Mother-Childhood Relations and Social Heritage in Louise Erdrich’s Tracks: A Cultural Study

Abstract

This study focuses on Louise Erdrich’s third novel Tracks has published in 1988. This novel explores the connection between the Native Americans’ loss of their ancestral lands and the loss of the motherly principles symbolized by Fleur, the main character of Tracks. As a result of the unjust laws of the United States government, Fleur is forced to give up her only child because she is forced to believe that losing her home and land means losing all other values, especially motherhood, which is tied to the land. Her land is rich in timber and other valuable herbs, and it is considered both a source of food and a source of personal pride. Cultural alienation results from the breakdown of the mother-child bond, especially on the part of the mother. The breakdown of the mother-child bond causes cultural alienation, particularly on the part of the youngster, who starts to despise and hate her mother and refuses to call her “mother.”