A Mid-Week Fairy Tale

Here is another one of my trade-mark mid-week fairy tales. Like all others, feel free to 'read' this as historical, mythical, farcical, ironical, or simply as literal, all to literal.

A man who is attached to his mother is a veritable time-bomb for others (especially women) who might come near the periphery of his circle. The reason for this is quite complex, it would seem. Because a mother cannot exercise authority over her husband (she is not allowed this control by patriarchal madates), she soon discovers that her son is a readily available victim over whom to establish her unquestioned control. So she brings up her son in a manner that will drive home to him, every day and every night, how much he is dependent on her and how greatly he owes his life and his existence to her.
Later when the daughter-in-law comes in, the mother feels overwhelmed by very ambivalent emotions. On the one hand, she desperately wants grandchildren to propagate her genes and to carry on her family-line (hence the daughter-in-law as an instrument for maintaining the line). But on the other hand, she also fears her erstwhile absolute authority over her son being challenged from within. Hence a titanic civil war starts between two women over one man, a war that is much beloved of Hollywood and Bollywood.
Now this process is repeated when the daughter-in-law has a son in return; the son grows up and gets married; and so on and on ad infinitum.

The Hindus have a name for this : it is called Samsara which is said to be beginningless (anadi). Some even go on to say that there is a way out of it (moksa); others, of course, know better.