ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The central argument of this book has been that the Roman mother was not associated as closely with the young child or with undiscriminating tenderness as the mother of our own cultural tradition but was viewed primarily as the transmitter of traditional morality - ideally, a firm disciplinarian. This forms a contrast with the recurrent stereotype of more recent history which characterises the mother as typically affectionate and the father as typically disciplinarian. This book finishes as it began, with a reminder of the inadequacy of the sources for assembling a complete picture of the maternal relationship and the assertion that it was not characterised by tenderness and affection so much as moral strength. The diverse sources assure us that Romans attached high ideals to motherhood, but these were not the same as the modern maternal ideal.
