Maternal Love in The Shawl Essay

Maternal Love in Cynthia Ozicks The Shawl

In the short story The Shawl, the author Cynthia Ozick uses a small wrap as a symbol of maternal love within a concentration camp during World War II. The relationship between a mother and her child is known to be special because a mothers love is known to be irreplaceable. This is what is referred to as a form of maternal love (Rich 17). Women, who are naturally nurturing creatures, will do anything to protect their children no matter what circumstance or situation they are in. In this essay I assert that the shawl represents love, survival, death and suffering.

There are many definitions of love, but love cannot be defined by words. It can only be proven and shown by the actions of a person (Rich 43). In The Shawl, the love a Jewish mother has for her daughter is shown in more ways than one. When Rosa (the mother) can no longer produce milk because of her own lack of nutrition, the shawl becomes a source of nourishment for Magda (her baby) as shown in the text, It was a magic shawl; it could nourish an infant for three days and three nights (1). Despite the conditions in the camp, Magda never cried because the shawl was also a source of comfort. It shielded her eyes from the black deposits the bad wind carried that made Stella (her cousin) and Rosas eyes tear and it also protected her from the cold.

Any survival expert will tell you that the most important part of survival is maintaining your will to survive (Murcutt 22). Rosa used the shawl as a shield to protect her daughter from the Nazis. If they knew Magda was hidden there she would have been dead already. Magda was wrapped so tightly that she was mistaken for Rosas breast. When Ozick describes how Rosa clung to the shawl as if it covered only herself, it becomes apparent that Rosa put up a fight to keep her daughter alive (2). Rosa knew that the shawl could not protect her daughter forever but as a mother she wanted to prolong Magdas life for as long as she could.

What once was a source of nourishment, comfort and protection ultimately caused Magdas death. When Stella takes the shawl away, Magda goes out of the barracks to search for it. When the Nazis find her, they throw her against an electric fence and Rosa witnesses it all. She struggles with the decision to say something and risk her own life or just allow them to murder her daughter and free her from the atrocities of the camp.

One of the reasons she struggled with her decision is because Magda, who had not spoken for days and was thought to be dumb, defective, without a voice, was now saying Maaaa-. Hearing her daughters voice was a fearful joy to Rosa. As a mother, who referred to her daughter as mute, seeing Magda out of the barracks swaying on her pencil legs and howling was astonishing to Rosa. It was the first time Magda had ever sent out from her throat since the drying up of Rosas nipples (3). The joy was seeing her daughter reaching a milestone she didnt think was possible. The fear was realizing that she could not protect Magda any longer and Magda was going to die.

During World War II, the fate of Jewish and non-Jewish children could be categorized in the following way: 1) children killed when they arrived in killing centers; 2) children killed immediately after birth or in institutions; 3) children born in ghettos and camps who survived because prisoners hid them; 4) children, usually over age 12, who were used as laborers and as subjects of medical experiments; and 5) those children killed during reprisal operations or so-called anti-partisan operations (USHMM).

Magdas fate had been sealed and Rosa realized that Magda was better off dead than in the camp. This is an extreme example of maternal love but still love nonetheless. The decision Rosa made to not intervene in the death of her daughter was a liberating yet painful sacrifice a mother had to make all in the name of love.