Once Upon a Time and the Perpetuation of the Mother/Anti Mother Dichotomy

Kennedy Yeager BC '22 analyzes the popular television show Once Upon a Time through the lens of the anti-mother archetype. Yeager defines the "anti-mother" as an "archetypal witch figure who represents societal male anxiety about powerful women who deviate from their socially acceptable role as mother." Anti-mothers are women who fight to preserve their agency, seek power, and often explicitly express sexual desire. In rejecting the role of "motherhood" and acting according to their own will, anti-mothers pose a serious threat to patriarchal ideas. Yeager provides two classic examples of anti-mothers: Candida, from "Epode V," and Lilith, a figure from Jewish lore. She argues that Regina Mills, a character from Once Upon a Time, is an anti-mother, showing that Once Upon a Time reinforces the patriarchal idea that a woman's worth lies in her ability to be a mother, as Regina is only able to redeem herself when she gives up her power and instead focuses on parenting her son Henry. The zine is made through a mix of pasted cutouts, printed images, and hand-drawn illustrations. -- Alekhya