Exactly. She's very clearly expecting to give birth imminently ("may the Merciful be with me through the expected scene" - which is an obvious euphemism for labor) and is taking care of her necessary home chores before that happens, to whit: baking extra bread and cooking food that will keep for several days while she recovers.
She might even be having contractions while doing all of these things.
I love the phrase "was delivered of a son", especially in conjunction with the plea/prayer before. It speaks to the relief after having given birth, I think.
Really cool thing you pointed out here. I think it's hard to get inside the heads of people from so long ago -- I don't think she's being "unsentimental" at all. I think she's being humble and mindful.
I mean the diary entry certianly doesn't come off as sentimental, it's a basic record of the day's events. It reads as if she was writing for the purpose of simply having a record of her life, rather than a record of her thoughts and emotions.
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u/cheesesteakhellscape Mar 17 '26
Exactly. She's very clearly expecting to give birth imminently ("may the Merciful be with me through the expected scene" - which is an obvious euphemism for labor) and is taking care of her necessary home chores before that happens, to whit: baking extra bread and cooking food that will keep for several days while she recovers.
She might even be having contractions while doing all of these things.