Challenging the Stereotype of the Idealized Victorian Mother Through the Acknowledgement of Maternal Mental Health in Christina Rossetti's Sing Song A Nursery Rhyme Book (1872)
Public Texts MA Thesis Defence - Laura Mungham
Event Details
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Tuesday, May 20, 2025
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Traill College
Building: Kerr House
Room: 102
The English (Public Texts) Graduate Program is excited to announce the upcoming MA defence by Laura Mungham of their thesis entitled Challenging the Stereotype of the Idealized Victorian Mother Through the Acknowledgement of Maternal Mental Health in Christina Rossetti's Sing Song A Nursery Rhyme Book (1872)
Examining Committee:
Suzanne Bailey (Supervisor) and Rita Bode
Internal Examiner: Margaret Steffler
Chair: Emily Bruusgaard
Abstract
In this thesis I argue that Sing-Song: A Nursery Rhyme Book (1872) disrupts conventional narratives of the idealized maternal role in the Victorian era, “the angel of the house” by confronting and giving a voice to the often overlooked realities of maternal suffering. Rossetti accomplishes this by fostering the conversation regarding the challenges inherent in motherhood. Sing-Song has been dismissed by critics as inappropriate for its intended child audience. However, such assessments rely on outdated assumptions and fail to recognize the intention behind the poetry collection. The subtle coding of the rhymes for a maternal audience has largely been overlooked. Rossetti deliberately represents the psychological and emotional complexities of motherhood, offering a more realistic portrayal of the mental health challenges that may accompany the maternal experience. In turn, Sing-Song challenges the idealized mother figure of the Victorian era and represents a more nuanced understanding of the true experience of motherhood.
Keywords: motherhood, idealized, maternal mental health, the angel of the house, infant death
Limited seating is available