"Alleged Cruelty to a Child"

In the article “Alleged Cruelty to a Child,” the abuse of a girl by her stepmother is reported in the 1883 issue of the Illustrated Police News. The article describes the horrendous physical violence conducted against the girl, such as neglect, beatings, and starvation. Both the father and the stepmother were charged with child abuse, as he neglected to recognize that his wife was abusing his daughter while he was out of town for business. The article reports that the 11-year-old had been enduring long-term abuse, and weighed only 42 pounds at the time of her parents’ arrests. The article describes the abuse in detail, listing the various heinous acts that the stepmother forced her stepdaughter to suffer while under her care, while her siblings and stepsiblings were well cared for. They report that these abuses took place while the father was absent, and describe him as a “very quiet and timid man.” The father was released on his own recognizance while the stepmother was jailed until trial.

This article was interesting the nature of what is considered abuse in the 19th century comes to light here. This article also appeared in an issue where a mother dumping her baby into a river is a featured story and appears in an illustration on the front page. These are both instances of extraordinary child abuse perpetrated by mothers, which is depicted as more shocking because the women defied expectations of gender roles and committed these violent crimes against children. It reminds me of Shulamith Firestone’s essay in which she considers how the center of women’s oppression lies in their connection to childbearing and childrearing roles. In a way, the sensational aspects of the story is the fact that these women have defied expectations and stereotypes of womanhood by committing these abuses against children, which is what makes the crimes even more heinous and therefore worthy of appearing in a newspaper that sensationalizes shocking and grueling crimes.