Parental Figures Research Articles

Personal support and its impact on the mental health of first‐generation and transfer students

AbstractFirst‐generation college students (FGCS) face unique challenges compared to non‐first‐generation peers. Lack of personal, emotional, financial, or psychological support may create difficulties adapting to college. The focus on affordability in higher education and lowering the cost of a bachelor's degree has also made the transfer process an essential part of degree completion for many, with only 41% of transfer students pursuing a bachelor's degree will achieve that goal. Research has made the connection that diminished personal support from parental figures may impact the mental health of FGCS transfer students, leading to higher dropout, lower retention, and lower degree completion rates. Students who experienced increased personal support might experience fewer mental health issues, resulting in a higher chance of degree completion. Future research implications include prioritizing support systems and mental health services to aid FGCS and transfer students lacking personal support in degree completion.

The Protective Gaze and the Ideology of the Endangered Child

The Protective Gaze and the Ideology of the Endangered Child Jason Middleton (bio) It might seem counterintuitive to begin a discussion of grown-up horror with a film paradigmatic of a horror cycle so indelibly associated with adolescent characters and audiences: John Carpenter's iconic slasher Halloween (1978).1 But I will suggest that the minimal presence of literal adults throughout the film facilitates a mode of cinematic vision I term the "protective gaze," which gives formal expression to a set of distinctively adult fears and anxieties about child endangerment that took hold during the period of the film's long theatrical run. I will then discuss the Black Mirror episode "Arkangel" (Jodie Foster, 2017) as exemplary of how some recent grown-up horror positions adult mothers as protagonists terrorized by a culture of parenting radically transformed since the 1970s and 1980s by the very fears of child endangerment that Halloween and other early slasher films allegorize. Carol Clover's influential analysis of the first slasher cycle called for viewers and critics to move beyond the "literal" onscreen gender of the characters toward a "figurative or functional analysis [that] begins with the processes of point of view and identification." 2 But in Clover's work and in most subsequent scholarship on [End Page 328] the slasher, where gender has been understood as figurative, the principal characters' age—their status as adolescents—has generally been taken literally. For Clover, the figurative liminal gender of the Final Girl and killer, respectively, works in tandem with the Final Girl's more literal liminal social and developmental status as an adolescent between childhood and adulthood. Taken together, these forms of liminality suggest the centrality of the presumed teenage male viewer for whom the Final Girl's life-and-death struggle with the killer symbolically represents the psychodrama of sexual maturation and gendered subject formation. Her phallicization in the final defeat of the killer stages the achievement of normative adult male heterosexuality. Offering a different perspective on the characters' status as youths, Adam Lowenstein historicizes Clover's Oedipal narrative, arguing that Laurie's age can be understood in the same figurative register as her gender. Lowenstein reads Halloween as historical allegory for the explosive American divorce rate between 1960 and 1980. He points out how the teens in the film actually figure childhood, or even adolescence, much less so than they do adulthood: "their place within the mise-en-scène aligns them with parents more than anything else."3 Parents are either absent or impotent in Halloween. We see Laurie's own parents only briefly at the start, when her father, a realtor trying to sell the long-abandoned Myers house, tasks Laurie with dropping off the keys. He thus unwittingly endangers her, as this errand is the first scene in the film to place her in Michael's sightline. Laurie's caregiving role as Tommy's babysitter casts her as the only competent parental figure in the film, but she is "simultaneously a child removed from her own parents."4 Michael in turn is both a demonized child and, symbolically, a punishing parent. In Lowenstein's reading, the film speaks to the "hypothetical teenage child of divorce" by offering Laurie and Michael's drawn-out union as a "sort of fantastic resolution" to the trauma of a broken home, "two parents who keep coming back together again, who seem destined for each other . . . or two children overcoming their divorce-induced fear of romantic relationships."5 For Lowenstein, the fluid and figurative age of the principal characters responds to the spike in the American divorce rate during the era of the film's production as well as the upheaval of the postwar nuclear family's dominant social status. But what links Clover's psychoanalytic interpretation to Lowenstein's allegorical, sociohistorical one is that in both cases Halloween and other slasher films of the time are seen to assuage anxieties attributed to an adolescent viewer. This essay argues that the liminality of both [End Page 329] Laurie's gender and her age positions her to represent the fears and anxieties of a parent or caregiver in this sociohistorical context. As scholars such as Robin Wood...

