A Mother’s Consistent Love And Devotion

The limited series Maid (Netflix, 2021), based on the best-selling memoir by Stephanie Land and fictionalized for the screen, demonstrates for us the power of a mother’s devotion even in the harshest of circumstances. Amy Amatangelo writes, “Maid is, in part, a love letter to parenting. Alex is an outstanding mother. She never loses her patience with Maddy. She never takes out her insurmountable stress and frustration on Maddy. Throughout the series, Maddy’s living arrangement is never consistent. They spend a night in the car and on the floor of the ferry station. They live in a domestic violence shelter, with Alex’s mom in a trailer, in a subsidized (and mold filled) apartment, with a friend who would like to be more than Alex’s friend, and with Maddy’s dad Sean (Nick Robinson). But what is consistent is Alex’s love and devotion. Maddy’s mom is always there for her, always providing a nurturing loving environment. Every time Alex and Maddy go for a walk in the woods, Alex recites the lines from ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt,’ the beloved children’s book by Michael Rosen. Alex never seems to tire of saying the same words over and over again—she makes every day an adventure for her daughter. Everything Alex does is with Maddy in mind” (Amy Amatangelo, “Maid Lovingly Showcase One of Television’s Best Mothers,” Paste, October 15, 2021, https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/netflix/maid-tv-show-motherhood-parenting/).