Redefining the Mother Wound: Marianism, the Church, and Communal Mothering in Las Madres: Latinas in the Heartland Who Led Their Family to Success

Authors

• Maria R. Loya-Pérez, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

First Advisor

Pascha Sotolongo Stevenson

Committee Members

Laura K. Muñoz, Shari Stenberg

Date of this Version

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts

Major: English

Under the supervision of Professor Pascha Sotolongo Stevenson

Lincoln, Nebraska, May 2026

Comments

Copyright 2026, Maria R. Loya-Pérez. Used by permission

Abstract

This thesis reconsiders the restrictive role assigned to Mexican mothers that is perpetuated by the Church and Marianism, and how those restrictions are liberated by communal mothering. In examining how a Mexican mother is expected to act based on cultural expectations, I analyze the stories of three real mothers from the familial autobiography Las Madres: Latinas in the Heartland Who Led Their Family to Success. I analyze three mothers, the matriarch Candelaria, her daughter Rafaela, and her daughter Irene to better understand how the Church and Marianism has restricted them based on the experiences of Candelaria. These restrictions when placed on teen mothers creates a wound in the mother. The mother’s wound is based on the psychological term ‘mother wound,’ credited to Carl Jung, that examines how a child is impacted by an abusive mother. I rethink and ultimately redefine this term to refocus on the mother and consider how her trauma can be passed through generations, even when she is not abusive. Carl Jung’s research in his book Four Archetypes casts the mother as either loving and perfect, or terrible, centering the experience of the child. The mother’s wound, as I redefine it, makes space for the mother’s own experiences and traumas rather than centering the child. Analyzing the trauma of Candelaria provides context to the behavior of Rafaela and Irene as they navigate motherhood. By examining their real stories, I unveil the harm cultural expectations can cause, and how communal mothering can help undo years of restrictive expectations and trauma.

Advisor: Pascha Sotolongo Stevenson