Research on adolescent depression associated with parental depression

At the crossroads of a global pandemic, here and there where public discourse misuses the concepts of depression, research has begun on a public health issue, that of adolescent depression. The Adodesp study (adolescent depression associated with parental depression) aims to study the interest of a preventive identification of adolescent depression, based on that of parental figures, while evaluating the orientation towards a care system articulated between primary care and mental health devices. Todate, this study has included 42 adolescents based on the identification of 30 depressed parents. Preliminary results show that 45% of adolescents are depressed and support the need for systematic identification of adolescent depression in children of depressed parents. They also underline the difficulties and pitfalls of this identification by general practitioners and conclude that it would be useful to strengthen the link between primary care and mental health services.

Impact of gender-affirming care bans on transgender and gender diverse youth: Parental figures' perspective.

Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth in the United States are met with systemic barriers that affect their physical and mental health. Recent scholarship has found that TGD youth have been negatively impacted as a result of antitransgender federal, state, and local laws and bills. Given the crucial role of parental figures in the well-being of TGD youth (e.g., supporting their child's health-care decisions), parents can provide important insight about the experiences of their children as they navigate the effects of antitransgender legislation. This study aimed to explore parental figures' perceptions of how bans on gender affirming care affect their TGD child and parental figures' advice for legislators/policymakers regarding the impact of these laws and bills on the well-being of TGD youth. Responses to an online survey with 134 self-identified parental figures of TGD youth were analyzed. Thematic analysis revealed five themes regarding the impact that these antitransgender laws and bills have on TGD youth, including (a) depression and suicidal ideation/risk of suicide, (b) anxiety, (c) increased gender dysphoria, (d) decreased safety and increased stigma, and (e) lack of access to medical care. Parental figures also provided direct feedback to legislators/policymakers regarding the impact of these laws and bills on the well-being of TGD youth, including (a) transgender youth health is not a political issue, (b) decriminalize gender affirming medical care, (c) decrease discrimination and violence against transgender people, and (d) become educated on transgender health-care issues. Recommendations for research and practice are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The Treatment of Adult Patients with an Inner Critic - Self-Psychological, Integrative Relational, and Modern Psychoanalytic Approaches

An enduring state of self-criticism characterized by self-attack and feelings of worthlessness and shame has been conceptualized as an inner critic in the object relations literature. Fairbairnian object relations theory has described the inner critic as an internalized bad object often representative of an abusive or rejecting parental figure with treatment focused on helping the patient to separate from this internal bad object and the actual external object. We propose three alternative psychoanalytically oriented treatment approaches which might be more applicable for certain patients. The first is a self-psychological approach which aims to neutralize the inner critic by meeting the patient’s needs for mirroring and idealization. The second is an integrative relational approach which helps the patient to realize and accept both good and bad aspects of the bad object. The third is a modern psychological approach in which the therapist helps the patient to express their anger toward the bad object while maintaining the possibility of improving the actual relationship. Clinical case material is presented in support of these approaches.

Key Informants’ Perspectives on Childhood Obesity in Vietnam: A Qualitative Study

ObjectivesVietnam’s post-war globalization, economic development, and urbanization have contributed to a nutrition transition from traditional diets to highly-processed diets, and increased prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity. Our study aims to explore the attitudes and behaviors driving this epidemic.MethodsThis qualitative study focused on the perspectives and practices of Vietnamese parents, schoolteachers and doctors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 12 regarding the historical, social, and cultural influences contributing to childhood overweight and obesity. Audio-recorded interviews were translated and transcribed, then analyzed using modified ground theory to identify themes and representative quotes.ResultsFive themes were identified: (1) Change in diet between generations, (2) Preference for rounder children, (3) Unhealthy feeding practices, (4) Reduced physical activity, and (5) Increasing awareness of childhood obesity. A conceptual map detailed the shift from war-time to post-war economic environment and psycho-social context for raising children to be large, safe and academically-successful.Conclusions for PracticeWe found that globalization, urbanization and economic development—in the context of historical, social and cultural attitudes—may contribute to increasing child obesity in Vietnam. Obesity prevention through public health and educational institutions should involve policies and programs for healthy eating and exercise, tailored to address parental figures’ concerns.

