| Abstract |
This study aims to historicalize the significance of mothers role in early childhood for the personality and life course of the human beings. This idea is the just ideology that controls our modern so...ciety and education. This paper focuses to the most popular of the mother's advice books published in early modern England. It's Mother's Blessing written by Dorothy Leigh. She was a pious Protestant mother and wrote advice to her own sons who lost father. In early modern era, pre-industrial society, people faced various misfortunes and hardships, that is famine, fire, illness, death, and so on. They had belief system and rites for hazards of their insecure environments within church's authorization. But Reformers attacked these customs and beliefs as superstitions. Several 'mother's advice books' appeared in that period. Leigh never referred to the rites without Sabbath. She advised to her sons about 'praying' only. K. Charlton's study of early modern mother's role pointed that mothers did religious education. Indeed early modern mothers talked about her children's religious education. But in Mother's Blessing, mother doesn't play the concrete and meaningful role for children's education. She only repeats 'to pray privately'. In Mother's Blessing, children are taught by Holy Spirit. Human's self doesn't have clear borders, and is fluid. Its meaning is over flowing to Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is thought to be in the human. This spirituality governs everywhere in Mother's Blessing. Spirituality is the very theme that Reformation made women to be able to access. They become to be able to enjoy equality in spirituality through praying without the mediation of church authorities. But this brought the important change in the history of motherhood. Mothers become to be involved in the very matter, that is, her children's inner world. Early modern period, only God, Christ and Holy Ghost could enter human's hearts and selves. But by 19^<th> century, mothers would be thought to have the natural power for children's soul. They would play the role on behalf of God.show more
|
Export Mendeley
KJ00004167263