Motherhood is traditionally assigned as the wife’s avenue to autonomy and self-realization

Evidence

No “maternal instinct,” innate and mysterious, lies therein either. The little girl observes that child care falls to the mother, that is what she is taught; stories told, books read, all her little experience confirms it; she is encouraged to feel delight for these future riches, she is given dolls so she will already feel the tangible aspect of those riches. Her “vocation” is determined imperiously. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 693 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

As the pregnancy proceeds, the relation between mother and fetus changes. It is solidly settled in the maternal womb, the two organisms adapt to each other, and there are biological exchanges between them allowing the woman to regain her balance. She no longer feels possessed by the species: she herself possesses the fruit of her womb. The first months she was an ordinary woman, and diminished by the secret labor taking place in her; later she is obviously a mother, and her malfunctions are the reverse of her glory. The increasing weakness she suffers from becomes an excuse. Many women then find a marvelous peace in their pregnancy: they feel justified; they always liked to observe themselves, to spy on their bodies; because of their sense of social duty, they did not dare to focus on their body with too much self-indulgence: now they have the right to; everything they do for their own well-being they also do for the child. They are not required to work or make an effort; they no longer have to pay attention to the rest of the world; the dreams of the future they cherish have meaning for the present moment; they only have to enjoy the moment: they are on vacation. The reason for their existence is there, in their womb, and gives them a perfect impression of plenitude. … Fulfilled, woman also experiences the satisfaction of feeling “interesting,” which has been, since her adolescence, her deepest desire; as a wife, she suffered from her dependence on man; at present she is no longer sex object or servant, but she embodies the species, she is the promise of life, of eternity; her friends and family respect her; even her caprices become sacred: this is what encourages her, as we have seen, to invent “cravings.” “Pregnancy permits woman to rationalize performances which otherwise would appear absurd,” says Helene Deutsch. Justified by the presence within her of another, she finally fully enjoys being herself. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1465 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Pregnancy grants women a socially sanctioned justification for self-absorption and exemption from effort — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1465; Maternal vocation is socially imposed, not instinctually innate — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 693; Mothers view sons as instruments to justify their own existence — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1724 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Maternal vocation is socially imposed, not instinctually innate #contradicts (0.85) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 693
• Pregnancy grants women a socially sanctioned justification for self-absorption and exemption from effort #qualifies (0.78) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1465