It seems to me the answer is that its mother can.

You are trying to separate whether the mother can parent, whether her own needs get in the way.

How can a mother so misunderstand her own child?

A mother, thought Claire, cannot knight her own son.

I think so, mother - at least more than anything else can.

A mother cannot wrong a son to such a degree that he will not save her in time of danger.

She drives like a bank robber, and calms my new baby as only a mother of six can.

If the parents are not married, however, a father cannot pass on Austrian citizenship, whereas a mother can.

"Your mother can," he said, but sounded only half convinced.

"As one mother to another, can't you do something?"