Motherhood, Infertility and Vulnerability in Contemporary Irish Literature

Motherhood, Infertility and Vulnerability in Contemporary Irish Literature brings together established and emerging scholars, alongside contributions by acclaimed Irish authors Emilie Pine and Deirdre Sullivan, to situate literary representations of motherhood within the entanglements of the nation's transitory sociocultural terrain. Across works of fiction, life writing, memoir and more experimental prose, as well as theatre, the essays in this collection trace how contemporary Irish women writers are articulating the complexities--both individual and shared--of mothering and not mothering in the twenty-first century.

With a particular focus on infertility and the vulnerabilities that inhere in mothering, the chapters attend to motherhood as experience, identity and institution; to not-motherhood in both its chosen and imposed forms; and to the vulnerabilities that accompany pregnancy, birthing, child-raising and caregiving. In doing so, the collection also considers how Irish authors are negotiating the lingering figure of Mother Ireland and giving voice to experiences long marked by silence and shame.

Collectively, the volume argues that contemporary representations of motherhood in Irish literature are both rewriting cultural memory and speaking boldly to a complex present; showcasing aesthetic innovation, affective weight and transformative power.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 3032244234
• ISBN13: 9783032244239
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan
• Length: 294 Pages