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A Midwife’s Tale

 Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
 

Key Facts

 
full title ·  A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785–1812
 
author · Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
 
type of work · Historical portrait
 
genre · Nonfiction, history
 
language · English
 
time and place written · New England, 1980s
 
date of first publication · 1990
 
publisher · Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
 
narrator · Ulrich and Martha's diary entries
 
point of view · The passages from Martha's diary are in the first person; Ulrich's writing is in the third person.
 
tone · Though occasionally given to self-pity, Martha generally talks about her life in very factual terms, and Ulrich only rarely disagrees with Martha's perceptions of events and people.
 
tense · Past tense
 
setting (time) · 1785–1812
 
setting (place) · Augusta (originally Hallowell), a small town in Maine
 
protagonist · Martha Ballard
 
major conflict · Martha struggles through the many challenges of raising a family and having a career in early New England.
 
rising action · As Martha assists midwives with deliveries, she gives birth to eight children of her own, losing three of them to a diphtheria epidemic.
 
climax · Martha and her children follow Ephraim to Hallowell, where her age and experience make her the town's most popular midwife.
 
falling action · Martha raises her children and holds onto her career through illness, age, depression, and family trauma.
 
themes · Actions speak louder than words; the importance of simple moments; the contentment of a well-ordered life
 
motifs · Births; community relations; responsibility
 
symbols · Martha's house; Martha's garden; prayer
 
foreshadowing
 · While surveying, Ephraim is attacked by settlers who feel they are protecting the land they had cleared. Later, settlers kill another surveyor and threaten the entire town for the same reason.
 · Before moving to Hallowell, Martha loses three of her daughters to a diphtheria epidemic. Later, Martha must help protect the children of Hallowell from a scarlet fever epidemic.
 · When Martha is alive, male doctors are growing in popularity and respectability. Later, Martha's great-great-granddaughter must follow their ways in order to practice healing like Martha did.
 
 
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