Introduction
"Arrrgh!" "Avast ye maties!" "Look at that sword!" "Why is he wearing a patch over his eye?" "What is up with his leg?" "Where is the treasure?" "I want to see a treasure map!" Just imagine children looking at pirates. The fascination of these dirty, threatening characters, ready to plunder treasure and take no prisoners, drives many children to put on eye patches and gold earrings and count out paces while they search for hidden treasure. There is no doubt that pirates are masculine figures: illustrations prove them to be powerful, adventurous, and determined and, in a way, pirates are captivating. In his book, The Book of Pirates, Howard Pyle writes:
To make my meaning more clear, would not every boy, for instance—that is, every boy of any account—rather be a pirate captain than a Member of Parliament? And we ourselves—would we not rather read such a story as that of Captain Avery's capture of the East Indian treasure ship, with its beautiful princess and load of jewels … 1
What could be more different than pirates? Mothers are characterized as loving, nurturing, and safe. Children pretend to be mothers by taking a baby doll, swaddling it in a blanket, feeding it a bottle, and rocking it to sleep. There is a strong appeal for children playing house to imitate their mothers by taking care of domestic duties and setting rules for the family to follow. Just as pirates epitomize the masculine, mothers are the essence of the feminine. Mary Cassatt is known for painting mothers bathing, cuddling, and playing with their child. I think it will be instructive and interesting for students to study gender by looking at how the masculine and feminine roles are portrayed in the visual arts. What two more appropriate artists for me to target then two from the Delaware area. Imagine the fun of interpreting the works of Howard Pyle and Mary Cassatt and concentrating on pirates versus mothers.
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