Naveen Arunachalam Sakthiyendran, AD,

10/11/2019
Naveen Arunachalam Sakthiyendran

History of American Citizenship

The Influential Woman of the 18th Century: An Essay of A Midwife’s Tale by Laurel Ulrich

For a long period in history, women were considered inferior to men in many ways. They

were belittled as second-class people, and kept away from voting rights, education and other

major institutions. Before the Victorian era, where women started to gain more societal

importance, many women were in societal roles primarily regarding managing the house and

children. In Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's, A Midwife’s Tale, the readers dive into one particular

woman's life through her diary entries; Martha Ballard. Martha was a midwife, healer, mother

and wife who assisted in more than 800 deliveries and also fulfilled her various other roles of a

"typical" woman in the 18th century. Ulrich paints Martha Ballard as a powerful heroine who was

able to radically aid in the health and welfare of her community, as well as carry herself and her

family forward in times of trouble. In doing so, Ulrich portrays a compassionate and influential

female personality of the 18th century.

Firstly, Ulrich highlights the medical assistance that Martha provided to various parts of

her community and deems Martha as a large-scale healer. During the 17th and 18th century, many

areas were ravaged by deadly diseases that took many lives. The life expectancy was low, and

people were dying off at younger ages due to the lack of health awareness and medical

assistance. There were very few medical professionals, and even the few doctors that were

available were mostly men, as women would rarely be allowed any education at all. Martha,

however, broke these barriers that were placed on females during the time and, “She gardened,

sewed, cared for her grandchildren,” as well as, “nursed the sick, laid out the dead and delivered
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babies” (176). Hence, it is evident that although Martha naturally carried out the tasks that were

expected of an average woman at the time, she went beyond that, sacrificing her own comfort to

also asist in the prosperity of the community. Based on her diary entries, it is apparent that, “…

her charitableness…her martyrdom, and self-pity, were modeled by this ethic of caring” (342).

Additionally, as mentioned by the analysis of the time period itself and, “In Martha’s diary, it is

doctors, not midwives, who seemed marginal” (28). Economic class played a huge role for

various parts of life due to the classist system, and the male doctors were very discriminatory on

whom they offered their services to. They tended to have an elitist mentality and were concerned

about a very small percentage of the population, while Martha, “…regarded the poor as well as

the rich” (342). She did not classify her patients in terms of their ability to repay her, but instead

she, “was a Person Useful among the Sick, and ready to minister them to the utmost of her

power” (342). Thus, she was a communal doctor and healer, and although she did not have an

official degree like the men, she used the experience and knowledge she had gained to care for

the sick. This is how she garnered the connections and trust of various people across her

community wherever she went.

Ulrich depicts Martha’s influence through her networking capabilities through her means

of medical help and trade. As explained by Ulrich, many women were powerless during most of

the 17th and 18th centuries. They had a predetermined responsibility to take care of the children

and house as the men would perform the laborious work to take care of the family. However,

Martha wanted to involve herself in her own independent tasks. As mentioned, Martha valued the

aspect of connecting with her patients on a personal level and, “Martha’s patients were not

anonymous bodies but friends and neighbors” (172). Martha was a compassionate woman, and
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10/11/2019
her honorable practice had developed great connections for her. Since she was already involved

in midwifery, she decided to branch out, and “Trade with neighbors. The production of cloth was

a social web” for her (75). She decided to invest her time in weaving and producing cloth after

realizing that this would help her own family as well as, extend her bond with the community

through trading opportunities. Additionally, as she got involved in trading, she became

experienced with the economy, and this became a source of a “social web.” Soon enough, "There

were really two economies in the Ballard household, one managed by Martha, the other by

Ephraim" (80). Martha was able to involve herself in production and consumption, as well as

indulge in an outlook where she was independent and self-reliant, an important aspect which she

believed in for herself and her daughters.

Ulrich finally presents the troubling periods that Martha went through in her older years

to develop her strength and persistent as a resilient female of her time. In the diary entries that

occur during January of 1796, Martha and Ephraim seem to go through many troubling moments

as they also age. Having to juggle midwifery and her personal responsibilities as a wife, she

begins to have various mental and health problems that instill themselves in her diary entries.

Due to the lack of her daughters to help her, Martha is left alone to perform midwifery as well as

keep the house in good condition. Through this phase, she, “…[prays] not for ease…from her

burdens, but for strength…to continue” (218). This instance displays the courage and spirit that

Martha retains even at such an age. Although she complains about her troubles at times, she

holds on to the hope that she could take care of herself and Ephraim during these pessimistic

times. Even when she goes through life without her husband (since he was in jail), she faces the

limitations she has and yet, endures. Even though she has no one to take care of her, “…listen to
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10/11/2019
her, understand her sorrows and acknowledge her burdens,” she has the self-motivation to carry

herself forward. This projects Martha’s strong, independent mentality that not all women of that

time had. As Ulrich further elaborates, Martha performed all her tasks on her own such as

cooking her own meals, keeping her fire, etc. and in doing so she, “...[preserved] her

independence” (281). Her persistence to retain her individual responsibilities seem shocking, as

even as she nears the age of 70, she mends the house duties by herself.

In conclusion, Laurel Ulrich, in her book about Martha Ballard, portrays the life of an

influential and persevering female character of the 18th century. In doing so, Ulrich offers a

counterexample to the belief that women were shackled by their limitations and were not able to

leave an impact similar to men of the same time period. Apart from aiding in the delivery of 816

babies during her lifetime (many of them which were successful), she also cared for her patients

in a manner different from the elitist doctors of the time period. This brought her a well-found

respect among the members of her community, and she changed the lives of many. And in the

end, the most important aspect considered by many historians today, was her thorough practice

of updating her diary with so many details regarding the area and people she lived in. Through

the continuous practice of, “…recording her work,” she, “became a…chronicler of the medical

history of her town."

 Naveen Arunachalam Sakthiyendran, AD,
10/11/2019
Works Consulted

Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher. A Midwife's Tale: the Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary,
1785-1812. Vintage Books, 2006.