The happy medium between motherhood and career are battles that women had and have to fight. Is it possible to have it all? Or do we have to choose? Woolf found this an issue when writing her essay about women and fiction and the inequality of women and men. She found that if women began with a career, their children would have not have came into existence. I think it's possible. I think the hard part would be finding yourself within the two.
Woolf gave the example of a woman named Mary Seton, and discussed her mother. She gave examples of if she had been working before she had her daughter. If she had a job, the topic of discussion would be different. Also, having a child takes time. Woolf explains that a women needs months to feed and care for the baby and then years to play with the baby. They would simply be no time for a career, because the responsibility of parenting lies fully on the mother. In Chopin's novel, The Awakening, Edna deals with a similar problem. Her husband believes, what is the use of the women if she is not caring for her children? Motherhood is a women's career.
I believe that motherhood should be part of a women's life, however if she wants to have a career she can. But that also means that the father would need to help out with the family. For both Chopin and Woolf, their pieces were written in a time where life was very traditional. A mother dealt with the children's manners and the father brought in the income. I do not find anything wrong with this. If the women wants to devote her time to her children then she is allowed. But if she would like a job then she can do that foo. I have a slightly traditional view of this issue, however if both parents agree to switch roles, then it would be solved. I do believe that the mother should be home for part of her day, as so the father. Communication is essential to who is doing what in a marriage and with parenting, especially if they both decide to have jobs.
Dual-earner families are on the rise. They outnumber breadwinner families 3-1. Also the number of persons in a family have been on a steady decline, according to the United States Department of Labor and U.S. Department of Commerce. These statistics show that our country is moving forward in a different direction. In many families both parents have jobs trying to make money, which also helps to prove Woolf's point. With dual-earner couples on the rise, there are less children being born. So is it possible for both parents to have jobs and look after the children? I hope so because I think I would like to do that. No doubt will that be more difficult, and it would request cooperation from both sides, the father and the mother. For a woman to find that balance between motherhood and career, the responsibly of both can not rest in her hands, unless she chooses one over the other with the help of the father.
