Mothering, migration and intercultural mediation in Anna Maria Dell’oso’s Songs of the Suitcase

Abstract

This article explores representations of mothering practices in Songs of the Suitcase (1998) by second-generation Italian Australian writer Anna Maria Dell’oso. This collection of short stories, dealing with being a woman, a mother of Australian children and a daughter of Southern Italian migrants, devotes special attention to the interlinks between mothering and mediation among culturally diverse groups in modern Australian society. Theoretical frameworks provided by scholars in translation, interpreting and child language brokering are used to shed light on how Dell’oso succeeds in voicing women migrants’ abilities to interact, negotiate and mediate between various cultural groups, ethnicities and generations, especially when it comes to mothering and maternal care. How does Dell’oso configure mothering as the most invaluable caregiving practice, vis-à-vis global mobility, circulation of values and local traditions? How does she represent and problematize the role of mothers and daughters in modern Australia? How does she challenge families’ views on how to mother? How does she interpret the role of the mediator of cultural memories and family beliefs? By displaying the author’s fictional alter egos as the most privileged sites of exploration, Dell’oso reflects on the impact of migration upon mothering practices and the mother-daughter dyad. Finally, she offers thought-provoking views on how Italian Australian mothering practices, as social values, are confronted with and fashioned by ever-changing communities of migrants, opportunities and cultural clashes.