Maternal Measures: Figuring Caregiving in the Early Modern Period

Caregivers in the early modern period included not only mothers and stepmothers, but also midwives and wetnurses, tutors and educators, wise women and witches. The contributors to Maternal Measures present original research and criticism on a wide range of early modern caregiving roles by women in England, Italy, Spain, France, Latin America, Mexico and the New World.The essays are not only cross-cultural but also interdisciplinary, spanning literature, social history, music and art history; and they focus on differences of gender, class and race. A wide variety of scholarly and critical approaches are represented. Essays are grouped under the categories conception and lactation; maternal nurture and instruction; domestic production; social authority; and mortality.Given the recent surge of interest in issues associated with maternity and domestic authority in early modern gender studies, this collection offers an important and timely contribution to the field.