Mothers and daughters; a lifelong relationship

By Edith G. Neisser

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060131713
• ISBN13: 9780060131715
• Release Date: January 1973
• Publisher: Harper & Row
• Length: 396 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Mothers and Daughters....

"There is only one person a girl hates more than her mother and that's her eldest sister." This statement is attributed to Bernard Shaw, who may have intended it as just another impudent witticism, but it is the shocking the truth in many families.What Mrs. Neisser has to say about the profound and intrinsic relationship between mothers and daughters bears listening to -- by both mothers and daughters! She ponders this relationship from the daughter's birth, revealing the mother's innermost thoughts about her little girl -- her fond if often foolish hopes for the child's future. But as her little bundle of femininity develops into a personality unto herself, Mother may find that her aspirations have been somewhat thwarted along the way and that she and her daughter are more often at odds than they are in harmony. The rift may be influenced by social norms, religious practices, economics, or academic standards. The degree to which these conditions exist is of little importance -- rebellion hurls itself at too much just as readily as it does at too little. Other contributing factors are the mother's treatment of other children in the family, the mother's relationship with her own mother, and the parents' attitude toward each other.All this Mrs. Neisser has probed, sifted, and analyzed for the edification of every mother and daughter of our time -- whether young or middle-aged, single or married, working or not, living together or apart. Mrs. Neisser lets mothers know that they themselves practically write the script and coach the players -- their daughters -- for tragedy. Daughters come in for their share of criticism too, and the author holds both parent and child equally responsible for the outcome. Her approach is forthright yet sympathetic, and makes the reader feel that her very own personal problem has been under study and that she is about to find a solution -- which indeed she may.In addition to the mother-daughter relationship throughout life there is a chapter dealing with the effect on a daughter if her mother dies. And very wisely handled is the entrance of a stepmother.There are references to case histories and to literary classics on mother-daughter situations that parallel those of today. One chapter deals with mothers and daughters in other places, giving an interesting cross-cultural view of the relationship in such fring areas as the Pacific atoll and the African bush.Mrs. Neisser has used, in addition to her own observations during extensive travels in Europe, the Middle East, Mexico, West Indies, and Japan, the findings and views shared with her by eminent educators in such fields as sociology, psychology, and anthropology. She now offers them to the reader along with valuable advice for achieving a harmonious and immensely satisfying relationship.Mothers and Daughters will also serve as supplementary reading in courses in family relations, personality development, child development, and psychology at the college lev