Motherhood & Horror

A short essay examining different explorations of complex feelings surrounding motherhood, as explored in different horror films. There will be a particular focus on the films Hereditary and We Need To Talk About Kevin

In her book The Mask of Motherhood, Susan Maushart coins the titular term as the mask which every mother must wear to hide any negative feelings they may hold towards their role as a mother, to maintain the universal ideal that motherhood innately a natural, easy and overall joyous thing (1997). Hegemonic ideals pressure women to maintain these masks, as failing to do so would challenge this idea that motherhood is a woman’s natural place and ultimately challenge societal ideals as a whole. What lies beneath the mask of motherhood is seldom explored in media and, when it is seen, is depicted as a taboo; cold mothers that ignore, abuse or neglect their children, children that are often depicted as growing to become evil themselves (see: Norman Bates's mother). The rejection of traditional motherhood (nurturing, loving, homely) in media is often a transition into evil and unpleasantness, dramatized to the point that no average woman could ever relate.

The concept of the mask of motherhood contradicts these portrayals, however, arguing that many women feel unable to embrace the role of traditional motherhood, yet think that it should happen easily and automatically due to these prevailing stereotypes. As discussed in the article Maternal Ambivalence, “Since negative, confusing, and ambivalent discourse surrounding motherhood rarely penetrates the cultural narrative, women may find themselves unprepared for the uncomfortable reality and so refuse to acknowledge it by concealing these overwhelming feelings with a mask” (Galioto, 2019, pg. 135).

These uncomfortable realities lend themselves well to the horror genre, which often pushes uncomfortable and disturbing ideas to hyperbolic levels to effectively terrorize audiences. The genre has utilized the mask of motherhood concept to depict mothers not only as the villain inflicting the horror, a la Psycho, but as the victims experiencing the horrors of motherhood itself. Two such examples include the films Hereditary (2018) and We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), along with the book of the same name on which the latter film is based. Both films utilize horror elements to depict the mask of motherhood being ripped away to reveal the toll that motherhood can take on women, as well as highlight the consequences of maintaining the mask.

Ari Aster’s Hereditary follows the Graham family's grief process immediately after the death of family matriarch Leigh, mother to Annie and grandmother to Peter and Charlie. As the film progresses, the family faces continued loss and turmoil when 17-year-old Peter accidentally kills his younger sister Charlie in a car accident caused by his own intoxication. This loss, coupled with the familial strain already present following Leigh’s death, causes Annie to struggle with maintaining the mask of motherhood and to fulfill her role as both a wife and mother. In a tense and chilling scene at the movie's midpoint, this struggle comes to a head with an intense confrontation between Annie and Peter. During an awkward family dinner, Annie lashes out at Peter with a cutting monologue revealing her true feelings towards Peter’s role in his sister’s death. Annie shouts, “All I do is worry and slave and defend you, and all I get back is that f*cking face on your face! So full of disdain and resentment and always so annoyed! Well, now your sister is dead!”

Fed up with her own perceived failure to properly raise, protect and comfort her children, Annie sheds all illusions of traditional motherhood and lets out her true feelings in a way that causes viewers severe unease and fear. Even when Annie attempts comfort, (“And I know you miss her and I know it was an accident and I know you're in pain and I wish I could take that away for you. I WISH I could shield you from the knowledge that you did what you did, but your sister is dead!”) she is unable to pretend any longer and forces herself and Peter to face the reality of the situation; they both failed Charlie and Annie is unable to pretend otherwise. Annie's inability to perform her traditional role as a mother, to comfort her children and shield them from harsh realities, is used to effectively fill the audience with fear and unease while simultaneously showing a reality of motherhood which some may relate to.

