Power and the passion : representation of single motherhood in Australian literature

![CDATA[This research paper discusses, reflects upon and analyses the much vilified, yet increasingly prevalent existence of single-mother-headed households and their representation in literature. Historically single motherhood has signalled disadvantage and adversity for both mothers and their children. However, as identity and gender politics have, since the 1990s, become so hotly contested and since notions of what "a family" means are slowly changing - especially since the legalisation of gay marriage in many states and countries, single motherhood per se, therefore, provides a fertile arena for feminist exploitation. As a socially constructed site it represents fluidity; one in which women can reclaim power, creativity and sexuality outside of normative-nuclear-family dominance. And, by not being tied to or dependent upon the father of her children or a male breadwinner, women are able to separate the breeding aspect of their life from the sexual, meaning that once a woman has given birth, she is then free, within the practical constraints of running a home, to re-imagine and reconstruct her life as a woman and a mother. The creative component of this research-a novel, titled The Verge- depicts single motherhood in the 1990s. It tells the story of a relationship begun spontaneously and ended acrimoniously, six years later, when the protagonist, Joan, with two young daughters in tow, joins the ranks of Sydney's single mothers. It, like the accompanying research seeks to explore female subjectivity, agency and desire, as specifically manifested in the period since the institution of the Australian Single Mother's pension in 1973. Positive aspects of single motherhood, as viewed through a feminist lens, will show how a single mother, while required to attend to the practical aspects of running a home, is afforded agency, control and choice to shape her world, including her creative life, her career and her ongoing sex/love life. This doctoral thesis is considered an important contribution to Australian literature given that in 2019 there are more single mother households than ever before, and yet there is little in the way of literature that reflects this.]]