a discfription of a miscarriage in Georgian England

I had listened to the Rest is history podcast on Dr. Johnson, and although I have no admiration for this fellow, one of the side characters of his later life is when he was sort of adopted by a brewer and his aristocratic Welsh wife which made his house sort of salon but also had Johnson living in their house for years.

 

 The wife of the brewer, after caring for his many ills and having 12 pregnancies, including still births and miscarriages and several of her older children die of infectious disease, seems to be more of a nursemaid than a romantic link with the writer, and indeed, after the death of her husband, married an Italian musician who was accused of marrying her for her money but apparently he had made quite a bit of money from his career. However the marriage caused a rift between her and her older children and with Johnson who despite public opinion thinking he would marry her, never did suggest this, and indeed, one suspects poor Mrs Thrale saw him as merely another troublesome child.

lin well, any way, the lady did write a lot and published some books so is a minor character in feminist history. But in her diary, there is this about one of her miscarriages that at the end of the Aug 15 diary entry seems to be caused or made worse by a selfish husband.

LINK

Tis less a Miscarriage after all than a dead Child:’' a Boy quite formed & perfect; once I wished for such a Blessing — now if my Life is left me no matter for the rest.

The Abortions and the Profluvia however, the Vomitings & Diarrhoea which accompanied them, & rendered the disorder still more Dangerous, are now got over, & this day Sunday 15: of August I go down Stairs like the Ghost of her who was carried up Stairs a Week ago. Oh God who hast been pleased to prolong my Life, render it I beseech thee such as may be useful to my Fellow Creatures, & not unpleasing in thy Sight who art of purer Eyes than to behold Iniquity. —

...Never was there such a Year for Flies, for Wasps, for all manner of Insects indeed as this 1779. I suppose the heat of the Weather is the only Cause but tis curious enough & beyond Measure troublesome — quite the Musketo Shore !■+

at this point she discusses her husband's stuborness is traveling from France even though it put everyone in danger then continues

Again the other Day* as I may call it — after long continued Threats of a Miscarriage had confined me to the House & even to my Chamber, some Mismanagement among the Borough Clerks obliged me to go thither, & set Things straight; M^ Thrale wished me to go, nay insisted on it, but seemed somewhat concern’d too, as he was well apprized of the Risque I should run. I went however, & after doing the Business I went to do, beg’d him to make haste home, as I was apprehensive bad Consequences might very quickly arise from the Joulting &c. — ^he would not be hurried —the probable Consequences did begin to arise, I pressed him to order the Coach — ^he could not be hurried — I told his Valet my Danger, & begged him to hasten his Master; no Pain, no Entreaties of mine could make him set out one Moment before the appointed hour — 2 so I lay along in the Coach all the way from London to Streatham in a State not to be described, nor endured ; — but by me : — & being carried to my Chamber the Instant I got home, miscarried in the utmost Agony before they could get me into Bed, after fainting five Times. —Now tho’ M*" Thrale’s heart never much run over with Tenderness towards me Gkid knows, — yet common Humanity might have had a place here; no Feelings however, no Shame could induce him — to put himself in a hurry! —

another point of view of Mrs Thrale and Dr Johnson

there are feminist writings about miscarriage, but alas it is too often mixed up with the bias of gay rights and abortion Discussion here.

We discuss pregnancy, birth, maternity, and abortion a lot—but not really miscarriage. And I think that’s because of a kind of nervousness that feminists might have around talking about it, because if you acknowledge miscarriage, you need to acknowledge that lots of people (though not all) do have a grief response. And there's a fear that if we acknowledge this, we’re inadvertently strengthening the anti-abortion cause. So there's been a tendency to avoid the subject.'

translation: how dare you acknowledge that it is a baby.

Sad because the politicization by the woke who have taken over feminism essentially has ruptured it's original roots of women who want a family and husband but also to be equal. Which is why the modern feminists threw out Betty Frieden for not hating men and family enough.