An ideology is a system of ideas, beliefs, and attitudes. They can lead to motivated reasoning, to the subconscious desire not to find the truth, but to defend the version of reality that makes us feel most validated. In truth, an ideology is an umbrella that encompasses various different philosophies, which cannot always be considered all true or all false at the same time. Consequently, representations of ideologies in literary texts such as Thea Astley's It's Raining in Mango become complex, even contradictory, as they attempt to validate or invalidate entire belief systems such as gender stereotypes and religion. This Australian novel can be seen as a series of short stories that span four generations of the Laffey family, from their move to Australia in the 1860s to what would have been Astley's current time in the 1980s. Through the different pivotal moments in each character's life, different aspects of these societal ideologies can be glimpsed. These include commonly held perspectives on gender and religion. It's Raining in Mango aims to demonstrate the extent to which women are subordinated in society and how religion has the effect of preserving the patriarchal structure that allows for this subordination. The complexities of representing ideologies become evident when comparing them to other literary texts that both complement and contrast them, such as HE Bates's The Good Corn and Isabelle Allende's Eva Luna. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay It's Raining in Mango by Thea Astley is often described as having a recurring motif of family values. Often overlooked in this book is how it deals with couples who don't have families and how people of different sexes deal with being unable to reproduce or not wanting to be a parent. In Mango, Harry Laffey marries Clytie and their marriage for the next four years is depicted as a happy one as far as Harry is concerned. However, this so-called "blissful" period consisted of two miscarriages and a child dying of pneumonia during his second year. These sadistic feelings on the part of Harry's character are to show that he is comfortable impregnating his wife as often as possible, but uncomfortable having children, and therefore accepts these deaths. After the fourth pregnancy, this ends: "A confusing operation left her childless and made further pregnancies impossible." His reaction is described as follows: "Harry felt his masculinity attacked." He is unaffected by the prospect of never having children, but struggles with his inability to impregnate his wife, as he feels it invalidates his masculinity. This focuses on societal expectations that a man is promiscuous enough to impregnate women, but does not necessarily assume any responsibility for the child or mother after pregnancy. No perspective is given by Clytie, and so the reader experiences no feelings of guilt on her part. This depiction of masculinity shows a heavy reliance on an ability to reproduce, an idea contradicted in The Good Corn, a short story by HE Bates. When Joe Mortimer learned that his wife had no children, his reaction was very different: "If there were no children, there were no children, it was the nature, that’s how it is.” Mr. Mortimer seems to take a logical and mature position, where he realizes that there is nothing he can do other than.