Gail Godwin is the author of "A Sorrowful Woman". The protagonist of the story is a woman who cannot bear to be around her child, and gradually distances herself from her responsibilities as a caregiver and a member of the family.
Godwin was raised by a single mother, "a college teacher who was the model for some of Godwin's strong female characters." Being raised by a single mother showed Godwin a version of adult life where being married as a woman (which certainly in the 40s and 50s was much more a subservient role than perhaps it is now) was not only unnecessary but harmful as well. Consider young Godwin, with her strong mother working a career and being her own person, surrounded by a society where wives are forced to stay home and raise children and wash dishes. I think the role of wife to Godwin seemed much more like "Brood-sow and maid" than "equal partner in a relationship"
Which is possibly where we get the protagonist for "A Sorrowful Woman". The role of wife and mother is literally so unfulfilling and so smothering that The Woman perishes.
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