Plutarch's Consolation To His Wife

In his Consolation to His Wife, Plutarch writes a moralistic consolation to his wife following the death of his daughter in order to demonstrate that mothers who have lost their children should remain composed while mourning.
Plutarch begins by establishing his wife as a model for others by describing the “excess and superstition” usually associated with mourning as “faults to which you are not at all prone”(1). Plutarch regards his wife as a moral person and admonishes socially acceptable mourning practices using “superstition”, “excess” and “faults”, words that all have a negative connotation. Plutarch then plays to the expectation that women are meant to act as a support to their husbands: “In your emotion keep me as well as yourself within bounds”(2). Wives who do not maintain their composure have failed their husbands.
This mother dehumanizes her child, but wants to appear as a good mother following the child’s death. The easiest way to appear to be a good mother is to lack composure when mourning so it is obvious to others. This type of mother is more concerned with gaining sympathy than with actually grieving for the loss of a child. Plutarch addresses the toxicity created by mourning visitors, but knows his wife will “guard against” being effected by visitors(7). Since his wife was previously established as an example of both a good mother and a moral person he expects other mothers to react in a similar manner to others grief. He continues to berate mourning visitors in describing their actions as“a performance dicated by a pernicious custom and rehearsed to every sufferer” (9). “Performance” and “rehearsed” have connotations related to theater and suggest that rather than reflecting their actual emotions mourners act in ways that have been deemed culturally