The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus

Through the novel’s titular symbol of the octopus, Knight explores the sacrifices of motherhood. The novel presents a wide variety of mothers who adopt markedly different approaches to their parental responsibilities, and each character grapples with this theme in her own way. Notably, Margot invents the idea of the octopus mother and insists that motherhood imposes a dichotomy. As she says, “There is little room for a mother’s self-interest in the narrative. There is only the selfish monster and the octopus” (326). In her account, the “monster” is the mother who cares for herself, while the self-sacrificing octopus allows “[h]er decomposing body” to become “a source of food for her young” (326). Margot’s uncompromising views on this matter compel her to reject many aspects of motherhood. She also refuses marriage and habitually prioritizes her career over her maternal duties, often leaving George alone on the holidays. While George insists that she understands why Margot behaved this way, she admits that she is still trying to figure out how to be a mother herself and that she does not share all of Margot’s beliefs.

Pen comes to reject Margot’s ideas and instead gravitates toward her mother and Christina as role models.