<p><b>Provocative reappraisal of the portrayal of women in Julio Cortázar's short stories.</b></p><p>Using feminist revisions of psychoanalytic thought and cultural studies, <i>Mothers, Lovers, and Others</i> examines the pervasive role of the conception of the feminine in the short stories of Argentine writer Julio Cortázar (1914-1984). Contending that his obsession with the mother is the source of Cortázar's uneasiness with femininity, Cynthia Schmidt-Cruz traces an evolution in his relationship to female space, from a convoluted and defensive posture to a more open and tolerant stance, paralleling his increasing political commitment. Schmidt-Cruz explores the role of gender in Cortázar's quest to reconcile his divided allegiance to Argentina and France, and his denunciation of the atrocities of the Argentine military dictatorship.</p>