Parental Support, Depressive Symptoms, and LGBTQ Adolescents: Main and Moderation Effects in a Diverse Sample

ABSTRACT Objective Research has documented the importance of parental support as a protective factor against depressive symptoms among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth. In this study, we assessed the relations between LGBTQ-specific parental support and depressive symptoms. Method Participants were 6,837 LGBTQ youth (ages 13–17) with diverse racial and ethnic, gender, and sexual identities. Main effect and moderation analyses examined interactions between LGBTQ-specific parental support with demographic variables on depressive symptoms, considering demographics as moderators. Results We found that participants of color reported less LGBTQ-specific parental support than their White counterparts, that transgender and genderqueer participants reported less LGBTQ-specific parental support than their cisgender counterparts, and that non-monosexual participants reported less LGBTQ-specific parental support than their monosexual counterparts. Disparities in depressive symptoms were found for individuals who identified as Native American and Latinx, non-monosexual, and transgender and genderqueer, such that these groups reported higher levels of depressive symptoms. Further, we found a significant interaction between LGBTQ-specific parental support and ethnicity, with LGBTQ-specific parental support being less strongly associated with participants who identified as Latinx compared to those who did not identify as Latinx. We also found a significant interaction between LGBTQ-specific parental support and gender identity, with LGBTQ-specific parental support being more strongly related to depressive symptoms among participants who did not identify as boys compared to cisgender boys. Discussion We discuss how to assess the impact of interlocking systems of oppression when working with LGBTQ youth and their parental figures.

Attachment Theory: A Barrier for Indigenous Children Involved with Child Protection.

Background: Attachment theory is an established theoretical understanding of the intimate relationships between parental figures and children. The theory frames the ways in which a child can be supported to develop within a secure base that prepares them for adulthood, including entering into and sustaining intimate relationships. The theory, built on the work of John Bowlby following World War II, has extensive literature supporting its application across multiple cultures and nations, although its roots are heavily tied to Eurocentric familial understandings. However, the theory has also been heavily criticized as not being appropriate for child intervention decision-making. Further, its application to Indigenous caregiving systems is also under question. Yet courts rely heavily on applying the theory to questions of sustaining Indigenous children in non-Indigenous care when return to biological parents is deemed impossible. Methods: This article draws upon the consistent arguments used in leading Canadian child welfare legal decisions and case examples to show how Attachment Theory is applied relative to Indigenous children and families. Results: Attachment Theory drawing upon Eurocentric framing, and as applied in Canadian child protection systems, as seen in precedent court decisions, is given priority over living in culture. This occurs even though the research reviewed has shown that the traditional dyadic version of the theory is not valid for Indigenous peoples. Conclusions: While all children will attach to a caregiver or caregiving system, such as kinship or community, leading legal decisions in Canada tend to rely on Eurocentric versions of the theory, which is contrary to the best interests of Indigenous children. Child protection needs to reconsider how attachment can be used from appropriate cultural lenses that involve the communal or extended caregiving systems common to many Canadian Indigenous communities. Child protection should also recognize that there is not a pan-Indigenous definition of attachment and child-rearing, so efforts to build working relationships with various Indigenous communities will be needed to accomplish culturally informed caregiving plans. In addition, continued advocacy in Canada is needed to have child protection decision-making conducted by the Indigenous communities, as opposed to Eurocentric provincial or territorial agencies.

Secure attachment and social and personality outcomes: The moderating role of emerging adults’ autobiographical memories of parents

AbstractSchema‐congruent positive autobiographical memories of past experiences with parents, a legacy of secure attachment, may operate jointly with secure attachment to predict social and personality outcomes. The current study examines the moderating role of emerging adults’ autobiographical memories of parents on the relations between maternal and paternal attachment and self‐regulation, personal distress, and pathological narcissism. Undergraduates (N = 156, 66.7% female, 53.2% White, Mage = 19.3) completed a battery of measures assessing secure attachment, self‐regulation, personal distress, and pathological narcissism (vulnerable and grandiose). Participants were instructed to recall brief autobiographical memories of experiences with their parental figures. Later, they were asked to name the primary emotion associated with each memory. These emotions were coded as positive, negative, or neutral in valence. For the final analysis, a positive emotion index was constructed by subtracting the number of negative memories from the number of positive memories. Regression models simultaneously examining four outcomes (self‐regulation, personal distress, and vulnerable and grandiose narcissism) were examined for both female and male parental figures. Interactions between secure attachment and positive memories were only significant for maternal model outcomes. Secure attachment was positively related to self‐regulation, and negatively related to personal distress and vulnerable narcissism, when more relative positive memories were recalled. Taken together, this study provides support for the continued influence of secure attachment on social and personality outcomes in emerging adulthood. Further, this influence of secure attachment appears buttressed by readily accessible positive (relative to negative) memories of female attachment figures.

