Navigating Motherhood through Surrogacy: Biological Citizenship and Maternal Agency in Meera Syal’s The House of Hidden Mothers (2015)

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of Meera Syal’s The House of Hidden Mothers (2015), delving into the concept of biological citizenship and its implications for intended mothers. The study investigates how intended mothers step into the position of bioconsumers within the surrogacy industry, actively pursuing assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) like commercial gestational surrogacy to accomplish their fixation for biological parenthood which empowers them to assert their agency. Through the novel’s narrative construct, the plight of intended and surrogate mothers is heightened, providing an understanding of the complexities of tenuous maternal roles that surface when engaging in ART practices to construct families. The paper examines the constraints and hurdles encountered by intended mothers and surrogates as they endeavor to extricate themselves from the entanglements of patriarchal heteronormative expectations that enshroud motherhood. These challenges stem from greatly entrenched societal expectations, gendered roles, and the construction of motherhood as the supreme embodiment of femininity. The study offers valuable viewpoints on the intricacy of reproductive choices, maternal agency, and the more comprehensive implications of ART in shaping concepts of motherhood and citizenship.