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This article analyses literary representations of the figure of The Degenerate Mother in contemporary Dutch prose. Three novels have been chosen as examples: Hella S. Haasse’s “De verborgen bron” (“The secret source”) (1950), Marja Pruis’s “De vertrouweling” (“The confidante”) (2005), and Peter Buwalda’s “Bonita avenue” (2010). Characters created by the two women writers are consciously enigmatic, as the narrators are not able to give a full explanation of their decisions to leave the family. It is also unknown how these women lead their lives afterwards. Buwalda’s creation of The Degenerate Mother is unambiguous – sex and business are more important for her than family life. However, her nightmares are signs of her unconscious feeling of guilt.