A little fun: have you noticed—pretty hard not to—all the books entitled Somebody’s Daughter? Recognize any of these?
The Abortionist’s Daughter The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
The Bonesetter’s Daughter The Optimist’s Daughter
The Courtesan's Daughter The Pirate’s Daughter
Galileo’s Daughter Vermeer’s Daughter
Just how many daughterly titles are out there? Turns out, about 360—titles like “Somebody’s Daughter” or “Daughter(s) of the Something-or-Other.” Here's the full list.
So why this fixation on female offspring—a marketing scheme to appeal to women? But one title is nearly 200 years old. It also turns out that Balzac, Dumas, Hawthorne, D.H. Lawrence, Orwell, Walter Scott, and Zola were in on it, too. Did they even have marketing firms back then?
D.H. Lawrence’s short story, “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter,” suggests the young woman of the title inherited her father’s personality and will dominate her fiance as her father did his horses—a title that suggests a belief in familial determinism. (See LitCourse 9.)
Okay, one down, but that leaves 359 titles unexplained. Any theories?