Motherhood in All the Living

Motherhood in All the Living

Mothers manifest in several ways in C. E. Morgan’s All the Living, both living and dead, human and animal. The similarities between these different mothers communicate three main ideas about motherhood. The novel illustrates that mothers are protective, make sacrifices, and provide hope for the future.

Both Bell’s mother, Mrs. Johnson, and Emma protect their sons (for better and worse). For example, Mrs. Johnson seems to prevent Bell from pursuing romance. When Bell brings Aloma home, she asks, “How come you to be here” (136)? Her question challenges Aloma’s presence both in her home and in a town where she clearly does not belong. Additionally, Mrs. Johnson tells Bell about where Aloma lives, ultimately ruining her chances at a relationship with her son (172). In life, Emma protected Orren and Cash from certain aspects of running the farm. Orren’s lack of knowledge appears first during the tobacco harvest, but most prominently during the birth of the calf. By not burdening him with responsibility and information, Emma left Orren less prepared for the future.

Not only does the birthing scene illustrate Orren’s inexperience, it also provides a perfect example of maternal sacrifice. The calf tears its mother during a difficult birth, and Orren has to shoot the cow. While death is extreme maternal sacrifice, Emma also makes sacrifices to take care of the farm after Cassius’s death. Orren acknowledges her endurance, stating, “Mama worked the most, though. I’ll give her her due” (36).

Mothers play a third important role in the novel: providing hope. During the dry spell, Aloma tells Orren that the rain will come and that he needs to have faith. One of the more intimate scenes between Aloma and Orren follows. “With his thumb against the dimple of her chin, he turned her face first to the left, then to the right as if seeing the architecture of her face for the first time, studying on the prospect of shelter to be found there” (114). He then compares Aloma to his mother and calls her faith “worse than silly” (114). Despite this dismissal, Orren seems to need this faith, as he looks for the comfort and support in Aloma that he got from his mother. The broody also serves as a symbol of hope, as her bunch of chicks could mean they get by without their rooster for a while (112). This idea of getting by, relying on a maternal figure ties again back into Emma’s role in continuing the farm after Cassius dies. Emma embodies the hope that her sons and the farm in the same way the broody’s success tells whether Aloma and Orren will survive.