Throughout my life, I have been immersed in the idea that women, particularly mothers, are held to an impossibly high standard. Watching my mother balance her career as a lawyer and raise myself and my brothers introduced me to the term “supermom.” Supermoms are commonly defined as moms who work full time jobs while still performing “traditional” female roles in the home. I grew up in my mother’s office. There were always toys laying around amidst all her clients’ files. To me, growing up in my mom’s office is the epitome of a working mother’s life, as they are expected to juggle their role as both a caregiver and an employee. 

The high expectations placed on mothers is one of the tensions in Margaret Oliphant’s “The Doctor’s Family.” Oliphant wrote “The Doctor’s Family” in 1861, indicating that the positions women have in life have not changed as much as some may believe. The story follows Dr. Edward Rider as he moves to a new town and attempts to establish his own medical practice. This plan gets complicated when his lazy problematic brother, Fred, moves into his house. Dr. Rider is also required to take in Fred’s wife — Susan — and his sister-in-law — Nettie. The story follows Dr. Rider’s challenges with adjusting to his family’s proximity. 

Albeit through the specific reality of a white, middle class woman, Oliphant’s novel explores themes and commentary surrounding women’s role as both a caregiver and worker, particularly with the character of the protagonist, Nettie Underwood, who assumes the positions of both caregiver and head of the household for her sister’s family. Nettie is a strong, independent individual. She is described by her sister Susan as very “self-willed,” and that their family “could not get on without her.” 

The strong willed, determined depiction of Nettie is revealed early on in the novel. This comes along with the fact that Susan and her husband, Fred, prove to be largely idle and lack the ability to support their family in any way, putting undue stress on Nettie to support them. The book largely focuses on Nettie’s character, the heavy “burdens put upon [her] shoulders” and the “strange toils and responsibilities” that Nettie has. Oliphant uses Nettie as a conduit to describe the different roles that women in the 19th century managed, which is similar to the challenges that working mothers face today. 

Nettie’s entire life is consumed by fulfilling these two positions. The time commitment required to fulfill two roles is part of the stress that working moms face today. According to interviews of working mothers, “the burden of excessive work, the need to fulfill others’ expectations and not having time for themselves are the prime factors affecting work-life balance of working women.”

Today, working mothers are excessively busy fulfilling both roles’ expectations, and they have trouble finding time for themselves. Similarly, Nettie is expected to utilize nearly every hour of the day to work the equivalent of two jobs. 

In the book, Nettie worked late into the night to complete a task: “In the silence of the house she [Nettie] sat late over her needlework, anxious to have some special task finished.” This is representative of the long hours that Nettie must work to fulfill her role as a caregiver and financial provider for the household. The silence of the house and working late are equivalent to working overtime. Working the equivalent of two jobs requires a large amount of time to achieve and Nettie must dedicate every day to Fred’s family. 

Much like working mothers, Nettie rarely gets a break from her work. The one time in the novel that she takes a break, the house descends into chaos resulting in Nettie’s landlord saying that she “can’t never give in to it [a break] again.” Nettie cannot afford to take breaks from the household, so she is obligated to spend all her time fulfilling her duties to Fred’s family.  

Edward Rider also observes the many obligations Nettie has and comments on the unconventional nature of her duties in light of stereotypical gender norms. Edward remarks that Nettie, “seemed only a featherweight when the bewildered doctor helped her to alight — an undoubted sprite and creature of romance.” In this quote Edward is commenting on Nettie’s “feminine” qualities, including her delicacy and small stature. This is in line with gender norms, where women are seen as fragile and in need of male assistance. However, Edward introduced contradictory sentiments when he followed the above thought with, “But to hear her arranging about all the domestic necessities within, and disclosing her future plans for the children, and all the order of that life or which she took the charge of so unhesitatingly.” Edward is taken aback by all of Nettie’s responsibilities. She challenges his idea that women are always kept in the domestic sphere as she continues to run her own household without substantial support from a man. 

It’s important to note that Nettie is not able to do traditional work outside of the household as women today engage in, but her position as both breadwinner and caregiver forms a strong parallel to working women today. When Fred Rider dies as a result of a drunken night, Nettie acts as both the logistical organizer, as well as the emotional support to her sister. Upon first discovering Fred’s body, Nettie arranges the transportation of the body to the house. Nettie was also tasked with providing support to her sister. Oliphant wrote, “There was nobody else to do it. How could the girl help but execute the work put into her hand? Thinking neither of the hardship nor the horror of such dread work falling to her lot, but only this, that she must do it, Nettie took home to the unconscious sleeping cottage that thing which was Fred Rider.” Nettie understands that the work falls “to her lot” and that there is “nobody else to do it.” Nettie holds the obligation to bear the weight of both the emotional and logistical burden after Fred’s death. Oliphant explicitly calls both these obligations “work” and emphasizes that Nettie is the only one who can complete the work. In many ways, Nettie has no choice but to complete the two roles given to her: the role of caregiver and household leader.    

Oliphant engages with and contributes to the commentary on women’s role in the 19th century by portraying Nettie as balancing the work of two jobs. These two roles result in a balancing act that can be equated to working mother’s today. The book ends with Nettie letting go of some of her obligations and finding happiness in marriage. Nettie’s character reaches an emotional climax when she faces the reality that Fred’s family is moving back to Australia. When one of her nephews wants to stay with her, Nettie finally allows herself to break down and be vulnerable: “She could exercise no further self-control. She could only hide her face … and close her quivering lips tight that no one might hear the bursting forth of her heart. No one was there either to hear or see — nobody but Edward Rider. This is an emotional moment in the book that depicts Nettie’s character growth.

Throughout the entire novel, Nettie was stoic and focused solely on fulfilling her two roles. However, her obligations were overwhelming, even if Nettie would not admit it. With that being said, the answer for Nettie’s happiness was not to remove her obligations altogether, but to reduce some of the work. Therefore, Freddy’s presence in Nettie’s provided her with purpose, but lessened the number of her obligations. With this, Nettie is free to pursue her own happiness in the form of marrying Edward. Nettie finds happiness within her obligations, which offers commentary on possible solutions to the pressures that working mothers feel. It is not about removing working mothers’ responsibilities, but rather reducing them so they have more time to find happiness.