I: Martin

[I observed Martin regularly for about two and a half years. Then my visits continued on a more or less yearly basis. Martin is now eleven years old.]

I first met Mrs T in November, 1971. She was introduced to me by Dr S who was my gynaecologist at the time. I was looking for a mother to observe and I asked him whether he could help me to find a suitable one among his patients. He phoned a few days later to say that Mrs T had immediately accepted the idea of an observer coming regularly to visit her and that the baby was due in about a fortnight. He told me that she was very wealthy, living in Belgravia and he described her as an intelligent woman, modern, full of life and with wide interests, although he also added that she was living a rather confused life, probably not what one would expect to be an ideal mother to observe but certainly an interesting person. He also told me that she was in her late thirties, married to a French nobleman who had just recently settled in England. She already had a daughter of two from a previous marriage or perhaps a former boy friend. Dr S did not know what her profession was, but he thought that she was involved in some kind of artistic activity; nor did he know what her husband's profession was, but since he was wealthy, he probably lived on his family fortune. He did know that he was mad about sailing, gambling and polo.

I did not question Dr S further about what he meant by Mrs T's confused life, although it did sound as if the situation was not going to be an easy one to observe. I decided to contact Mrs T all the same. When I rang her for an appointment she immediately bombarded me with questions. She asked me my age and my child's age; she said that she knew that he had been born by Caesarean section as Dr S had told her this. She asked if I was planning to have another child soon, and she also said that she knew that I was a doctor. She asked some more