- “I said I would stop seeing you. I wonder if you will understand, Therese, since you are so young and never even knew a mother who cared desperately for you.” [19]
The age difference between Therese and Carol is a characteristic of Highsmith’s novel that many critics have sought to analyse, particularly under readings of mother-daughter relations. Carol is only around ten years Therese’s senior, but she becomes aged in her characterisation within The Price of Salt. Jenny M. James argues in her article "Maternal Failures, Queer Futures: Reading The Price of Salt (1952) and Carol (2015) against Their Grain” that Carol becomes a maternal figure, involved in Therese's “queer, extended girlhood”.[20] There is a noticeable parental connection between the couple; Carol orders Therese around as if a child, Therese in turn sulks and experiences states of ‘melancholy’ when Carol disappoints her. Part way through the novel, Carol commands Therese to take a nap, and Therese complies, asking for a glass of warm milk, which Carol brings to her like a mother to child.
- “What would you like, a drink?”
- Therese knew she meant water. She knew from the tenderness and the concern in her voice, as if she were a child sick with fever. Then Therese said it: “I think I’d like some hot milk.”
- The corner of Carol’s mouth lifted in a smile. “Some hot milk,” she mocked. Then she left the room.[21]
Carol's ‘maternal’ instincts appear throughout the novel, such as her teaching Therese how to drive,[22] as well as constantly paying for Therese and offering cheques. There are numerous examples like this, where Carol maintains a position of authority over Therese, and Therese follows along like an obedient child. Furthermore, Carol directs Therese's behaviour within their public relationship to presumably avoid exposure. Therese's youthfulness can be linked to her “relatively naïve perception”,[23] which feeds into the very presentation of her sexuality: an often-outward display of affection that Carol reprimands. Lindsay Stephens pays attention to this governing of “closeting” in her article,[23] particularly drawing upon the instance where Therese takes Carol's arm in a moment of fondness.
Jenny M. James also makes a comparison between Rindy and Therese, as if they are competing for Carol's love.[24] If we view the ending as a triumph on Therese's behalf, Rindy loses her mother in a sense, feeding into the idea that same-sex relationships and parenthood are mutually exclusive. This problematic train of thought harks back to second wave radical feminism’s notion of political lesbianism, in which women could supposedly choose their sexuality as a political mean for change. Ellen Willis stated that certain “radical feminist” groups, such as The Feminists suggested that “living or sleeping with men was collaborating with the system” of patriarchy,[25] and Denise Thompson wrote that during the 1970s “some lesbian feminists were insisting that lesbianism was central to feminism”.[26] Many feminists involved in this movement also often condemned motherhood, thus pushing the narrative that women-loving-women relationships also meant a refusal of parenting. The “radical feminist predilection that nurture of children”, as well as domestic duties, are “naturalized women’s activities” [27] is a pattern of thought echoed in Highsmith's novel, as Carol seems to leave her motherhood behind to pursue a romantic relation with Therese. This idea is partially reinforced in The Price of Salt, perhaps subconsciously promoting a mirroring of maternal relations within lesbian relationships. Of course, it is equally as important to recognise the restrictions of the law at the time, as “lesbian mothers and gay fathers in this period lived under the threat of custody loss if their same-sex sexuality was discovered”.[28]
