Matrilineal Narratives: Learning from Voices and Objects

Abstract

The matrilineal line is a precious connection although it is sometimes disrupted and marked by absence. In this paper we explore notions of generational connections and loss among women in our families. Three women scholars from a regional university, we are interested in the agency of objects, as discussed by Eva Domanska in 2005, and their role in feminist research. In particular we consider the entanglements between matrilineal voice and objects that produce possibilities for care and nurturing across generations. Through our conversations, we discovered that our grandmothers' and great-grandmothers' stories shared threads of similarity. We tell these stories through the collective biography of poems and prose leveraged from significant objects that highlight the "generational nurturing," researched by Nye. We disclose our attempts to reconstruct and reconnect with the women of our matrilineal lines across decades. We embed new layers in our retelling of old stories to our daughters and nieces.