Benessere, resilienza e prosocialità: il loro intreccio in alcune trame familiari

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic emergency, the world of education and training quickly came to the family’s side, designing and implementing new methods of teaching/learning/evaluation and educational support, including at a distance. Nevertheless, statistics reveal a worrying increase in the level of discomfort, incomprehension and frustration experienced in family relationships at the time of Covid. These critical issues have prompted the international pedagogical community to intensify theoretical and practical research on the family, creating new spaces for reflection and comparison of a multidisciplinary nature, to address the current historical moment. The aim of scholars is not limited to a critical reading of what is happening in family relationships and the effects that the pandemic is producing now and will produce in the future, but also aims to understand the deep reasons, hidden in the folds of existence, that can make some families particularly vulnerable compared to others. If, in fact, for some types of families and parental figures the health crisis seems to have had and still has particularly harsh and disorientating consequences, such as to overwhelm the intra-family relations that form and sustain the fabric of our society, for others the same has not been true. Alongside vulnerable families, there are, in fact, some positive family situations, which seem to be resisting the pandemic crisis and which do not show particularly obvious signs of collapse and/or implosion. Faced with this lack of homogeneity in their experiences, the question arises: what can affect the resilience and well-being of families, given the same socio-cultural and economic conditions, in crises such as the present one? To answer this question, we conducted a qualitative and quantitative exploration of 156 families on four continents – Europe, America, Asia and Africa – between 2020 and 2021. This paper therefore describes the investigative pilot, presenting for the first time the results obtained.

O-282 Is the poly parenthood the new type of parenthood?

Abstract Is multi-parenthood the new type of parenthood? Conceiving and raising a child with someone who is not a committed conjugal partner has long been disapproved of and is still regarded by some with concern or disdain. However, this way of having children, also referred to as ‘co-parenting’, has increasingly become a family-building option in itself. Originally describing the cooperation of parents in raising their children after divorce, this term now also designates people who deliberately pursue this type of family arrangement and commit to raising a child together, possibly with their respective partners. This parental path is usually chosen to provide a child with a mother and a father with whom they can develop long-lasting relationships. This paper explores some of the opportunities and challenges presented by co-parenting involving more than two parental figures, by focussing on the experiences and accounts of lesbian women and gay men engaged in such family arrangements in Belgium. Drawing on work by social theorists of the family, the main features and advantages of these arrangements are examined to show that while co-parenting might at first seem marginal and complicated, it appears particularly well adapted to contemporary social constraints and parenting expectations. It can facilitate the achievement of a number of ideals and expectations valued in contemporary society, including: the biological heteronormativefamily model; the possibility to negotiate and implement reflexive parentalpractices; the need for a committed but personalised parenthood; and the desire for a betterand more flexible life-balance. Despite these advantages for those involved, multi-parental arrangements raise a set of social, ethical and legal questions that challenge broader legal and ideological family norms.

Représentations d'attachement, comportements extériorisés et pro-sociaux d'enfants ayant vécu de la maltraitance et issus de la population générale

IntroductionMaltreatment engendered by parental figures may undermine attachment within parent-child relationships and has been associated with the emergence of behavioural problems. These symptoms have been negatively correlated with pro-social behaviour. ObjectiveThis study aims to report attachment representations, behavioural problems and pro-social behaviour of school aged children that have been victims of maltreatment and who receive services from the Enfant and Youth Protection Centre (EYPC) in Quebec and the therapeutic, educative and pedagogic institute (TEPT) in France. The study also aims to examine the links between these variables and to compare these children with the general population (GP) regarding these variables. MethodEighty children, aged 6 to 12 years old, divided in three groups (GP: n = 40; EYPC: n = 27; TEPI: n = 13) participated in the study. Parents and childcare workers completed measures on externalized and pro-social behaviours. Children participated in an activity exploring their attachment representations. ResultsSignificant associations were found between pro-social and externalized behaviors, as well as between attachment representations concerning the child's emotional dysregulation and two other variables: maternal attachment representations (supportive and rejecting) and pro-social behaviour. Furthermore, no significant differences were found between the attachment representations of children from the GP and those that have been victims of maltreatment and who receive services from EYPC and TEPI. However, significant differences were found between these groups regarding pro-social and externalized behaviours. ConclusionThe present study furthers our knowledge about the influence of maltreatment on children's attachment representations and behaviour.

