erlike soulmates, for example, Clara and Celia in Jerusalem the Golden" (Sadler 3). Drabble's upbringing also instilled in her the notion that literature had a specific purpose, namely to "teach about living and values" (Sadler 3). There is certainly evidence of this belief in Drabble's own novels.
The influence of her mother's life experiences had a profound effect upon young Drabble as well, which also can be observed in her writing. Indeed, Drabble's mother was forced to abandon her teaching career in order to care for her children, and suffered through bouts of depression throughott the years. While Drabble acknowledges that the mothers in her novels are usually not particularly nurturing or supportive, her own mother was "good enough" (Milton 55-56), and she appreciates the fact that her mother never begrudged her daughters the freedom that had been denied to her (Rozencwajg 339). It can be argued that Mrs. Bennett in A Summer Bird-Cage most closely resembles Drabble's own mother (Sadler 2).
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