The novel was recently named one ofNew York Magazines New Classics.
Lena Dunham has famously cited Heti as one of her favorite writers, and the 2012 noveldrew comparisonstoGirlsearly on.
WithMotherhood, Heti continues to craft the introspection of her female protagonists in a unique literary style.
Credit: Ulf Andersen/Getty Images
Is there any legacy or influence you wantMotherhoodto have on the pop culture landscape?
SHEILA HETI: I dont really think about things like that.
I feel more withMotherhoodthan with other books I want people to read it.
Macmillan
I felt like I was writing it more for other people.
Why do you thinkMotherhoodwas more written for other people?
Theres very few good stories.
I felt like I was trying to solve some of those problems when I was writing it.
Do you feel that the way that people perceive that aspect of your work is gendered?
I cant even imagine how my books would be received if I was a man.
Obviously they would be different books.
Yeah, I think people read men and women differently and evaluate them on different scales.
It just sort of comes out of her like blood.
What made you choose to focus on the decision?
Like you, I hadnt seen it dealt with in literature, this choice.
Can you be justified in not doing that?
How do you justify it?
Why do we have to justify it?
Its actually something to be able to contend with.
With other choices, you might say, I want to be a writer.
And everyone says, Okay, thats great.
If you say you dont want a child people say, Are you sure?
Or, Youre gonna regret it, you dont know what youre missing.
When you were writing this, were you reading or watching anything that influenced you?
Its bad for the child, its bad for the parents.
Its bad for society, its bad for everyone.
It was more like she realized that she shouldnt have done it.
Ive spoken to a lot of women who say that to me, actually.
Its amazing how many people have said that to me since I put out this book.
Yeah, I think a lot of people just do it kind of reflexively.
Would you like to see more nuanced narratives about being a mother in the future?
Or do you hope that your book can help move things in that direction?
I would like it to help in that direction.
I dont know what I hope.
I dont have those hopes, thats not what I go around hoping.
Because Ive never taken it for granted, that you dont have to have a child.
