What is the role of a Birthmother in The Giver?

The job of Birthmother in The Giver, we are told, sounds pleasant at first. They are expected to have the babies for the community. They are very well-fed, expected to exercise only very gently, and are able to have fun while they are awaiting the births of the babies, entertaining themselves with games and other amusements.

But when they are done having the requisite three babies, they become Laborers, and they must do "hard physical labor" (Lowry 22) until they are too old to do so any longer, and then they are taken to the House of the Old. Lily thinks she would like to be a Birthmother, but Lily's mother says "There's very little honor in that Assignment" (21).

It is interesting to note what Lily's mother says because the community seems to be based on sameness and an implied equality, but this passage suggests that there is a kind of hierarchy in the community nevertheless. Some assignments are clearly more honorable than others. There is an implication that being a Birthmother requires youth and good health, but little more, as does being a Laborer, so this is akin, in our society, to unskilled labor, which people in our own society often look down upon, too.

What is the role of a Birthmother in The Giver?

The role of a Birthmother is, as it sounds, to give birth to the Newchildren of the society. It is a role assigned at the Ceremony of Twelves. When Jonas's father brings home Gabriel, Lily says that she loves babies and wants to become a Birthmother. Her mother is upset and tells her that it is not a job she should want. Lily explains her rationale; she has heard from her friend that a Birthmother's life is, in general, pretty good. They get better food and they have fun while they're waiting to have babies. Her mother then explains that being a Birthmother isn't quite as good as it sounds.

While they are waiting to have a baby they get to relax and avoid hard work, once they have given birth three times, they become Laborers. They do hard work until they no longer can, and then they go to the House of the Old. Birthmothers don't apply for a Family Unit and they never marry. Besides being a very difficult life, the Laborers hold the lowest occupation on the status totem pole. Additionally, Birthmothers don't raise their children; that job is left to the Nurturers. Lily hadn't considered how difficult it would be to give birth to a child and then never see it again.

How do Birth-mothers conceive in The Giver?

Birth-mothers get pregnant in The Giver through a process of artificial insemination. The young women live together in what one might imagine would be almost like a puppy breeding farm, except that they are not in captivity to the same degree.

The young women's lifestyle during the period where they are fertile and serving as Birth-mothers is not particularly difficult. Nevertheless, the job is one that has an extremely low status in the community of the book and is generally looked down upon by many people. Jonas’s mother refers to it as a job “with little honor,” but Jonas notes that being a Birth-mother was an important job even if it was “lacking in prestige.”

Birth-mothers are well-fed and even pampered during the three years that they serve the community in that role. After the three years, they move on to become laborers, which is another physical task.

Birth-mothers exist because people in the community do not marry in the sense that we know marital unions in our society. Just as people are assigned their careers, husbands and wives are paired based on perceived notions of compatibility, and they do not have physical intimate relationships. In fact, once a teenager begins to reach the appropriate age, they starts taking daily pills to quell any feelings of sexual desire that would otherwise become manifest, and the community has essentially eliminated this aspect of human relationships.

What is the role of the mother in The Giver?

I think that this question might be asking about the role or job of "birthmother" in the community. Readers get a good explanation of this particular job in chapter 3 of the book. Jonas and his family are talking about the baby that father just brought home, and Lily states that she loves babies so much that she wants to be a birthmother. Lily's mother immediately reprimands her for making such a comment. She says that there is very little honor in being a birthmother. Lily is shocked by her mother's statement, and Lily proceeds to explain that she heard that birthmothers are well-fed and sit around and play gentle games all day. Lily thinks it sounds like a nice life; however, Lily's mother explains the rest of the job. Birthmothers are treated well like that for three births. After the third birth, the birthmother no longer serves that particular role in society. Each birthmother then becomes a general laborer, and they do hard, manual labor for the rest of their lives.

What is the role of the mother in The Giver?

Parents do not play the same role in Jonas’s community as they do in ours.  In our world, adults choose their spouses based on love and decide whether to have children.  In Jonas’s world, adults apply for spouses that are then selected by committee.  The relationships are designed entirely for the purpose of raising children.  Adults apply for children, raise them, and then separate.

Jonas’s mother does not love him the way mothers are supposed to in our world.  Love does not exist in the community.  Parents care for their children, and enjoy spending time with them.  This is not the same as love.  Parents serve as more of a teacher or guide.  Their role is to teach the children they raise how to behave in the community, and to ensure that they are raised without feelings.

In the story, Jonas’s mother and father both serve as a window for the reader into the system of justice employed in the community.  She works for the Department of Justice as a sort of judge.  She is responsible for determining the punishments of people who break the community’s rules.  For example, anyone who breaks three rules is released (killed).  Similarly, through Jonas’s father we learn how babies are raised and that babies who do not meet developmental requirements are also released.

Why can't mothers give birth to their own children in The Giver?

I think there are a few reasons women do not give birth to their own children in The Giver.  These reasons are to allow the leaders of the community to more easily maintain control over the community.

