Atlantis Vol. 9 No. 1 FalUAutomne 1983 49- 57 Ellen Key: Motherhood for Society Pearl Dykstra The Netherlands "Do working moms have quality time for their children?" was the caption above a letter to the editor, published in thezyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA Toronto Star on December 28,1981. This concern, among others, was raised by the Swedish feminist Ellen Key, whose maj or works were published at the begin- ning of this century. Key was a prominent femi- nist thinker in her time, judging by references to her work by her contemporaries 1 and the large number of biographies published. 2 Her books were translated into German and into English. Few references are made to Ellen Key's work today. The following question immediately pre- sents itself: w hy is there this loss of interest (at least in the English social scientific literature) for the writings of a woman who was so popular in her time? Born in 1849, Key was the eldest child in an upper class family. Her father, a landowner of Scottish ancestry, was a member of the Swedish parliament in which he demonstrated radical political leanings. Key's mother came from an old and noble Swedish family. Ellen was edu- cated at home by German, French and Swedish tutors. Havelock Ellis, who wrote introductions to English editions of her books, states that Ellen Key's mother was a wise woman with a "fine intuition," who "overlooked her daughter's in- difference to domestic vocations and left her free to follow her own instincts, at the same time exercising a judicious influence over her devel- opment." 3 Ellis's statement bears a striking resemblance to Key's views on the task of moth- ers in the rearing of their children. It is unclear whether Key's mother indeed served as a model for motherhood. Apparently, Ellen Key wrote several novels on peasant life while still in her teens. As a young woman, Key travelled extensively throughout Euro pe as secretary to her father. It was at this time that she first started to write for journals. Ellis does not specify the types of journals she wrote for, but his statement "a love of art seems to have been a primary inspiration of these early journeys" 4 indicates that they were in the field of art. Ellis also mentions that Sophie Adlersparre, a Swedish women's rights advocate, encouraged Ellen Key to write for her journal. In later years Key continued to travel in Europe. It is conceivable that much of Key's knowl- edge of the poor conditions of women's work outside the home was acquired when she had to find a job at the age of thirty because her father lost his property in an agricultural crisis. She worked as a teacher in a girls' school for a number of years. Later she taught university courses in literature, history and aesthetics. Fo r twenty years she held the position of Chair of History of Civilization in Sweden at the Popular University of Stockholm. In her writings, Key asserted that the bearing and rearing of children were incompatible with pursuing a professional career outside the home. Yet Key herself was both