Ego boundaries and self-esteem in the mother-daughter relationship as reflected four American plays

As a result of personal findings and the support of other sources, it has occurred that the plays discussed in this study have been some of the most striking examples of the 1928-1993 period to the mother-daughter relationship. The four plays are examined and evaluated through the psychoanalytic and feminist approaches. The secondary sources written from the perspective of psychoanalytical feminism have also illuminated the development of this study. In the first chapter, different types of maternal behaviour towards daughters are examined. The next chapter scrutinises 'night mother and Machinal through the lens of feminist criticism. In the third chapter.the core issues of ego boundaries and self-esteem are defined and explored. In the Summer House and If We Are Women are the plays looked over through the psychoanalytic approach. The last chapter demonstrates how the daughter strives and manages separation from her mother. Even though it appears in different ways, four daughters go through the same process: birth, symbiosis, searching oneself back through mother, power struggle and separation. After an ambivalent struggle for a sense of autonomy and selfhood, daughters are able to attain their self-estem and construct ego boundaries. This is the manifestation of their separation from their mothers.