We went oath-taking ceremony today.
I have long admired Munro's ability to weave intricate narratives that delve deep into the human emotions and conditions. However, recent revelations about her personal life have left me with a sense of ambivalence.
Munro, famous for her literary achievements including the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature, also grappled with complexities in her personal relationships that challenge our perceptions of her as a writer and as a decent person.
I have a troubled feeling about Munro from a parenting perspective. Alice Munro was not a typical mother; in a sense, one might argue she shouldn't have been a mother at all, despite having four children. She described herself as having ambivalent feelings about motherhood and did not adhere to conventional moral principles that uphold motherhood as a sacred duty.
She did not willingly choose motherhood but felt compelled to become a mother due to societal pressures and norms of her era. Up to this point, one might feel sympathy for her, considering her limited life choices at the time.
However, once she had children, the primary maternal instinct to protect her brood should have kicked in. In that regard, she failed, and I find it difficult to forgive.
Her youngest daughter, Andrea Robin Skinner, when she was 9 years old, was sexually abused by her stepfather, Munro's second husband. Her mother, Alice Munro, decided to side and stay with her second husband. I would feel a deep sense of betrayal and injustice, if I were her daughter. Like, hey mom, I trust you would protect me but you didn't.
Children belong to a vulnerable population due to their dependence on parents for care, protection, and guidance. When a mother fails to protect her child from severe harm, especially in cases of sexual abuse, it raises serious concerns about her parental responsibility. This failure calls into question her role as a protector and caregiver.
Protecting one's child from any harm is a fundamental part of parenting, and failure of this responsibility can result in significant emotional and psychological damage to the child.
In the case of Alice Munro, what happened can be seen as a breach of the trust, care and protection that are essential to the parent-child relationship, resulting in her daughter's lifelong suffering from this. This I can't forgive.