Although motherhood revolves around women's capacity to reproduce, its inherent concept is primarily defined by the prevalent social and cultural practices of its times. In modern history, the evolving notion of motherhood has enabled external institutions such as the Church, the State and the medical institutions to dictate how women should behave and more specifically how they should raise their children (Ross 4-5). From the development of the concept of the "republican motherhood" to the infant welfare and eugenics movements of early 20th century, women have had to endure the intrusive participation of outside agents in their domestic arenas and the violation of the privacy of their bodies. This paper thus traces how the changing concept of motherhood has shaped the lives of women in the modern era.
Over the last three centuries, attitudes towards mothers, motherhood and "mothercraft" have evolved considerably. Certainly, these attitudes are also related to the prevalent perceptions about women. Before the 18th century, women were regarded as animalistic creatures primarily driven by their passions and sexual desires. Their capacity to reproduce was further used as an explanation for the fact that their beings were controlled by their bodily impulses and desire (Davis 124-5).
However, towards the end of the 18th century, religious establishments such as the British evangelicals transformed the prevalent attitudes towards women and mothers by highlighting their purity and morality in a bid to preserve the stability of British society in the wake of the French Revolution. The portrayal of women and mothers as morally superior creatures led to the elevation of their roles in the family and the society. Wives were no longer regarded as sexual objects that were expected to offer their sexual services to their husbands at the latter's whim. The desexualization of the male-female relationships enabled women to control their reprodu...