The Lost Tradition: Mothers and Daughters in Literature

THE LOST TRADITION: MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS IN LITERATURE
edited by Cathy Davidson and E.M. Broner, Ungar, paperback, $8.95.

Part of the healing process that the women’s movement has begun is this book, examining the connections between mothers and daughters in myth, fiction and autobiography from Ancient Near Eastern literature to current writings. Two of the essays that explore Jewish women’s writing and the conflicting images of powerful/powerless mothers that inhabit it are Erika Duncan’s “The Hungry Jewish Mother” and “Mothers and Daughters: Another Minority Group,” by Natalie M. Rosinsky. In addition to the analytical pieces, the finale is an invaluable “preliminary bibliography” on mothers and daughters in literature.