ABSTRACT
Kristeva’s topic is motherhood—the way in which Western culture symbolizes motherhood and also the way in which women experience motherhood. Much of Kristeva’s text is divided into two columns. For the most part, the left-hand column is a poetic evocation of her own experience of pregnancy and maternity, whereas the right-hand column is a theoretical analysis of the figure of the Virgin Mary. It is worth noting, however, that Kristeva does not rigidly segregate theory and poetry. The right-hand column sometimes expands to fill the page, and the text of the left-hand column sometimes turns theoretical.
