44 pages • 1-hour read
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
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Background
Authorial Context: Betty MacDonald
Betty MacDonald (1907-1958) was born in Boulder, Colorado, but lived most of her life in Seattle, Washington. She married Robert Heskett in 1927, and they had two daughters, Anne and Joan. They lived in a small community on a farm focused primarily on chickens. She left Robert, who struggled with addiction to alcohol and was abusive, in 1931 and then married Donald MacDonald in 1942. She published her first book, The Egg and I, a comedy memoir about her farming experience, in 1945. The book was a bestseller and was translated into numerous languages. She published The Plague and I in 1948—detailing her experience living in a sanatorium after contracting tuberculosis—then Anybody Can Do Anything (1950)—on experiences during The Great Depression—and Onions in the Stew (1955)—about her life with Don and her daughters on Vashon Island.
She began writing children’s literature based on stories she told to her daughters and other children, publishing Mrs. Piggle Wiggle (1947), Mrs. Piggle Wiggle’s Magic (1949), Mrs. Piggle Wiggle’s Farm (1954), and Hello, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle (1957). She also wrote Nancy and Plum (1952), a Christmas story about two sisters living in a boarding house. Mrs. Piggle Wiggle’s Birthday Party was published in 2007. Betty’s daughter, Anne, completed it based on her mother’s notes for future stories (Andrews, Mildred. “MacDonald, Betty (1907-1958).” HistoryLink, 4 Nov. 1998).
Cultural Context: Contemporaneous and Contemporary Parenting Theories
In the 1930s and 1940s, psychological studies on parenting focused on general observations of parenting traits. These usually fell into one of two categories: parental acceptance or parental control. Contrasting parenting approaches studied during the period included “acceptance versus rejection” and “emotional warmth versus hostility” (Power, Thomas G. “Parenting Dimensions and Styles: A Brief History and Recommendations for Future Research.” Childhood obesity, vol. 9, suppl. 1, 2013, pp. S14-S21; S14). A seminal text on parenting, The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care, was published by Dr. Benjamin Spock in 1946, one year before Mrs. Piggle Wiggle’s publication. Trained as both a pediatrician and psychologist, Spock advocated an intuition-focused approach to parenting. Whereas previous publications advocated strict discipline and extremely limited displays of affection, Spock’s guide recommended that parents follow their common-sense instincts to bond with their children and behave affectionately toward them (“Dr. Spock Publishes ‘The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care.” History, 12 July 2024). Mrs. Piggle Wiggle represents parenting styles that align both with Dr. Spock’s recommendations and with earlier discipline-focused models. In particular, fathers in the novel are often less affectionate and sometimes suggest or employ corporal punishment, whereas mothers exhibit more affection (Spock’s first edition focused on mothers, but later revisions incorporated advice for fathers and those with other family dynamics).
A more recently researched parenting approach that is relevant to Mrs. Piggle Wiggle is the use of natural and logical consequences. This approach is linked to children’s emotional well-being and positive development. The premise is that parents allow children to experience the natural consequence of their actions. For example, a parent whose child doesn’t want to take a rain jacket on a walk might not force the issue, allowing the child to experience the natural consequence of getting wet and uncomfortable if it rains. If the natural consequence would be unsafe, the parent can then choose a logical consequence that is related to the behavior in question (Brosi, Matt, et al. “Parenting with Natural and Logical Consequences: Fact Sheet.” Oklahoma Cooperative Extension, Dec. 2019). All Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s cures teach personal responsibility by allowing the child to experience the natural consequence of their behavior.
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