A sooterkin is a fabled small creature about the size of a mouse that certain women were believed to have been capable of giving birth to. The origin of this initially jocular fantasy lies in the 18th century, and some eminent physicians of the day considered it factual. It is attributed to a tendency of Dutch women to frequently sit on stoves or use them under their
petticoat
A petticoat or underskirt is an article of clothing, a type of undergarment worn under a skirt or a dress. Its precise meaning varies over centuries and between countries.
According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', in current British Engl ...
s to keep warm, hence causing the breeding of a small kind of animal that would mature and be born.
The English physician
John Maubray published a work entitled ''
The Female Physician'', in which he proposed that it was possible for women to give birth to sooterkins. Maubray was an advocate for
maternal impression
The conception of a maternal impression rests on the belief that a powerful mental (or sometimes physical) influence working on the mother's mind may produce an impression, either general or definite, on the child she is carrying. The child might ...
, a widely held belief that conception and pregnancy could be influenced by what the pregnant mother dreamt of, or saw. Maubray warned pregnant women that over-familiarity with household pets could make their children resemble those animals. He was involved in the case of
Mary Toft
Mary Toft (née Denyer; c. 1701–1763), also spelled Tofts, was an English woman from Godalming, Surrey, who in 1726 became the subject of considerable controversy when she tricked doctors into believing that she had given birth to rabbits.
...
, who appeared to vindicate his theory by giving birth to rabbits, although the whole affair was eventually exposed for the hoax that it was.
Popular culture
The eponymous character of EB White's children's novel
Stuart Little
''Stuart Little'' is a 1945 American children's novel by E. B. White. It was White's first children's book, and it is now widely recognized as a classic in children's literature. ''Stuart Little'' was illustrated by the subsequently award-winnin ...
is a sooterkin.
References
{{folklore-stub
External links
Websters online dictionary entry for Sooterkin
English legendary creatures
Abortion