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Calculus Of Respectability: Defining The World Of Foundling Hospital Women And Children In Victorian London
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Calculus Of Respectability: Defining The World Of Foundling Hospital Women And Children In Victorian London
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Journal Article
Calculus Of Respectability: Defining The World Of Foundling Hospital Women And Children In Victorian London
2007
Overview
RésuméDans la ville de Londres à l’époque victorienne, l’hospice des Enfants trouvés (“Foundling Hospital”) servait de modèle de « respectabilité ». Cette riche institution privée, située à Bloomsbury, revendiquait comme mission le salut des enfants illégitimes nés de femmes des classes populaires. Elle s’efforçait en outre de préserver la réputation des femmes qui subissaient une telle infortune. Mais la démarche supposait au préalable que les dirigeants de l’établissement évaluent consciencieusement l’honorabilité de la mère par le biais d’un calcul mesurant sa « respectabilité ». Cette étude éclaire la vie quotidienne – du jour de leur réception jusqu’à la cérémonie de leur confirmation – de ces enfants dont les mères avaient franchi le seuil de la Guildford Street Gate et avaient abandonné toute responsabilité sur leur progéniture en la déposant dans les bras ouverts d’une mère nourricière. L’analyse indique que les enfants qui avaient survécu à la séparation d’avec leur mère étaient correctement éduqués et préparés à affronter l’économie florissante de Londres. Enfin, elle montre la profondeur des plaies émotionnelles laissées chez certaines mères par le traumatisme de l’abandon, éclairant par là même l’ampleur du sacrifice exigé de celles qui avaient fait ce choix difficile mais « respectable ». SummaryThe Foundling Hospital served Victorian London as an icon of “respectability.” A private well-funded institution situated in Bloomsbury presented as its public mission the salvation of out-of-wedlock infants born to working class women. Its private endeavor was to preserve the reputations of the women who bore these unfortunates. But, this could only happen after the governors of this establishment thoroughly assessed the mother’s reputation by a calculus that measured respectability. This study sheds light on the daily lives of those infants, whose mothers crossed the threshold of the Guildford Street Gate and abandoned their responsibilities on the day they handed their baby over to the open arms of the waiting nurse mother, from receiving day until Confirmation day. It shows how infants who survived separation from their mothers were properly educated and prepared for London’s thriving economy. Finally, it explores how the trauma of loss left deep emotional scars on some women and offers insight on the depth of sacrifice demanded of those who made this difficult but “respectable” choice.
