Front matter of "Elsie's Motherhood: a sequel to 'Elsie's Womanhood'" by Martha Finley (Farquharson)

Front matter of "Elsie's Motherhood: a sequel to 'Elsie's Womanhood'" by Martha Finley (Farquharson)

Front Matter Page before the actual book begins.

When I was looking for an item, I thought about Thomas Hardy's "An Imaginative Woman" and the certain passage about Ella being referred to as an author specifically when the text was talking about her expecting her third child. This got me thinking of the gender roles and maternity in this society so I went online and found this interesting text-- the most interesting part being the title page with the poem written at the bottom. It is a short poem about motherhood as seen to "Mrs. Norton" and I found it strange that this was the FIFTH book from its collection that was written surrounding Elsie's journey to find a husband, that all the last four books seemed to be leading to this. Mrs. Norton writes, "The only love, which, on this teeming earth asks no return for passion's wayward birth". Meaning essentially, Elsie's life thus far was in preparation for giving birth and she shouldn't even be thanked for this duty because she is so happy to do it?! This is bizarre and I believe this is set up by the patriarchal standards of women in society and how they must reproduce to have an type of purpose or be worthy of being the subject of literature. It is astounding in itself that a story about a woman is written by a woman and the first poem is written by a woman, giving ample expertise on what it's like being a woman but seeing as there are so many things to write about, I just find it odd that this is the text that is published so excessively. Motherhood is a beautiful thing but this book seems to be produced for the sole reason to inspire other girls for the life they have ahead. In Mrs. Norton's poem, she compares maternity to a holy entity, making it seem like if you don't choose this life, you will go to Hell. Hardy understood these societal implications and fought back at them through his character Ella who was a writer/author first and a mother second. Perhaps he was trying to say a woman choosing a career first doesn't make her any less of a woman.