Motherhood

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Motherhood
In
The Angry Woman
A poem by Anna Wickham
By Charity Liu
2
Anna Wickham (1884 -1947)

• Anna Wickham was the pseudonym of Edith Alice
• Mary Harper.
• In 1906 she married Patrick Hepburn who was
• interested in Romanesque architecture and
• astronomy.
• The marriage was a turbulent one.
• Patrick thought women should be homemakers and
• resented his wifes commitment to her poetry.

Anna Wickham (1/2)
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Anna Wickham (1884 -1947)

• She longed for children.
• She had a miscarriage and a daughter who died
• within moments of birth.
• Then, she gave birth to four sons. In 1921 her
  third
• son died of scarlet fever.
• In 1947, she hanged herself.

Anna Wickham (2/2)
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Identity

• Woman
• ? Bodily / Physically defined
• ? I am a woman, with a womans parts
• ? I am a woman in my speech and gait
• I have no beard
• ? Blameless for naturally born woman
• ? I have no beard (Ill take no blame
  for that)

Identity (1/3)
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Identity

• Mother
• ? Source of motherhood
• ? marriage
• ? because of marriage, I have
  motherhood
• ? based on love rather for men
• ? And of love I bear children
• ? Do not ask my weakness as a
  sacrifice to
• power

Identity (2/3)
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Identity
? Pregnancybearing children ?
honor ? miracle ?
physically weak and suffered ? In
the days of bearing is my body weak
? bodys pain ? togetherness and
intimacy ? In many things are you
son and I apart But there
are regions where we coincide
Where law for one is law for both
Identity (3/3)
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Causes of Anger Confinement

• Sex female or male
• ? Woman
• ? totally sexualized, trapped in sex
  woman
• ? In many things are you woman
  and I
• apart
• Where law for one is law for
  both
• ? There is sexless part of me that
  is my
• mind

Confinement (1/8)
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Causes of Anger Confinement
? Marriage ? bond
1. being mastered ? But why
because I do you husband
service, should you call me slave?
? Where law for one is law for both
2. wearing a mask ?
If I must own your manhood synonym
for every strength.
Then must I lie
Confinement (2/8)
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Causes of Anger Confinement
? manhood 1. Man
with power of manhood controls all.
? In marriage there are many mansions
Shall you rule all the houses of your

choice Because of manhood or
because of strength?
(mansions may be bodies/persons of the
family or every aspect in
marriage )
Confinement (3/8)
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Causes of Anger Confinement
2. Sex male, not strength
ability, decides who has the
power. ? If sex is a
criterion for power, and
never strength, What do
we gain by union? ? union
1. Nothing is owned ? I
lose all, while nothing worthy is so
gained by you
Confinement (4/8)
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Causes of Anger Confinement

• Body
• ? Womans body as weakness and definition
• ? Bodys love brings bodys pain
• ? Bodily relationship taking care of
  children
• ? Shall I for ever brush my infants
  hair?
• Cumber his body in conceited
  needle-work?

Confinement (5/8)
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Causes of Anger Confinement

• Traditional Framework
• ? Marriage / Motherhood
• ? mentally humiliated
• ? But why because I do you
  service, should
• you call me slave?
• ? And how can I serve my son, but
  to be
• much self
• ? center or wholeness of her life
• ? That motherhood is much, and
  yet not all

Confinement (6/8)
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Causes of Anger Confinement
? abstract / superficial mothering
1. Abstract name ? I
am not mother to abstract Childhood,
but to my son ? A
fantastic creature like a thing of dreams
2. Dutieshousework 3. Leads
to disattachement with her son ?
Or shall I save some pains till he is
grown? ? Why
should dull custom make my son
my enemy
Confinement (7/8)
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Causes of Anger Confinement
? Privilege of manhood ? leaving
her ? So that the privilege of his
manhood is to leave my house
? Or shall I save some pains till he
is grown? ? Lack of education ?
You husband would hold knowledge from
me because I am a mother ?
Power should be added to power(v.) ?
That mother/hood has so great an eye it has
no head
Confinement (8/8)
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Claims for Her Motherhood
? Mind gt Body ? Thought ?
sexless, free ? mentally strong ?
Heart, love (spiritual love, good affection)
? woman need it ? Kiss me
sometimes in the light ? Let me have
flowers sometimes ? value for her son
? He will find more joy in laughter
Claims (1/5)
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Claims for Her Motherhood

• Trueness gt Disguise
• ? Be true self
• ? Let me speak my mind in life and
  love
• ? she does not want to lie, to do
  things
• falsely, be a mime and be of
  pretence
• ? Are you content to be from henceforth
  only
• father, and in no other way a man?
  
• ? Frank love
• ? And sometimes let me take your hand
  and
• kiss you honestly

Claims (2/5)
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Claims for Her Motherhood

• Spiritual Attachment gt Physical Care
• ? Spiritual love
• ? And love, which has no more
  matter in it
• than is in the mind
• ? Good affection
• ? Intelligent enrichment
• ? If he is my true son,
• He will find more joy in number and
  in laughter

Claims (3/5)
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Claims for Her Motherhood

• Strength / Ability gt Sex female
• ? Be Wise
• ? She is as good as men or even better
• ? You calculate the distance of a
  star
• I, thanks to this free age can
  count as
• well
• And by the very processes you
  use
• When we think differently of
  two times
• two,
• Ill own a universal mastery
  in you!

Claims (4/5)
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Claims for Her Motherhood
? Necessary for being a mother
? Rather for this reason I am a mother
let me be wise, and very
strong ? Show him the
consolation of mathematics ? Be Strong
? mentally strong ? To have power
? Power should be added to power
Claims (5/5)
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Conclusions

• As a woman, wife and mother
• She redefines her motherhood opposing that of
• traditional stereotype given by the society.
• She asks for fairness and equality with men, and
• shows the confidence of her capability.
• She asks for being self and to have her voices.
• She values whats under the surface, such as
  mind,
• love, self, knowledge and affection.
• In her motherhood, she not only can give her son
• the traditional mothering but also what men
  can
• give.

Conclusions (1/1)
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Text from
Ingman, Heather, ed. Mothers and Daughters in the
Twentieth Century A Literary
Anthology. New York Columbia
University Press, 2000.
Source (1/1)