I was inspired by the video blog for this week that began with the question: how much historical context can be seen through diary entries? How much of it is valid, applicable, or of interest to us? This led me to comment on a movie that I watched for a history course, "A Midwife's Tale" by Laura Thatcher Ulrich.
Laura Thatcher Ulrich created the film “A Midwife’s Tale” in order to provide an introspective view on life for a typical woman during the 18th century. Her work focused on analyzing and making a visual representation of the diary of Martha Ballard, a midwife who lived during the time period. A lot can be said about the time period and women's role in society at the time by looking at the text. For example, all of Ballard's diary entries are incredibly short, direct, and to the point. Her sentences are often grammatically flawed, lack verbs, and have tense disagreement. There are repeated misspellings and improper capitalizations. This careful examination of her writing may suggest that women during the 18th century were not as well educated as men, or at least not provided with the same learning opportunities. This lack of education is seen through her writing skills and can be broadly attributed to other women of the time period.
Focusing more on the actual content of her diary entries, we see that almost every day she writes about falling ill or the sickness of a child. These entries directly parallel historical facts that disease and illness dominated the 18th century and was essentially inescapable. Her diary captures this historical fact and records it in a more personal context. Similarly, we see that most of her entries describe her role in helping these ailing friends and family members - suggesting that women's roles at the time were that of helpers who engaged in servitude and healing.
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