The paradox of the 'child-free' movement

It has sometimes been claimed that the Annunciation – which of course we mark on March 25 – is the most frequently painted theme in the history of European art. The passage from Luke, starting at Chapter 1, Verse 28, has inspired artists ever since Fra Angelico composed his famed fresco on the walls of a Florentine convent around 1450. It has inspired artists because of the significance of the moment, and perhaps also because Mary’s response was honest: she was, initially, “troubled”. And then she accepted and consented. Many artists have seen the Annunciation as a tribute to the central role of motherhood in Christianity, and art has played no small part in Marian devotion. In every country where Christianity has flourished, that reverence for Mother and Child, in the image of Mary and the Christ Child, has been a central theme. So it’s understandable that a Bavarian schoolteacher has caused widespread offence with her campaign against motherhood – claiming that babies are harming the planet. Verena Braunschweiger, 38, has vowed never to have children herself. She claims that each child adds 58 tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere every year. A radical feminist, she describes childbirth as “a patriarchal imperative towards women” – ignoring the evidence that many women will go to the ends of the earth to become mothers. She thinks it’s deplorable that a woman who becomes pregnant is congratulated, when she should be reprimanded for adding to environmental damage. Ms Braunschweiger would like to see Germany’s population reduce from 83 million to 38 million. More women should be childless, she says. But here’s a paradox: the lower the fertility in any society, the more precious a child becomes. If more women are childless, mothers gain greater status. So Verena Braunschweiger’s social policy would actually bring about a more pronounced veneration of motherhood. The Renaissance artists knew, intuitively, that the Annunciation moment touches something deep in our humanity: and so it will always be.

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I remember being impressed by Douglas Botting’s 1985 memoir In the Ruins of the Reich, which described the author’s experiences as an Allied soldier in Germany in 1945-46, when the Allies were under strict orders of “no fraternisation” with the German population. After the horrors of the Nazi regime, the German people were to be made to feel shunned and abhorred. The Allied personnel understood the policy’s reasoning, but it became increasingly difficult to maintain this situation, watching old women clear bomb rubble, and a broken and shamed society desperately trying to put itself back together again. Sometimes it’s just a single moment that changes a person’s viewpoint. Botting watched a hungry young boy being hauled up for punishment by the Allied authorities for trying to steal food. The author asked himself, is this what it has come to: punishing children for taking food? That was the moment he abandoned the “no fraternising” rule. The recently released film The Aftermath, starring Keira Knightley and Alexander Skarsgård, portrays this background, in Hamburg in the winter of 1946. To some extent the story is reminiscent of Brief Encounter, except with more explicit sex, and indeed violence. War, and loss, bring out a savage and even animal response in human beings, so perhaps these aspects of the storytelling will be justified by the director. Yet the contextual historical narrative is well depicted, and there is a redemptive ending, not dissimilar from that of its classic predecessor with Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard.

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Fearing shortages of supplies in case of Brexit problems, some people are stockpiling food and other household necessities. Experienced stockpilers recommend that every household should have an emergency supply of tinned food, bottled water and candles. Younger people may also have to be reminded that candles require candlesticks, so ensure there are a few of those as well. Is it Christian to stockpile food and other goods? Shouldn’t one trust in divine providence? Or, by contrast, should one follow the example of the wise virgins and be prepared? I’m in two minds. But as I’ve given up chocolate for Lent – a mighty struggle – I may have to lay in a supply post-Brexit and post-Easter, in case the Belgians stop sending us their stuff … Follow Mary Kenny on Twitter: @MaryKenny4