When 'good' mothers kill: A representation of infanticide

Abstract

This article explores Yvette Christiansë’s (2006) representation of an act of infanticide by the character of Sila van den Kaap in the novel Unconfessed. I will illustrate how the novel deconstructs idealised assumptions about ‘good’ mothers and families in order to reveal alternative constructions. Through the creative medium of fiction, Christiansë exposes the dangers that mothers and women face while also suggesting ways of subverting deeply embedded assumptions about what it means to be a ‘good’ mother and about what constitutes a family.