Motherhood In Maya Angelou's Caged Bird Stamps, Arkansas

In her autobiographies, Maya Angelou talks about having two mothers, her grandmother who she called Momma and Vivian, her biological mother. She also talks about how her son also has “two mothers”, herself and her mother Vivian (Siphokazi 37-38). This is important because it shows how different African American family dynamics are. They rely on extended family and their own community instead of being a nuclear household that strictly relies on one father and mother to raise and provide for children’s needs (Siphokazi 37-38). Furthermore, the idea of family and diaspora come into play heavily in Maya’s life.When thinking about the idea of diaspora, in Maya Angelou’s novel Caged Bird Stamps, Arkansas is seen as her homeland and California was

But, Vivian’s brothers were the opposite. They believed in fighting and killing to settle scores (Choudhry 470). Maya had a lot of love in her life from her family and her community, despite the differences that they had. Yet, she also struggled with creating her own family and navigating motherhood and marriage. Maya Angelou talks a lot about motherhood and marriage in her autobiographies (Siphokazi 35). However, there is a lot that plays into the experience of motherhood, and for black women in the nineteen forties to the nineteen sixties, things like gender oppression, racism, and classism affected their motherhood experience greatly (Siphokazi 35). Maya Angelou had her child when she was a teen herself. Because of this, her experience with motherhood was deeply intertwined with working to provide for her child. She also came from a long line of mothers who worked to provide for their children as independent women (Siphokazi 35). Maya was first raised by her grandmother, a daughter of ex slaves and she owned her own shop. She was also a widow. Then she started staying with her mother, who was divorced and also an entrepreneur (Siphokazi

Othermothers were essentially what their name says, they were like other mothers to the children in their community (Siphokazi 38). They helped raise them when their own mothers needed help. She also speaks about how the responsibility of raising a child is one that should be shared among a community instead of just one mother like in the standard nuclear family (Siphokazi 38). Nevertheless, because of societal standards Maya yearned for a husband. Maya Angelou’s want and desire for a spouse was also heavily influenced by the fact she wanted a good male role model for her son. However, by raising Guy to be a good person she proves that a child doesn’t necessarily need a father to become a good person (Siphokazi 42). Maya Angelou’s impression of motherhood and marriage was also heavily influenced by her own mother, Vivian. When she saw her mother for the first time she thought she was absolutely beautiful. She also noticed how men were very attracted to her mother and that she was an amazing blues singer that drew people in (Siphokazi 39). This caused young Maya to see herself as less than her mother and caused her to strive to be the perfect housewife, beauty model, and very