This painting and the work entitled Girl of the Sea or Pleasure in Work offer two expressions of pleasure with a certain affinity between them.
The girl of the sea lifts up her arms, which, together with her smile, shows that her work is not all tension; there is also room in it for joy, bringing relief and peace in her toil.
The child in Maternity (V) raises his right arm, likewise accompanied by a smile, to touch the right hand of his mother; the left hands of both mother and child are aligned and form prolongations of each other. The way the figure of the child is arranged conveys a sense of expansive joy and trusting pleasure.