The case of Rosa and Lourdes are different in that one mother decides to end the suffering of her child quickly while the other buys time. For Rosa, she felt that it was unfair for her two children to continually long for breast milk that she could not provide (Schemer-Hughes 1985, p.293). Therefore, the only way out of this suffering was to end their lives as she considered them too young to have any feelings.
On the other hand, Lourdes decides to neglect her first born son since he was sickly and frail. The mother knows that the baby would not survive long enough, thus she decides to withdraw her attention from him so that the baby may die in peace (Schemer-Hughes 1985, p.294). In both cases, the parents feel that they are incapacitated to take care of their children due to the harsh life in the shantytown of Alto.
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Rosa’s children were different since they did not show any signs of weakness or sickness as the other folks’ children. In this case, it is the mother that felt incapacitated to provide for the basic needs of her children. Therefore Rosa’s offspring had a promising future but the pessimistic nature of the mother cut short their journey.
Scheper-Hughes observations on the folks of Alto indicate that mothers have a desire to invest in the young. The situation is evident in the way they ensure that the children that have a promise for the future are provided for sufficiently. The situation only turn sour in cases where the mother feels that she is not in a position to sufficiently provide for the child (Schemer-Hughes 1985, p.297). Also, when the mother notices that the child’s chances of survival are slim, she decides to concentrate on the others who have promise. Therefore, the mother’s cruel actions of killing or neglecting their children can only be blamed on the lack of social welfare programs and sufficient infrastructure and amenities to help eradicate poverty and boost nutrition.
Reference
Schemer-Hughes, N. (1985) Culture, Poverty and, Maternal Perspectives: Maternal Detachment and Infant Survival in a Brazilian, Ethos 13 (4), 291-317.
