Monday’s Child is Fair of Face

Introduction - What Roots Might Such a Rhyme Have?

This rhyme is almost always illustrated by showing seven children acting out the characteristic attributed to those born on the various days of the week. The majority of illustrations show girls. When boys are included in the pictures, they are most commonly used to show Wednesday’s child (full of woe) and Thursday’s child (far to go). Saturday’s child who works for a living may be either a girl or a boy, but it appears that being “fair of face” or “full of grace” conjures up mainly images of dainty young girls. Most illustrations are made up of individual images with little or no connection among the characters. While the various images for this rhyme are generally more similar than those for many other rhymes, it is interesting to note how different illustrators convey the particular characteristics named. For instance, while Monday’s child is ordinarily either just posing or looking at her reflection in a mirror, the “grace” of Tuesday’s child is exhibited by dancing, walking on a wall, ice skating, or simply walking or running.