Girls growing up

The last chapter discussed mothers’ responsibility for nurturing the self of the daughter – a responsibility which is configured through different ‘models’ of the self. It introduced the ways in which the notion of an intrinsic and unique self leads to a situation in which mothers become responsible for nurturing that self. This chapter continues that theme, focusing more fully on women’s conceptualizations of the daughter’s intrinsic self as it considers maternal stories about this self. It considers the conceptualization of the daughter’s self as ‘autonomous’ and considers, too, some of the problems and tensions inherent in conceptualizing the self in terms of autonomy.