care responsibility
In modern fiction, the burden of care often lands squarely on women, and mistakes are rarely forgiven. Bad mother figures appear frequently, showing the struggle to balance personal ambition with caring duties. The idea of a mother who prioritizes herself alongside or above those she nurtures has become a recurring theme, and it is frequently met with guilt and social critique.
To illustrate the conversation, two contemporary examples from literary fiction come to mind. One centers on a mother who fights to preserve her professional life and ends up entrusting her children to another caregiver, with tragic consequences. The other follows a narrator who allows her child to be cared for by someone else so she can write, especially during the hours when inspiration strikes. Regardless of the exact path chosen by the protagonist, the choice often feels morally charged and controversial.
Four writers who explore these themes were asked how they approach plot decisions involving female characters and motherhood, and how they navigate these questions within crime fiction.
Laura Lippman, born in Atlanta in 1959, is known for strong female leads full of contradictions. In Lady of the Lake, set in the 1960s, the protagonist Maddie is portrayed as strikingly ambitious. The tension between family life and professional ambitions is explored as a structural question. The author reflects on personal experience, noting that motherhood can complement a life as a writer, and acknowledging that privilege and access to help shape what is possible. This perspective reinforces the idea that women can pursue demanding careers while raising children, but it requires resources and support—factors that vary widely in different contexts. [Citation: Laura Lippman, Lady of the Lake, 2023]
In Claudia Piñeiro’s time of the flies, the focus lies on Inés, who prioritizes the urgent needs of her teenage daughter. The narrative presents a realistic portrait of a woman juggling professional duties with the daily chores of family life. The takeaway is not resignation but a call to seek a more balanced division of labor, and to explore options that allow both career and caregiving to coexist. [Citation: Claudia Piñeiro, time of the flies, Alfaguara, 2023]
care responsibility
Caregiving roles often fall under intense scrutiny, and fiction frequently depicts imperfect mothers to reflect the human side of this burden. From stories by Bonnie Jo Campbell set in Michigan to present-day collections such as those featuring women and other animals, female characters are shown wrestling with imperfect decisions. The idea persists that mothers are expected to be flawless, while societal expectations treat babies as innocent and perfect. The contrast fuels discussion about how motherhood is portrayed in literature and who is allowed to narrate these experiences. [Citation: Bonnie Jo Campbell, various works]
Marie Ndiaye: “It always bothers me that my characters or stories are associated with community issues”
Marie Ndiaye, author of works like Revenge Is Mine and Chef, rejects the label of the social novel. She explains that she does not write about the systemic oppression of women as a social problem, even while she recognizes patriarchy as a real concern. Her stance underscores a belief in writing that centers character and personal motive rather than reducing stories to social diagnoses. [Citation: Marie Ndiaye, interviews and essays]
This deadly woman
Early crime fiction left little space for female characters, confining women to domestic settings within a male-dominated genre. The archetype of the femme fatale emerged as a cultural construct, a stereotype with longevity that some argue needs revision or even removal. In contemporary crime writing, writers challenge this trope by presenting women who are complex, multifaceted, and capable of both strength and vulnerability. The result is a richer, more nuanced portrayal that avoids simple caricatures. [Citation: historical critique of femme fatale trope]
Laura Lippman: “The traditional concept of motherhood is a double-edged sword. It crushes women”
Lippman argues that the femme fatale exists primarily within a male gaze or a female gaze conditioned by that framework. Her fiction explores a woman who finds the male fixation on her exhausting and uses that dynamic to illuminate power structures. The stories show how women navigate a landscape where sex is both a tool and a currency, highlighting that real life often involves negotiating power, desire, and moral choice. The discussion also touches on broader social progress and ongoing legal battles for equal rights. [Citation: Laura Lippman, statements on gender and representation]
Bonnie Campbell adds that women often manage precarious situations using a mix of resilience and strategic choices. The portrayal of sex as a means of bargaining reflects a long-standing social reality, while acknowledging that substantial progress remains uneven across countries and communities. [Citation: Bonnie Campbell, interviews and essays]
Structure
Piñeiro calls for moving beyond the deadly woman trope, arguing that the world contains many forms of manipulation and danger that involve both men and women. The aim is to avoid one-dimensional portrayals and instead explore characters whose actions reveal complexity and ambiguity. Ndiaye emphasizes that memorable characters are rarely simple or perfectly likable, and that great fiction often emerges from characters who carry conflicting emotions and unresolved motives.
The point is to resist simplistic prototypes and to honor the depth of human experience. [Citation: Claudia Piñeiro, Marie Ndiaye, discussions on character depth]
Pineiro: “If a man wants to write about motherhood in conflict, he can do that too, why not?”
Piñeiro notes that detective fiction has often distorted female characters, but the genre is capable of renewal when writers freely explore motherhood in conflict. She identifies fiction as a space where ideas can be tested and where authors should feel free to tackle the subject, regardless of gender. Campbell echoes this sentiment, arguing that both male and female writers should strive for realism in their depictions of men and women. Lippman adds that fiction can reveal how much of what we think about motherhood is a cultural invention, a lens shaped by tradition rather than an eternal truth. Ndiaye values diverse female voices showing a range of perspectives, resisting narrow stereotypes that confine both women and men. [Citation: Piñeiro, Campbell, Lippman, Ndiaye, various interviews]