The meaning of the maternal figure in the children`s literature by Edith Nesbit

The article discusses the way the maternal figure is portrayed by Edith Nesbit, one of the most celebrated children`s author. Throughout much Victorian literature, motherhood was exemplified as a center of morality and virtue. At the same time Nesbit was content with trying on the image of «the new woman». As a result, the representation of mothers in her books is quite ambiguous; they incorporate both the features of angelic femininity and of a new feminist ideal with regenerative power. As E. Nesbit` s relationship with her mother was complex, she subconsciously looked for mother substitute and expressed it in a metaphorical way in her children`s literature.