Gaining Ground by Joan Barfoot review – Anne Enright celebrates a landmark feminist novel The notion that mothers are innately bound to their children, their existence tied to nurturing and care, is a deeply ingrained cultural trope.
This idea has been both celebrated and criticized in literature, with authors like Joan Barfoot pushing against its limits in works such as "Gaining Ground".
The novel tells the story of Abra, a woman who abandons her children decades ago in search of herself. In contemporary feminist discourse, Barfoot's exploration of maternal flight is timely and thought provoking.