While reading Sue Miller's novel, The Good Mother, I began to think about what exactly constitutes a "good mother." I felt that throughout this story, Anna displays many characteristics of a good mother until she meets Leo.
Once Anna and Leo begin to date, everything else seems to be put on a back burner. While she still tends to Molly like she should, there are several instances which Anna makes a poor judgment when it came to her daughter. .
One good example of this is when she and Leo are making love while Molly is in the bed with them. Most parents would never even think of doing this. She should have stopped until Molly had calmed down and was back in her room sleeping. I am sure that many parents get "caught in the act," but would never think to continue making love while the child is still in the same room as them. What would she have done if Molly woke up? I really don't think this thought crosses her mind. She was in the heat of the moment, and at the time, that is all that mattered to her. She did not think about what Molly would say or think if she had see what was going on. I think that Anna put herself first in this instance when Molly should have been her priority.
Another example would be when she sticks up for Leo in court. I know that she was in love with him at the time, but most mothers would stop at nothing to get back their child. I know that if that situation took place with my child, I would never have stuck up for my boyfriend the way Anna did. Leo knew what he did was wrong; he even said that he felt uncomfortable. If that was the case, he should have told Molly that she could not touch his penis and then have talked with Anna to let her know what had happened. Instead he let Molly touch him and kept it a secret from Anna. This, I thought, was very weird. If he thought that it was what Anna would have wanted him to do, then why did he keep it from her? It was almost as if he knew he did something he shouldn't have.
