The Theme Of Infallibility In Video By Alfian Sa

Aspiring to perfection is understandable but damaging, especially when involving motherhood. Society places the pressure to create healthy, well-adjusted children primarily on the mother's shoulders, leading to an overwhelming fear of failure and a feeling of forced infallibility or the need to be flawless with regard to family. In his short story "Video," Alfian Sa'at uses personification to explore the effect of forced infallibility on mothers and their daughters. The first effect of forced infallibility seen in "Video" is how the main character Maimon attributes hostile intentions to people and even inanimate objects to avoid her guilt. Maimon's narration of the death of her husband, Abu Bakar, is an example of this, where she chides her

Wilborn of North Texas State University describes as "the myth of the perfect mother." Wilborn explains that increasing research on the impact of mothers on their child's personality has led to mothers believing they "carry full responsibility for every aspect of their child's development and behavior" (Wilborn 42). Consequently, there exists no room for error in the mother's life. This phenomenon explains Maimon's readiness to push fault even to inanimate objects such as the rain rather than face her perceived flaws. The myth of the perfect mother also explains Jamilh's relationship with Maimon, as Willborn explains, "Most children react with discouragement to the standards and methods of the mother who tries to be perfect" (Willborn 43). Growing up with a mother who was unaccepting of mistakes led Jamilah to feel every flaw in her life was a source of abject disappointment in the eyes of Maimon, despite having no evidence of

After not having visited Maimon in a month, Jamilah goes at her mother's request to see a video Maimon made of their family apartment while reminiscing aloud to Jamilah. Her stories about Jamilah's father lead to Jamilah having her first thought of accountability when she laments her lack of contribution to her parents, thinking, "Why had she never brought her parents any luck? there were all these prizes that were promised... whatever happened to all that wishing, all their laughable hopes?" (Sa'at 30). Immediately after this thought, Jamilah backtracks to her typical pattern of thinking, albeit much harsher than usual, when she "thought of what a terrible person her mother was," and how "she regretted having a mother" (Sa'at 30). It is right after Jamilah experiences these thoughts and then subsequently realizes the cruelty of them that Sa'at uses the first instance of positive personification, describing the "sunlight falling in from the windows and bounding off her spectacles. When her crochet needles moved, they caught the light and sent out glimmers" (Sa'at 30). Although brief, this instance of personification with a positive rather than negative connotation suggests the turning point in their relationship marred by societal expectations facilitated by the objective lens of a video