Why did You do that to Me?: a Systematic Review of Cyberbullying Impact on Mental Health and Suicide Among Adolescents

With the new implementation of distance learning, adolescents have more time to access the internet. Lack of surveillance from parental figures and developing senses of mental stability make adolescents susceptible to the negative influence of the internet such as cyberbullying. This systematic literature review aims to examine the incidence of cyberbullying and its effect on the risk of mental health disorders and suicide among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 10 cross-sectional studies were sorted out from major electronic journal databases: PubMed, Science Direct, BMC, Sage Journal, and Google Scholar using the following search term combinations: “adolescents” “cyberbullying” “suicide” “depression”. The range for adolescents age was 11-18 years. These studies identified and examined general internet use, the experience of cyberbullying, effects on mental health disorder, and risk of suicide published from January 2020 to July 2021. Cyber victimization was positively associated with stress, suicidal ideation, and avoidance which is also a significant predictor of self-harm. Adolescents who experienced cyberbullying were 2-3.14 times more likely to report experiencing suicidal ideations. Suicidal attempts were significantly 2.14 times higher on adolescents who have cyberbullying experience. Previously victimized adolescents have a 15.5% higher chance of being cyberbullied. Internet usage and addiction have direct effects on mediating cyber victimization and adolescents’ psychological symptoms. This study has given broader insight into how cyberbullying can affect mental health in adolescents and identify the gaps for further longitudinal research on cyberbullying among adolescents.

The Parent Effect. How Parenting Style Affects Adolescent Behavior and Personality Development. Joanne E. Carlson

The rich content found in The Parent Effect provides great insight and guidance, during what can be a difficult time with parents and their adolescent teenagers. Carlson shines a bright light on how parents can observe the association with their parenting style and their adolescent behavior. In the introduction of the book, Carlson lays out Erik Erikson’s theory of the eight stages of development and then explains in detail what is “normal adolescent behavior.” Then she presents the five types of parenting styles that are the focus of her book. A quiz is provided for readers who are parents to explore their parenting style. In my social work experience, Carlson is spot on when she explains how the adolescent is affected by parenting styles; I see it in the behaviors of the adolescents I work with. However, parenting styles are half of the problem of an adolescent’s behavior. The parents’ behavior can and does cause huge problems within an adolescent’s life and may result in adolescents living in foster care, living with friends, going to juvenile facilities, or entering inpatient hospitalization. Overall, parental figures’ irresponsible actions cause additional problems in what is an already troubled situation in the environment of the home for the adolescent.

Bullying, depression, and parental acceptance in a sample of Latinx sexual and gender minority youth

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth of color—in particular Latinx SGM youth—experience higher incidents of bullying compared to heterosexual and cisgender White youth. These disparities oftentimes explain increased negative mental health outcomes, such as depression. Parental acceptance may be a particularly important buffer to the effects of bullying on negative mental health outcomes among Latinx SGM youth. In a sample of 1,005 Latinx SGM youth (ages 13-17), we assessed: (a) the prevalence of parental acceptance and bullying, (b) the influence of bullying on depression, and (c) whether the relationship between bullying and depression was moderated by parental acceptance. Results showed that, on average, Latinx SGM youth reported rarely experiencing parental acceptance, frequently experiencing symptoms of depression, and frequently being bullied. Findings revealed that parental acceptance and bullying were significantly related to depression. Furthermore, there was no interaction between parental acceptance and bullying on depression. Findings have implications for how different Latinx cultural values may be further considered to better understand Latinx SGM youth’s perception of their parental figure’s acceptance of their sexual and gender identity and its role on bullying and depression.

