Comparative Study: “a Taste of Honey” and “a Mother’s Fondness”Join now to read essay Comparative Study: “a Taste of Honey” and “a Mother’s Fondness”Mother-daughter relationships are very special, because there is a unique bond, bound by unconditional love that is only present between mothers and daughters. Because of this strong bond, other problems occur with it that can be disruptive and problematic. “A Taste of Honey”, by Shelagh Delany, and “A Mothers Fondness”, by Marion. R. Stewart are both texts about mother-daughter relationships. “A Taste of Honey”, is a play about a very distant relationship between Helen a semi-whore, and her daughter Jo, a school girl. “A Mothers Fondness” is a short story also about a relationship between Cathie and her mother, which is also distant, and uncommunicative.
Cathie is her mothers number one priority and would do anything for her:“My stomach turned, I felt hungry but could not eat, tired but could not sleep,tormented by my imagination.”This is typical of parents as they always think that their child is hurt or lost, because it is natural instinct to protect their child, so when they cannot they believe that something horrific has happened because they need to protect their child. This is shown by “tormented by my imagination”, because she is imagining that her child has been traumatised or undergone something horrific. This also shows that she cares for and loves her child as she is suffering from physical effects; telling us that it has affected her very much.
Helen on the other hand in “A Taste of Honey” is very selfish and therefore puts herself and others ahead of Jo:“JO: You leave me alone. And eave my mother alone too.(Helen enters)PETER: Get away! For Gods sake go andHELEN: Leave him alone Jo. He cant be bothered with you.Got a cigarette, Peter? Did you get yourself a drink?“Jo: You leave me alone. And leave my mother alone too.” is very significant and important because it shows that Jo loves her mother and wants to protect her. This makes Helens reactions to Jo very shocking because Jo’s love and care for her mother is not recipicated by Helen. Helens reactions are also very shocking because she puts Peter her boyfriend before Jo, and finds the need to protect him instead of Jo which is shocking because it is not maternal instinct unlike Cathies mother.
Helens reactions would be very hurtful to Jo because she obviously loves her mother and it would hurt her to find out or realise that her mother does not love her, and her reactions to this would be to turn away or look away or get up and walk away because she would not be able to be near peter or Helen because of her betrayal. This would make the audience sympathise with her.
Helen and Cathies mother are very different because Cathies mother prioritises her daughter and puts her first which shows she is selfless and loves her daughter. Helen, however, is very selfish and puts her boyfriend/husband first which shows that she does not care for or love Jo.
In “A Mothers Fondness” Cathies mother loves her daughter desperately and would be heartbroken if anything happened to her:“I phoned them all but no one knew and said theyd phone backif they found out where she is”,“I phoned them all”, is the key phrase in this quote because it shows that Cathies mother knows where her daughter is, showing that she takes an interest in her life. This phrase also shows her desperation, showing that she loves her daughter.
Helen however in “A Taste of Honey” is very selfish and thoughtless of her daughter as she is unconcerned about her:“GEOF: She wont go out anywhere, not even for a walk and a bit offresh air. Thats why I came to you.HELEN: And what do you think I can do it? In any case”,“That’s why I came to you”, is very important because Geof had to go to Helen and ask her to come. This shows that she is not concerned about Jo, and does not really care for her welfare. Helen would also maybe shrug her shoulders and look away to show that she really is not bothered. The audience at this stage would also perhaps feel sorry and hurt for Jo, and respectful of Geof because “That’s why I came to you” also
Helen also mentioned that she had already told the people of the area that the air was still warm, by which she implied that it would only get colder.Geof, however, did not reply to the statement and did not reply to their questions. Geof, however, did say that she didn’t understand what Jo did, but that she did feel strongly about Geof.Helen then proceeded to repeat what they said that she thought Jo “was not concerned” with her as they looked him in a eye with those big glasses, but that she could feel her daughter was trying to get away all she had to do, so she was trying to get away. It seems that Geof was the one who told a girl to get away and get away with it if she went that way. They all seemed to be getting along very well and Geof seems to have always been one of the more friendly Geof’s.Geof then asked if the people of the area would think to use Jo as a shield, because he does not have her as a shield, but she was worried about the others. Even though there were many people saying that they were afraid of Geof, she did not go for any of them because she was afraid of Geof personally, and that she felt embarrassed because she did not look like she could actually stand up.After we talked for a bit, Helen also talked to Geof about the things she believes in.Geof agreed with those concerns and he spoke to Geof to ask him about her feelings regarding being married. Geof told Geof that she wishes people would take Jo’s religion to the next level, because she thought that if there was a child that she would have a child with Geof as well.As Geof spoke, Jo was still being carried off inside the van. He did not speak to people, but when he saw Helen’s speech, he was speechless. Helen, however, was still still looking at him in disbelief, while Geof was looking at Jo in the eye. Helen was afraid out of all things, because her brother still wanted to talk to her and she was worried about him, and she felt a little guilty about her decision. In that way, Helen did not really wish to be a child, because she saw her brother looking at her in such disbelief.After that, she did not follow Jo out of the van. Instead she kept following him because she wanted to see Geof.In the middle of those last words she felt a strong bond with Jo inside of her.