Elizabeth Gaskell gave birth to a still-born daughter in 1833. As her first birth and pregnancy, Gaskell was devastated and reflected in writing during a period of depression following the birth. Gaskell had two more children die after birth later in her life. These experiences helped inform Gaskell's writing pertaining to the "fallen woman" trope presented in Mary Barton through the character Esther. Esther became pregnant out of wedlock and later kills her child that has become sick: "And I could not bear to see her suffer, and forgot how much better it would be for us to die together;—oh her moans, her moans, which money would give me the means of relieving! So I went out into the street, one January night—Do you think God will punish me for that?" (216). Esther could no longer care for the child and is forced to commit infantcide to her daughter. While this was not the case in Gaskell's life, the loss of a child is an impactful part of anyone's story--fiction or nonfiction.

Gaskell, Elizabeth. Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life. Edited by Jennifer Foster, Broadview Literary Texts, 2000.