Identity in Chicklit

I have read a few modern examples of Chicklit and it seems that the protagonists rarely have children of their own. As I discussed previously, this is often related to the fact that they are just embarking on new relationships, and that part of their life still lies ahead. Yet there is often a parent-child dynamic. In Bridget Jones' Diary there is a great emphasis on her relationship with her mother, and how the dynamic between mother and child changes when the child becomes an adult and the mother has to re-identify themselves. The mother can no longer identify themselves soley as mother, and the child must learn to be an adult.
How to be Good offers a different view of motherhood: right from the middle. However, like a Bridget Jones-type character, Kate is still learning (or more aptly, relearning) how to be an adult. However in her world, this involves learning how to be a wife and a mother. Perhaps this is the link to Chick-lit that I have been searching for. Chicklit is about forming the identity you are already supposed to have. For Bridget Jones this is becoming a responsible, career oriented adult that has a stable romantic relationship. That is the position that society expects a 30 year old to have, and so that is what she must gain. As mentioned, this is complimented by the journey her mother must take to finding what she needs to be now that her children are grown up. Similarly, Kate must come to terms with her place in life as a mother, and a wife. She clearly sees herself as a Doctor first; how many times does she say "I am a Doctor"? Many; yet, how many times does she say "I am a Mother" or "I am a wife"? I had difficculty finding any. So, once
so if Chick Lit is about forming identity, as my thought-tangent is currently leading me to believe, then how does Cranford relate? Cranford is more similar to Bridget Jones' Diary. Matty is like Bridget, having to form her own identity once the stabalizing force that was her sister, Miss Jenkyns, is no longer there to rule her, just as Bridget must learn to function without parents guidance; as an adult. After Miss Jenkyns dies, the story clearly becomes about Matty, and specifically how Matty learns to/ continues to function within Cranford. Despite the overwhelming feeling of stability that exudes from Cranford, there is subtle change. A man comes into the the confined world (Peter), and Matty learns how to bend rules when necessary (allowing Martha to have a suitor). Matty and Cranford must develop beyond the rule of Miss Jenkyns, and that is what they do.