First, if women gave birth to their own children, they would be having sex with partners.  We can infer that there is no sex in the community because everyone's sexual desire is repressed with drugs the minute it surfaces. Stirrings must be reported immediately, and then the "treatment" begins. (There is no discussion about how Birthmothers are impregnated, but I have always thought that it is through artificial insemination, rather than through sex.) If people have sex, the leaders begin to lose control. People will want to choose their own mates and sexual jealousy might surface.  And when people have sexual desires, they are less inclined to follow rules, for example, the rules on sameness for clothing, as some people would want to dress more provocatively. They might commit adultery. They might not be so productive at work, flirting or sneaking out for a tryst.  One reason this society functions as well as it does is because there is no sex. People's energies are channeled away from sex to productivity.  All in all, allowing sex would make the population much more difficult to control and channel effectively.

Second, if women gave birth to their own children, they would love them, as would their fathers, no doubt, and this, too, would act to weaken the leaders' control.  Love is an emotion that is repressed in the community, mocked actually. It is not clear whether the repression is the result of some drug or simply some very effective brain-washing, but no one but the Giver and Jonas seem capable of this emotion.  As parents are "assigned" children to whom they have no biological ties, they think of parenting as just a job, and they do not have the same stake in the game.  Biological imperatives make us fight for our children, seeking advantages for them, even at a cost to others sometimes, and this dynamic is not operative the way things are arranged in this community. (I hasten to say that this is not like adoption, in which case parents want the child as part of the family and behave just like biological parents.)  Mothers and fathers might question the jobs to which their children were assigned. They would be likely to want to dress them more nicely, or at least differently from others.  They would want educational advantages for them. They would want to buy them books and nicer toys. They would care more about the success of their children than about the community as a whole.  All of this would mean the leaders' loss of control.  Sameness would never be the same. 

In separating parenting from sex and making it a job, an assignment, not a choice, the leaders have found an effective means to exert control over the populace. This eliminates sex as motivation for anyone's actions or behavior. And it eliminates love, which is an exceedingly difficult emotion to control. 

What is a Birthmother in The Giver?

Readers come to hear about Birthmothers when Lily expresses her desire to become one, and it is clear that Jonas's family (specifically his mother) does not look favorably upon the occupation. Everything in Jonas's society is controlled. Kids are only allowed to have bikes after a certain age and coats that button in the front after a certain age. Eventually, each person is told what their lifetime occupation will be, and being a reproductive vessel is apparently an option for women. Families in the society are not allowed to reproduce. Specific women in the community are chosen to become pregnant and give birth. Those babies are then raised in the nurturing center until they are old enough to be given to specific, chosen families. The job of Birthmother seems pleasant enough because Birthmothers are given a healthy diet and a relaxed exercise regiment and are not expected to do any hard labor while they are Birthmothers. Unfortunately, Birthmothers are "promoted" after giving birth for a third time. After the third pregnancy, they become Laborers. This means that they have to perform hard, manual labor tasks until they are too old to work. At that point, they enter the House of the Old.

Describe the role of a birth mother in "The Giver".

In Jonas's community, which is founded on the principles of Sameness, the Committee of Elders selects a certain number of women to give birth and populate society. Birthmothers enjoy three years of rest and relaxation before they give birth to three children. When Lily volunteers at the Birthing Center, she is attracted to the idea of becoming a Birthmother because of their easy, carefree lifestyle. Once a Birthmother gives birth to her third child, she becomes a Laborer for the remainder of her life, until she enters the House of the Old. Being a Laborer is a difficult, unfulfilling Assignment that is not valued in Jonas's community. Therefore, the occupation of Birthmorthers is not considered a revered or honorable Assignment.

In chapter 3, Lily is introduced to Gabriel and remarks that she hopes to become a Birthmother one day. Lily's mother responds by chastising her and mentions that there is very little honor in becoming a Birthmother. Lily's mother proceeds to elaborate on the uneventful life of a Birthmother and mentions that they never get to see their newchildren. Immediately after a Birthmother has her baby, the newchildren are taken to the Nurturing Center, where professional Nurturers like Jonas's father care for the infants. Jonas's father enjoys his Assignment, and Lily's mother suggests that she take an interest in becoming a Nurturer.

Why don't children in "The Giver" have birth mothers?

In Lois Lowry's dystopian novel The Giver, the characters do not have birth mothers in the normal sense. Rather than staying with and being raised by their biological mothers, children are assigned to a family unit. In fact, the role of "birthmother" is a job that is assigned to female individuals when vocations are handed down at the Ceremony of Twelve. These women are known as "Vessels," and they are not permitted to have children of their own or spouses after their procreative role is complete. They serve in their pregnancy capacity for three years and then transition into work as Laborers. This vocation is considered low status. 

Another interesting fact is that birthmothers are not allowed to see or interact with the children they give birth to in any way. This is ultimately done to further repress the feelings, emotions, and human connections (which may result in pain and unpleasantness) within the Community.