Maternal Instinct in Miguel De Unamuno's "Dos Madres"

Linares, Henry A., Journal of Evolutionary Psychology

The question of immortality has been one of the principal human preoccupations in the history of mankind (Olshansky; Carnes). This query has been directed in different directions to find a means to satisfy a yearning for immortality. Religion has been one of the paths on which humans have journeyed to search for answers. Based on religious faith, the discovery has been that the physical body dies but that the soul can supersede death. The discipline of science has been another path in the search for answers to this perplexing question. As a result, the unique discovery has been that the desire for immortality, supported by religious faith, clashes constantly with the logic of science, which leads to the uncomfortable position which Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936) calls "the tragic sense of life".

Throughout history, various ways have been conceived to explain the idea of immortality and the attainment of it. (Olshansky; Carnes). One of the most obvious is procreation or, in other words, the passing of the genes to the next generation. In his novelette "Dos Madres", Unamuno describes three principal characters whose actions deal with the theme of procreation and specifically with the obsession of Raquel, a sterile woman, to become a mother. Given Unamuno's preoccupation with the idea of immortality, one could easily interpret Raquel's actions and behavior as her quest for immortality, attainable by acquiring another woman's child and rearing it as her own. Ironically, Raquel ignores an …

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Publication information: Article title: Maternal Instinct in Miguel De Unamuno's "Dos Madres". Contributors: Linares, Henry A. - Author. Journal title: Journal of Evolutionary Psychology. Volume: 24. Issue: 3-4 Publication date: August 2003. Page number: 164+. © 2006 Institute for Evolutionary Psychology. COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group.

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