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The poster “The Greatest Mother in the World” possesses many attributes that fit with James’ portrayal of war posters. For example, it plays to the emotions of the viewer. Motherhood is an emotional topic, one that causes feelings of nostalgia and sentimentality. Calling a Red Cross nurse “the greatest mother in the world” plays to a woman’s sentimental desire to nurture and care for others. This poster also contains what James calls a “Janus-faced image.” The woman portrayed as a loving mother instantly reminds the viewer of the traditional beauty of motherhood, valued so highly during the Victorian Era. At the same time, this poster presents a view of a woman outside of the home, working as a nurse. In “The Greatest Mother in the World,” Victorian and Modern ideas of womanhood meet and mesh together.

I think a poster like this would have greatly appealed to Vera Brittain during the early years of the war. In fact, perhaps a poster like this did influence her to become a war nurse. As we know from her autobiography, she desperately wanted to assist in the war effort and nursing made this possible. However, her experience of nursing was not at all the same as that of the heroic, goddess-like woman portrayed in the poster. This poster is just one example of the glamorization of World War I and how it starkly contrasts with actual experience.