Emotional dependence on the aggressor partner and its relationship to social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation and dysfunctional perfectionism

The objectives of the study were to evaluate the relationship between emotional dependence and social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation and dysfunctional perfectionism, as well as its mediating role in the relationship between perfectionistic parental influences and physical violence received from the partner. A total of 258 people (77.1% female) aged 18-67 years (M= 32.63, SD= 11.66) participated. The findings suggested that emotional dependence was positively associated with intimate partner violence received, social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and dysfunctional perfectionism. In turn, intimate partner violence received was positively associated with dysfunctional perfectionism. Emotional dependence explained 16.55% of the relationship between perfectionist parental influences, referring to the perception of openly critical parental figures with high expectations, and the permanence in physically violent intimate partner relationships. In conclusion, the need to investigate and include these factors in psychological interventions aimed at treating both problems such as emotional dependence and permanence in violent relationships is mentioned.

The Impact of Different Parental Figures of Adolescents Living With HIV: An Evaluation of Family Structures, Perceived HIV Related Stigma, and Opportunities for Social Support.

Although antiretroviral therapy (ART) has changed the expected health outcomes for HIV, there are still issues related to stigma, how people living with HIV are perceived, and the availability of social support. The purpose of this study was to explore the associations between family structure and psychosocial wellbeing reflected by perceived HIV stigma and social support among adolescents living with HIV in Kumasi, Ghana. This article used baseline data from two mixed methods studies that evaluated the safety and preliminary efficacy of group-based support programs for ART adherence improvement among adolescents living in Kumasi, Ghana (N = 70, aged 12–18 years). A multivariate linear regression analysis was employed to examine the associations between family structure and the outcomes of stigma and social support. The main variables for family structure were single mothers and female caregivers. We found that single motherhood was a significant determinant of stigma. When compared to other categories of caregiver types, adolescents being raised by their single mothers was associated with a 0.259 decrease in the mean internal HIV stigma score (p = 0.029). Also, for female adolescents, being raised by a female guardian (e.g., mother, aunt, grandmother, and sister) was associated with a 20.92 point increase in the overall support index (p = 0.005). This study shows that the type of parent or guardian, and their gender, influences the perceived stigma and available social support among adolescents living with HIV in Ghana. Vulnerable subgroups of adolescents living with HIV, particularly those raised up by male caregivers, should be provided with additional support.

Hikikomori du jeune : accueillir et prendre en charge le fardeau de la famille

Home confinement of a young person is a global problem whether or not it is associated with a psychiatric disorder. It is a maladaptive behavior that tends to repeat itself and finally involves the whole family in a shared difficulty of attachment/separation. Relieving the family burden using parental guidance could help to break the cercle vicious of guilt and shame among family members.Many studies on the features of families in hikikomori situations are cited in the article, mostly from Japanese authors. Constrained family culture, misunderstanding between the young person and his family, and dependency to parental figures are far more important today than in previous works where the poor quality of family relations were stressed. Studies about families in hikikomori situations are now beginning to emerge in non-Japanese countries, notably in Spain and Italy. It would be interesting to develop such research stream in France. This article also presents our clinical experience in responding to requests for consultations from families with a hikikomori situation, in developing a professional network via the AFHIKI association, and in animating a family exchange group about hikikomori.

Austen, Gaskell, and the Politics of Domestic Fiction

AbstractThis essay offers a significant reconceptualization of Jane Austen’s influence on political novelists of the mid-nineteenth century by examining Elizabeth Gaskell’s extensive use of Pride and Prejudice (1813) in her novel North and South (1855). At a moment when the political dimensions of Austen’s fictions were fading to obscurity, Gaskell drew on Austen’s portrayal of domestic relationships to underscore their relevance to “public” problems. On this view, the Austenian courtship plot does not contain political anxieties so much as animate them, with the logic of complementary coupling providing a formal and thematic model for the dialectical engagements necessary for navigating social conflict. At the same time, Gaskell uses Austenian motifs to dramatize the “marriageability” of different generic frameworks during a time of regional fragmentation while also envisioning Austen as a parental figure whose legacy called for continuing negotiation.

Possible Pregnancy and All’s Well’s Uncertain Ends

In All’s Well That Ends Well, Helen announces a possible pregnancy: it proliferates interpretations and cannot be confirmed or disproven. Recognizing Helen’s pregnancy as possible makes retroactively evident the play’s fracturing patriarchal power structure, impotent model of cultural reproduction, and recursive temporality. Helen and Bertram face an excess of parental figures, biological and surrogate, who trouble familial roles and interrupt the patrilineal inheritance they advocate. Lineal descent and linear time intertwine and preclude them from copying their elders or inaugurating a new generation to produce stability. Shakespeare dangles biological reproduction as a panacea but permanently defers it.