This scene is contextualized by an earlier line by Annie, in which- during a dream sequence- Annie stands over Peter's bed while he sleeps and states “I never wanted to be your mother”. Charlie’s death ultimately serves as the catalyst for Annie’s dropping of her mask, as the continual state of stress and grief under which she exists begins to suffocate her. Annie gradually stops hiding her feelings surrounding her detachment from her motherly role, as well as her resentment towards her son for his role in Charlie’s death. According to “The Initiation: Relations of Power in Women-Forward Indie Horror Films”, “Hereditary as a whole works to cage Annie into her role as a mother, daughter, and wife that she does not feel comfortable in and is consistently punished for (House, pg 26). Director Aster ultimately utilizes the discomfort and upset inherent to depictions of rejections of traditional motherhood to purposeful effect, creating an extremely tense environment in which to tell a haunting story of a dysfunctional family.

We Need to Talk About Kevin similarly both tears the mask off of motherhood and shows the effects of maintaining it. The film offers a gut-wrenching look at the experience of Eva, a woman who- like Heredity’s Annie - did not wish to be a mother but is faced with an unexpected pregnancy and forced to navigate raising a son who shows signs of sociopathy and utter disdain for her from a young age. The article Maternal Ambivalence points out the ways in which Eva ineffectively maintains the mask for much of Kevin’s early life, wordless and morose through many milestones, early in the film. Eva is shown staring blankly ahead in a hospital bed following Kevin’s birth while her husband, Franklin, plays cheerily with their new baby. Despite this clear ambivalence towards both motherhood and Kevin specifically, Eva does not discuss her feelings with Franklin or anyone, as doing so would go against all preconceived notions of motherhood- that the bond between mother and child is innate, natural and definite. (Galioto, 2019, pg. 135). When Eva does speak up to Franklin later in the film about her concerns regarding Kevin's behavior, who at this point is a child, Franklin dismisses her and says that she is just being overdramatic.

Eva reflects more bluntly on her feelings towards motherhood in the source novel of the same name, stating, “So I wasn’t only afraid of becoming my mother, but a mother. I was afraid of being the steadfast, stationary anchor who provides a jumping-off place for another young adventurer whose travels I might envy and whose future is still unmoored and unmapped” (Shriver, 2003, As Cited in Galioto, 2019, pg. 133). Despite Kevin’s increasingly prevalent signs of sociopathy as he ages, the film and novel ponder the question of whether Kevin’s evil disposition was inherent from birth or developed due to his innate sense for Eva’s disdain and resentment towards him and motherhood. This question is most chillingly presented to the audience at the films climax, when Kevin's ultimate evil deed- which is hinted at in quick flashes throughout the film- manifests in the form of a school shooting he perpetrates. Topping off the entwined life story of both Eva and Kevin, the event forces the viewer to question who is at fault for the seven classmates left dead by Kevin’s hands- Kevin or his mother. In this way, the film explores the topic of maternal dissatisfaction and the mask of motherhood to a chilling effect, using horror as a medium to explore these complex topics. As summed up in the article Beyond the Final Girl, “In [We Need to Talk About Kevin], the monster is not a single entity, but a societal fear: motherhood and maternity” (Holoway, 2019).

References

Aster, A. (Director). (2018). Hereditary [Video file]. Retrieved 2021, from https://www.hulu.com/movie/hereditary-c4374ac9-397a-4855-804e-8d25e3a87442?entity_id=c4374ac9-397a-4855-804e-8d25e3a87442

Galioto, E. D. (2019). Maternal ambivalence in the novel and film we need to talk About Kevin. Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society, 24(2), 132-150. doi:10.1057/s41282-019-00116-w

Holway, H. (2020, February 17). Beyond the final girl: We need to talk about kevin and motherhood in horror. Retrieved April 11, 2021, from https://talkfilmsociety.com/columns/beyond-the-final-girl-we-need-to-talk-about-kevin-and-motherhood-in-horror

House, S. (2019). The initiation: Relations of power in women-forward indie horror films (Order No. 13857786). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global: Literature & Language; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global: Social Sciences; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global: The Arts. (2229773867). Retrieved from https://login.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/login?url= ?url=https://www-proquest-com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/dissertations-theses/initiation-relations-power-women-forward-indie/docview/2229773867/se-2?accountid=13626

Maushart, S. (1997). Mask of motherhood. Milsons Point, N.S.W: Random House Australia.