BEYOND THE IDEALISED MATERNAL BOND: REDEFINING THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIP IN THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE AND THE LAMBS OF LONDON

Abstract

Julia Kristeva asserts that maternal bond plays a significant role in the formation of an individual’s subjectivity. She claims that when the child gets separated from the mother to form its own identity, it goes through the process of abjection. As a result of this separation from the (m)other, all human desires, fears, insecurities, and sense of creativity associated with the semiotic aspect of language come to the fore. Kristeva relates the semiotic part to the unconscious, while the symbolic is all about properly representing objects, logic, and order through language. Thus, the symbolic realm functions to balance our desires, drives, and feelings and helps the subject to express its drives through language, yet in a filtered way according to the laws of the father and society. However, if the child cannot enter the symbolic order; or cannot liberate itself from the mother, it may have inner and mental struggles. Even though years pass, the remnants in the psyche continue to disturb the individual. In this respect, this study will reflect the condition of two daughters portrayed in The Beauty Queen of Leenane and The Lambs of London who are still in the process of abjection and incapable of entering the symbolic order.