Early Modern English Women’s Life-Writing and Maternal Grief

Abstract

This essay explores early modern English women’s life-writing, focusing on maternal grief in the context of high infant mortality rates. It critiques prevailing historicist approaches that often overlook the literary qualities of women’s life-writing, advocating for a New Formalism that emphasizes formal analysis alongside historical context. By analyzing the works of Mary Roberts, Lady Anne Murray Halkett, and Lady Elizabeth Cavendish Egerton, the study reveals how these women navigated their profound emotional experiences while adhering to sociocultural and religious norms. The examination underscores how their writings uncover the mother-writer’s search for nuanced forms as well as subtle yet discernible rhetorical devices and literary strategies to navigate the complex interplay between raw maternal grief and disciplinary piety. By identifying texts born of maternal grief as significant literary contributions in various formats, this essay calls for a reassessment of early modern women’s life-writing, positioning it as a vital component of the English literary tradition that reminds us of a need for a multi-dimensional critical framework.