Feminist Writing As a Healing Force for Personal Growth: Managing Pain In Black Milk By Elif Shafak

Abstract

This research analyzes Elif Shafak’s Black Milk: On Writing, Motherhood, and the Harem Within (2011) memoir. It is significant for understanding the layers of feminism and how the idea of motherhood changes after postpartum stress. In this memoir, the role of women in feminist discourse demonstrates a motherhood with stress, and it discusses how to manage pain. In addition, the writer tries to highlight the relationship between women and their social performances and responsibilities. This research aims to examine the body, women, and the motherhood relation from women’s perspective. Women’s issues of postpartum depression, stress management, and economic productivity are analyzed through Black Milk. Shafak’s pregnancy and her understanding of womanhood created a conflict in her life for which she struggled to manage her pain. Feminism is an important part of women’s lives. Women’s mental breakdown calls for a rest cure, during which she discovers challenge.