of social norms. In The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Maryam Ipe, a Syrian Christian and mother of Tilo, is such a kind of single mother who has given birth to Tilo without wedlock. Due to the conservatism and social stigma that entails unwed Motherhood in India, Tilo herself was adopted by her unmarried biological mother. Here, the transition of biological Motherhood into disguised queer motherhood occurs due to the social forces supported by patriarchal ideology. However, Maryam remained single but at the same time fulfilled the responsibility of a mother by rearing Tilo. Thus, she challenged the mainstream ideology of Motherhood . The twentieth century saw a cultural shift from an understanding of Motherhood as a social expectation, a ‘civic duty’ towards its conception as a lifestyle choice. At the same time, the terms ‘voluntary childlessness’, ‘childless by choice’, and ‘child-free’ have emerged since the 1970s as counter-discourses to the traditional narrative of childlessness ( Plant, 7 ). From this statement by Plant, two diverse images of Motherhood can be traced. One is ‘voluntary childlessness’ and another is “child-free”. Irene Reti, in her introduction of the book Childless by Choice: A Feminist Anthology (1992), stated, “Women who choose not to have children ‘live in the negative, in the absence, always on the defensive. The women whose voices are represented in the anthology offer many different explanations for their decisions to live child-free ( Reti, 1 ). Thus, it can be said that childlessness may be either voluntary or non-voluntary. In some very exceptional cases, the mother can choose to be a disguised child-free mother for the safety of the child. In The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Revathy, a female guerrilla member of the outlawed Communist Party (Maoist) in Andhra Pradesh, refuses to adopt Motherhood forced upon her by the agents of a state in the most brutal way possible. Notably, she does not terminate her pregnancy, nor does she resign herself to the life of a traditional mother. Instead, for the baby’s safety, she brings her to Delhi, far away from the dangerous geopolitics of Andhra Pradesh. In this way, Revathy fulfills her role as the biological mother by giving birth but renouncing her institutional duty of Motherhood by refusing to nurture a child born out of a violent rape. The concept of a child-free mother gets its best expression through Revathy. Arundhati Roy’s novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, not only depicts women who are queer, but also women, who adopt Motherhood in extraordinary circumstances. Thus, they strongly deviate from the norms of biologically induced Motherhood or Motherhood within the realm of heteronormative marriage. Tilo is one of the most important characters who depict ‘voluntary childlessness’ (biologically) and contradicts the conventional construction of Motherhood . Tilo demonstrates non-biological Motherhood, which is one of the areas of concern for sociologists and scholars of maternal studies. Dorothy Dinnerstein is one of the scholars, who denies biologically-based notions of Motherhood, and assertes that, Motherhood is a social practice which alters. She considered that the subordination of women was directly related to the social requirement for them to nurture their children, a problem increased by the extended period of dependence on human infants ( Dorothy Dinnerstein, 112 ). Even after being married for 14 years, Tilo does not give birth to her biological child deliberately. She herself is a queer child who is adopted by her biological mother. Tilo’s mother never admitted to public that, Tilo is her natural child. As a result, the mother-child bondage between them is never intense. Mother- blaming theory is applicable to demonstrate the cause of Tilo’s disconnection from her mother and her decision to embrace non-biological Motherhood . John Bowlby was an influential scholar who argued that infant’s care at the early age are very important for the mental health of the child. The theory of maternal deprivation was developed by him, who argued that, a child could be damaged if, for any reason, he/she is deprived of mother's care for at least the first three years of life ( John Bowlby, 13 ). Hence, Maryam’s inadmissible attitude towards Tilo affects her psychologically, which influences her to decide to renounce biological Volume XXII Issue XI Version I 34 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 © 2022 Global Journals A Diversity of Maternal Image in Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness