Writing as a Replacement for Margaret's Motherhood
Margaret the First, historical fiction novel by Danielle Dutton, focuses on the pursuits of Margaret Cavendish, the wife of an aristocrat and previous attendant to the queen. As one of the first female writers and an outstanding thinker, Margaret is seen as somewhat of a spectacle by the public. However, her husband is encouraging of her passion for writing and presents Margaret with a healthy marital partnership. One aspect of their relationship that falls short, however, is Margaret’s inability to produce children. At this time, reproduction was the sole duty and only purpose of the wife. Not only is Margaret unable to get pregnant, but takes up other pursuits, potentially in replacement of this lack of activity. She listens in on her husband’s gatherings of prominent thinkers and noblemen and attends balls, in addition to writing fervently. In this way, writing becomes a replacement for the commitment that motherhood would have provided Margaret with.
The novel recounts Margaret’s progression of fertility treatments and her thoughts on motherhood as she struggles with this process. As a woman of the seventeenth century, her supposed sole purpose is to present an heir to continue her husband’s bloodline. When Margaret is unable to do so, she succumbs to this “ever-increasing pressure to produce” (Dutton 44). This pressure is characterized by numerous medical procedures, nowadays seen as pointless and harmful, that were executed in hopes of increasing a woman’s fertility. Margaret “submits silently” to these procedures as a dutiful wife, however, her opinion on motherhood slowly changes as becoming a mother becomes less important to her. She begins publishing pieces of writing and resultantly grows less focused on the continuous endeavor of increasing her fertility. Margaret soon describes how “only [her] work and [her] such husband mattered” (71) to her. This is a clear example of the way in which Margaret comes to regard motherhood as less and less important to her, as she steps into her passion as a writer and focuses on her commitment to her husband’s health. Ultimately, Margaret is so enveloped in exploring her creative and intellectual pursuits that she wonders whether or not a child would bring anything to her life that she feels as though she is missing. When she hears that the wife of her deceased brother in law is not pregnant she considers the idea that “there’s no telling a child will be any comfort to its mother at all” (79). Although Margaret is referring to this other woman, it is clear that here she is considering her own motherhood and how the addition of a child would provide her with some comfort that she does not already experience through writing.
I appreciate your choice of topic because of how prevalent her writing is in the novel and in her life. Her use of writing as a replacement is a testament to how she differs from what is seen as normal during the 17th century. She was always seen as different from the time she was young to adulthood and now she is essentially replacing motherhood, which is expected of woman her age and status, with something that most women of her time are not involved in. Writing, like many forms of art, can be an outlet of expression and an aid in healing. I believe that is exactly what writing is doing for Margaret. I specifically like the last quote you included, "there is no telling if a child would be any comfort to its mother at all." Like you mentioned, this replacement also leads her to broader ideas of if motherhood would be for her anyway. Writing as a replacement for motherhood highlighted her sense of obscurity for the time period she lived in.
ReplyDeleteYour blog post made me realize how much of ain internal shift Margaret has throughout the novel as she starts feeling pressured to get pregnant but slowly becomes more consumed and concerned with her work and her goal of “fame”. The quotes you used in particular strengthened my concept of Margaret’s change in her life focus because the two quotes showed such different perspectives. Additionally, I wonder if Margaret is able to feel not as pressured to get pregnant because William already has children from a previous marriage. Perhaps, if he didn’t have any children, Margaret would be put under more pressure. While I do believe Margaret is able to use writing in place of the typical duties of motherhood, she does have moments throughout the novel where she questions this unusual path she has taken. In the novel it states, “[s]he saw the aging wife of an aged marquess, without even any children to dignify her life” (Dutton 100). Margaret’s insecurity of her lack of bearing children proves that she is somewhat affected by societal expectations of her as a woman. Furthermore, these fleeting moments of insecurity are exclusively rooted in society’s perception of her, rather than her true inner desires. Margaret never claims to wish she had children, but only that she was able to. Her inability to have children marks a failure on her part which is expressed through society’s judgments. She is only upset that she failed, not that she can’t actually have children. Instead, her focus in life is to write, and it suggests that motherhood is not always a woman’s sole purpose of fulfillment in life, a concept that was uncommon during this time.
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