THE MOTHERHOOD IN THE UKRAINIAN VILLAGE IN LATE 19 — EARLY 20 CENTURY

Abstract

The study illustrates the gender aspect of Ukraine’s social history during the late 19th and early 20th century. The author pays special attention to the specific functioning of the Ukrainian Institute of Motherhood of this period. The psychological and mental spheres of peasant life within this study were outlined. Women’s perception of a “traditional” family directly depended on parental education. It is not a secret that the opinion of society was very important to our citizens, so in order to avoid their condemnation, it was necessary to meet certain unwritten standards. These standards were a mixture of God’s commandments and local prejudices, which shaped our ancestors’ mythological outlook. Even in the 21st century we could not avoid the stereotype of the perfect mother. She was always considered as an exemplary daughter, mistress and a dreamer of a huge happy family. Analysing ethnographic and historical sources, it becomes clear that this fact is false. The history is full of testimonials regarding women’s unwillingness to give a birth. They used to practice various contraceptives and abortions. Besides these methods had a terrible effect on women’s health, they also became outcasts in dogmatic society.
Not a less drama of the 19–20 century was an unsatisfactory level of medicine development. This led to frequent infant deaths. There is an evidence that parents were not often upset by the death of their own child. The reason for this was the poverty of the family, although the parents worked really hard. The subject of the motherhood is extremely important in the field of humanities. This study is an attempt to determine the causes of non-Christian behaviour of mothers towards their children. We should understand that everyone has a right to make a mistake, but history should not idealise anyone. It should still be objective