The Charwoman's Daughter, a novel by James Stephens.
English Literature for Leaving Cert, an appreciation by Augustine Martin looks at 'The Charwoman's Daughter' with excerpts read by actor Edward Golden a member of the Abbey Players.
Augustine Martin begins his discussion of 'The Charwoman's Daughter' with the two chief characters, the charwoman and her daughter Mary.
These two are living in a rather unusual situation for a mother and daughter.
There is no father or husband present and the charwoman and her daughter Mary live very much to themselves. The mother and daughter love each other with a kind of exclusive love and live in a world of fantasy. The charwoman does not want Mary to grow up and is fiercely protective of her. They live in dismal surroundings of a small Dublin tenement.
The novel tells the story of the growth of the two women. Sixteen year old Mary has to grow up and her mother has to realise that Mary must change to face the world.
Edward Golden reads an excerpt from the novel which describes the emotional and physical relationship between Mary Makebelieve and her mother. The world of her childhood is represented by St Stephen's Green where Mary observes the ducks and ducklings.
Later in the book, the Phoenix Park comes to represent the world of male attraction and adulthood. Mary imagines falling in love and marrying a Lord.
Men for her in the beginning are a strange, mysterious creature.
This episode of 'Telefís Scoile' was broadcast on 4 February 1972. The presenter is Augustine Martin.
Telefís Scoile began broadcasting on 4 February 1964.
The programmes covered maths, science and literature in English and Irish to both junior and senior secondary school level.
