The image of a female doctor in memoirs by Jennifer Worth

Abstract

The subject of our literary research is the memoir prose written by the contemporary English writer Jennifer Worth. There are three novels joined into the trilogy “Call the Midwife”: “A True Story of the East End of the 1950s”, “Shadows of the Workhouse”, “Farewell to the East End”. Later these stories, told by the author in her books, formed the basis of the cinematic genre: the BBC series of the same name, directed by Heidi Thomas, filmed in 2012–2025. Within these years 15 seasons were made and planned to be continued in 2026. The release of the series helped popularize the author’s prose, all three books are recognized bestsellers, currently republished. Critical works, dedicated to the works of art by Jennifer Worth, also attract the interest of the readership. The aim of this study is to consider the artistic features of presenting the image of a female doctor in memoir prose, written by a female writer, based on her own professional experience. The subjects of scientific reflection in this article are the genre specifics of the works under consideration, the writer’s reliance on her personal experience, and women’s writing about a woman in a profession. Jennifer Worth’s feminine gaze, refracted through the writer’s personal memories, determines the genre, compositional, and narrative modifications in the trilogy. In particular, it is necessary to recognize the dominance of the autobiographical component over the documentary one, the structuring of the text according to the laws of fiction, and the presence of a moral component in the assessment of the female doctor.