"We say that a girl with her doll anticipates the mother. It is more true, perhaps, that most mothers are still but children with playthings"

F. H. Bradley's quote presents a thought-provoking view on the nature of maturity and motherhood, challenging conventional understandings. The quote begins by alluding to a typical societal observation: "We state that a lady with her doll anticipates the mother". This imagery stimulates the concept that young girls having fun with dolls are taking part in a type of wedding rehearsal for future maternal roles, imitating the habits and duties associated with nurturing and caregiving. This part of the quote shows a traditional understanding of developmental psychology, where play is viewed as practice for adult functions.

However, Bradley subverts this concept with the continuation: "It is more real, possibly, that the majority of mothers are still but children with toys". In this statement, Bradley proposes a turnaround of functions and expectations. He recommends that motherhood does not always relate to maturity, and mothers might still embody childish qualities. The focus shifts from viewing adulthood as a complete improvement from youth maturity to seeing it as a continuum where aspects of childish wonder, playfulness, and immaturity continue.

This view can be analyzed in several methods. Firstly, it highlights the timeless and universal nature of play, suggesting that grownups, like children, continue to engage with their world in lively, exploratory methods. It exposes the possibility that the adult years, and specifically motherhood, does not imply the abandonment of one's youthful essence but can involve incorporating it into one's adult roles.

Second of all, Bradley's quote can be seen as a review of societal expectations put on females and mothers. It questions the rigid perfects of what it implies to be a 'appropriate' adult or mother, recommending that the skills and emotions involved in mothering may not be as alien to childhood as society presumes.

Overall, Bradley's words challenge the dichotomy in between the adult years and youth, proposing a more nuanced view of human development. By framing mothers as "kids with playthings", he suggests that maturity includes a mix of knowledge and innocence, duty and playfulness, experience and imagination-- a continuum instead of a location.