Ambivalent maternity (event in French)

18h - 21h

talk 18.45h - 20.30h

On February 4, the bookclub Elephantes invites to two French authors living in Berlin, Prune Antoine and Amélie Vrla, who have both explored the theme of motherhood through writing. When: February 4, 2026, starting at 6:45 p.m. Free admission, donations welcome In an intimate exchange, faithful to the spirit of Elephantes, we will explore a common theme without claiming to be exhaustive: motherhood and the desire to have children. Doubts, idealization, grief, pressure, injunctions, exhaustion... Motherhood is a sprawling and difficult subject to grasp. We invite you to approach it in light of the texts of these two authors: In “La mère diabolique” (Éditions Denoël), journalist and writer Prune Antoine investigates a news story that shook Germany during the COVID pandemic. Christine K., a young mother, is accused of killing five of her six children. At the time, Prune herself is the mother of a three-year-old girl and grappling with the conflicting emotions of her own motherhood. She questions the reasons which could drive a mother to commit such an act and highlights the gender inequalities at work in German society and the German judicial system. In “Enfanter une étoile qui danse” (Hydre Editions/L'Harmattan), Amélie Vrla, writer, screenwriter, and thanadoula, explores her wish to become a mother. Mélodie, a thirty-something living in Berlin in a stable and fulfilling heterosexual relationship, is faced with the ultimate question: does she want to become a mother? She invites us with delicacy and frankness to try to understand the ambivalence of her feelings and make sense of the unfathomable twists and turns that life takes. The event will be held in French.

@ele_phantes

@amelie.vrla

@plumaberlin