‘No one loves me, -no one cares for me, but you, mother’

Elizabeth Gaskell’s novels are often pre-occupied with mothers and motherhood. The role of mother was regarded as the peak of Victorian womanhood. Women were thought to be domestic angels, designed for the sacred role. As the real life mother to four daughters, Elizabeth Gaskell was once dismissed as a cosy writer of domesticity, wrongly regarded as being ‘unintellectual… and easily shocked’. So, what did she actually have to say about motherhood in her writing?

Sherry Ashworth delves into Elizabeth Gaskell’s literary mothers and depictions of motherhood in other 19th century novels. Starting with the fallen woman in Ruth, she shines a light on a range of mums including iconic Mrs Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, Mrs Wilfer from Charles Dickens’ Our Mutual Friend, Marmee in Little Women, the tragic mother in Lizzie Leigh and ghastly Mrs Gibson in Wives and Daughters. Join us to mark Mothers Day as Sherry asks the question, what makes a good, or bad, mother?

Mark UK Mothers Day with this talk as part of Ruth season.

‘Sherry is excellent.’ Visitor to previous online event