The Unnatural Nature of Nuture

N.K. Jemisin, throughout her science fiction novel The Fifth Season, challenges American contemporary culture’s views of maternity. By both having Essun be the typical nurturing mother that society expects and having Syenite be the restless independent still after birth, Jemisin counters the notion of a grand maternal instinct kicking in after birth. Additionally, since Syenite and Essun are the same person but at different points in her life, Jemisin introduces the dynamic nature of nurture that is not typically discussed in America today.

            Jemisin begins her book with a truly nurturing act from Essun. When she sees her dead son Uche on the floor, she covers him with a blanket, but only up to his chin because “he’s afraid of the dark” (17). She stays by his side for two days until Lerna walks in on her fragile state. Her grief even extends to blame as Essun believes that “by being his mother” Uche was killed (60). These responses are maternally-grounded in grief, which align with the preconceived notion that mothers typically lose a piece of themselves when their child dies. Along with this maternal status quo, Essun also conforms to the standard of maternal strength given to mothers separated from their child. Essun’s daughter Nassun was taken by her father and Essun initially sets out on her quest with the motivation to find them. Thinking that Nassun is already dead, she questions, “[w]here did he put you?” (24). In this instance, Essun is trying to tap into her maternal connection with her child in order to be able to find her. Essun’s reactions and emotions directly relating to her children demonstrate her maternal powers that society expects.

            On the opposite end of the motherhood spectrum, Syenite does not even want a child and she let that be known when first introduced. When first getting to Alabaster’s home, she thinks to herself how “[s]he doesn’t have a choice” (67). This child to her is an assignment that she needed to do in order to go higher in the ranks of orogeny, which goes against this societal notion that all women are ready and able to become mothers. Even after having her child Corundum, Syenite still is not ready for motherhood. She admits that she loves him, but she does not “[want] to spend every hour of every rusting day in his presence” (166). This definitively goes against contemporary values, as mothers can only be mothers. If a woman tries to be an individual after giving birth, she is seen as selfish and almost weak, in the sense that they are not up for motherhood. Jemisin has portrayed Syenite as one of the strongest orogenes in the novel, which is contradicting what society expects of a mother who cannot be only a mother.

            Perhaps the most intriguing argument that Jemisin makes in this novel is the actual dynamic nature of motherhood. Syenite and Essun are the same person in different points of her life, which makes sense when you think about their feeling towards motherhood. Essun is forty-two and demonstrates the norm of maternity. Syenite is in her late twenties or her early thirties and did not want a child to begin with. Yet, they both are the same person, which demonstrates how maternal instincts are truly not instinctual at all. Motherhood is a skill and, as with any skill, must be initially desired. Contemporary society in America does not view maternity in its actuality, which is perhaps why mommy-shaming is unconsciously standardized. Jemisin, through these two characters that represent the duality of one person, is directly countering the instinct aspect of maternal instinct. Although she does not undercut the power that can be derived from maternity, Jemisin makes it known that motherhood is not a conformist action. With that, N.K. Jemisin lets mothers ranging in maternity levels from Essun to Syenite know that they are not alone.