Mothering on the margins of space: meanings of space in accounts of maternal experience

This exploration of ‘space’ and its meaning to mothers represents one response to the calls for space to be considered in all theories of subjectivities (Brown, 2001). It considers the normalisation of mothers that has arisen from psychological research in western culture. The paper draws on Winnicott’s notions of potential space and the ‘capacity to be alone in the presence of another’ (Winnicott, 1958) to consider the significance of space. It inquires into how narratives about space can inform us of the relationship between physical and psychic space and ways in which access to both can be restricted. The paper discusses the role of psychology and psychoanalysis in the formation of social support for mothers and in our understanding of mothers’ experiences. The paper seeks to question the role of normalisation as a way of portraying mothers.