The poetics of the mother image in 19th-century English novels: the interpretation of biological and surrogative motherhood

Abstract

The article provides a comparative analysis of the artistic interpretation of the concept of motherhood in 19th-century Victorian literature and the poetic functions of biological and surrogate motherhood. The research is based on Thomas Hardy’s Desperate Remedies (1871) and George Moore’s A Mummer’s Wife (1885), which highlight the role of the mother image in the formation of female identity, gender roles, and social responsibility. The article uses Sarah Stickney Ellis’s The Mothers of England as a theoretical source and analyzes the model of the “perfect mother” that emerged in the Victorian era. The results of the study show that in Victorian novels, motherhood is interpreted as a socially and culturally formed institution rather than a biological phenomenon. While in Desperate Remedies, Miss Oldcliffe, as a surrogate mother, leads to the spiritual and social development of the main character, Cytheria, in A Mummer’s Wife, Kate’s inability to fulfill her maternal duties leads to her personal tragedy and social decline. The article also analyzes class differences, family relationships, the imbalance between father and mother images, and the moral demands and pressures imposed on women by Victorian society. The research scientifically substantiates that the image of the mother in 19th-century Victorian literature is not only a symbol of family values, but also an important artistic and cultural phenomenon reflecting the moral and normative views of society.