Representing Infertility: Identity and the Body in Myriam Steinberg’s Catalogue Baby: A Memoir of (In)Fertility

Abstract

Pregnancy and pregnancy loss are aspects that shape a person’s relationship with themselves, their body and those around them. In this paper I consider Myriam Steinberg’s graphic novel Catalogue Baby: A Memoir of (In)Fertility (2021), a story about her infertility journey, and examine if her narrative achieves its purpose of acting as a guide and breaking societal silence towards infertility. The medium of graphic memoirs offers new possibilities for storytelling through a combination of words and images and allows authors to involve readers in the writing. This paper will examine three aspects of Steinberg’s infertility journey through three illustrations: doctor-patient power dynamics, shattering of expectations as a result of infertility, and the focalization on the female body. The analysis shows how Steinberg’s work is representative of some infertility journeys and the importance of these narratives to encourage the creation of empathic communities and dismantle taboos regarding pregnancy.