Hayy's Original Mother
In Hayy Ibn Yaqzān, it is established that Hayy grows up without a mother. However, when he is born or created he still has some sort of motherly presence. To lack a mother means to have no figure that protects and nurtures a child. Hayy's situation, at least when he is born, is the opposite, regardless of which story is true. In the case of the first story, his mother was an actual mother who truly existed. As a mother should, she kept him safe until birth, where she decided to send him away in order to allow him to be as safe as possible. While this may seem counterintuitive, she fully trusted God with his care, believing him to be safe.
Perhaps a bit more abstract is the concept of motherhood in the second story of Hayy's creation. While the formation of a person from a lump of clay appears to have no apparent parentage, in this case the lump of clay is specifically described in a way that invokes motherhood. The clay kept Hayy safe as he was formed, allowing him to develop into a full person. It provided him with nourishment and warmth until he was ready to be "born," when it released him and let him into the world. While not nearly as emotionally close to Hayy as his mother in the first story, it still functions as a basic "mother."
Nature as the Mother
While Hayy did have an original mother, in both cases this mother left him shortly after his birth, hence the absence of a mother described early in Hayy Ibn Yaqzān. However, his abandonment was not long-lived, as nature adopted him to be his child soon after. This is most prevalently seen in the doe who took care of him, feeding and keeping him company. However, there was more than just the doe protecting Hayy, at least in the first story. With the ocean, thicket, wind, and other elements of nature working to protect him, Hayy had a whole host of "mothers" working to protect him as an infant. As he grew older the inanimate forces of nature left and the doe and other animals brought him up, but while they were not the traditional mother, Hayy was far from parentless when he was born.
I really like what you had to say about nature as a mother figure because I, too, talked about that. Your point that mothers are people who protect and nurture you (rather than who birthed you) is a great point as well and I feel similarly about that. Mothers are figures who can help you grow and feel safe, not someone who simply provided you with life. And in that sense, anyone can be a mother.
ReplyDeleteI also talked about the maternal figure in Hayy's life in my blog post! I always like to make a distinction between mother and mom and I think Hayy's story is a good example of when I would use this distinction. To me, a mother is the one who gives birth to you and a mom is the one who raises you, cares for you, and loves you, essentially the one who is most present in your life. A mom and a mother could be the same person or it could two entirely different people. I completely agree with your statement that Hayy is far from parentless, which also shows that he is far form being in total social isolation since he is surrounded by nature and animals that help him become who he is at the end of the story.
ReplyDelete