Monstrous Motherhood: Eighteenth-Century Culture and the Ideology of Domesticity

312 Pages·2012·3.42 MB·English

by  Marilyn Francus

Monstrous Motherhood
This page intentionally left blank
Monstrous Motherhood
Eigh teenth- Century Culture
and the Ideology of Domesticity
marilyn francus
The Johns Hopkins University Press
Baltimore
© 2012 The Johns Hopkins University Press
All rights reserved. Published 2012
Printed in the United States of America on acid- free paper
2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1
The Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street
Baltimore, Mary land 21218- 4363
www .press .jhu .edu
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Francus, Marilyn.
Monstrous motherhood : eighteenth- century culture and the ideology of
domesticity / Marilyn Francus.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978- 1- 4214- 0737- 1 (hdbk. : acid- free paper) —
ISBN 978- 1- 4214- 0798- 2 (electronic) — ISBN 1- 4214- 0737- X (hdbk. :
acid- free paper) — ISBN 1- 4214- 0798- 1 (electronic) 1. En glish
literature— 18th century— History and criticism. 2. Mothers in
literature. 3. Mother and child in literature. 4. Motherhood—
Great Britain— History—18th century. 5. England— Intellectual
life— 18th century. I. Title.
PR448.M66F73 2013
820.9'3520431—dc23 2012012929
A cata log record for this book is available from the British Library.
Special discounts are available for bulk purchases of this book.
For more information, please contact Special Sales at 410- 516- 6936 or
[email protected].
The Johns Hopkins University Press uses environmentally friendly book
materials, including recycled text paper that is composed of at least
30 percent post- consumer waste, whenever possible.
For Michael and Penina
“always witty and quick on the draw”
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Ac know ledg ments ix
Introduction:
The Ideology of Domesticity Reexamined 1
1 Mothers of the Apocalypse: Maternal Allegory
and Myth in Swift and Pope 25
2 All Too Human: Maternal Monstrosity
and Hester Thrale 46
3 Suff er the Little Children? The Infanticidal Mother
in Literature 74
4 Until Proven Innocent: Infanticide
in the Public Record and in Court 99
5 Be Monstrous or Be Marginal:
Stepmothers in Literature 123
6 Pin the Tale on the Stepmother: Elizabeth Allen
and the Burneys 149
7 But She’s Not There: The Rise of the
Spectral Mother 170
Notes 203
Bibliography 271
Index 285
This page intentionally left blank
Ac know ledg ments
The gestation period of this book was long, arduous, and punctuated by inter-
ruption, change, and the unexpected— all of which seem fi tting for a work on
monstrous motherhood. Yet there were many midwives and many sources of
support and inspiration during the research, writing, and editing of this book,
for which I am most grateful.
West Virginia University and the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences funded
conference activities that allowed me to test and refi ne my ideas, as well as the
sabbatical leaves that gave me the opportunity to shape, and ultimately com-
plete, this work. My colleagues in the Department of En glish provided unstint-
ing support, insightful answers to my queries, and perspective on scholarship
and the profession; I am especially grateful to Dennis Allen, Michael Germana,
Rosemary Hathaway, Kirk Hazen, Adam Komisaruk, John Lamb, Ethel Smith,
and Lisa Weihman and to my former colleagues Tim Adams, Sophia Blaydes,
Pat Conner, John Ernest, Donald Hall, and Robert Markley. My students at West
Virginia University continue to challenge and teach me, and working with Lisa
Brewer, Mark Kohan, Crystal Lake, Jessika Thomas, and Lori Zerne has been a
plea sure.
The generosity of the eighteenth- century scholarly community is unparal-
leled; a wiser, friendlier group of scholars cannot be found. I am indebted to my
colleagues in the fi eld, who gave their time, attention, and wisdom graciously
and unreservedly. Katharine Kittredge has been my sounding board and reader
since this book was barely a glimmer of an idea; my conversations with Linda
Zionkowski were crucial as I worked through the issues of spectral motherhood.
Roxann Wheeler read an early prospectus, and her advice led me to rethink and
reshape the trajectory of this book; my conversations with Audrey Bilger about
gender, per for mance, and audience challenged me to ask and answer questions
that otherwise would have been ignored. Laura Engel has spent hours with me
over coff ee, sharing her infectious enthusiasm for eighteenth- century studies