Analysis Of The Revolt Of Mother, By Mary E. Wilkins

Change Always Begins with a Small Revolution During the nineteenth century, women’s rights were not what they are today. Women lacked the autonomy to come and go as they pleased, and were often forbidden to make decisions regarding their domiciles. That most women spent the majority of time in their homes raising children, housekeeping, and waiting on their husbands unfortunately was not enough to convince the Patriarchy of the need for women’s equality. As we peel back the layers of dialogue and Great Mother, Father, and angel/child archetypes in Mary E. Wilkins’ The Revolt of Mother we discover psychological depth which ultimately makes a bold statement regarding women’s liberation and the latent and real desires of the author. The story

This is a symbol of Sarah Penn’s death of the old and rebirth of the new, liberated, headstrong Mother figure. Perhaps the Sarah in our story also has a type of name change, as she claims what is rightfully hers and asserts her will. There are several important religious symbolisms used: First, Sarah and Adoniram are names from the Bible. Adoniram was a leader of slaves building the temple (forced labor. Hmm…interesting), and Sarah, wife of Abraham, means “princess” or “queen”(WHERE DID I GET THIS FROM??)”. (Interesting because on page 5 she says “Father, you come here.” Sarah Penn stood in the door like a queen; she held her head as if it bore a crown; there was that patience which makes authority royal in her

She does this to demonstrate the cultural box she has been forced into while simultaneously using all of her power to break out of it. These are the archetypes of Great or nurturing mother or mother earth-- Adoniram sees her as “bound to the earth with generations of blackberry vines.” (1) She is loving, nurturing, homemaking. Adoniram fits the Father archetype, as he is controlling, doesn’t speak much, rough around the edges. When Sarah Penn asks him why he’s digging in the field, he tells her he wishes she would “’tend to your own affairs…He ran his words together, and his speech was almost as inarticulate as a growl.” This is Lacanian’s language theory, “The Father, the power symbol, enforces these cultural rules and ensures that we follow them (Literary Criticism 154).” Here is where we differentiate between the biological male/female and the cultural male/female. “But the woman understood; it was her most native tongue (1).” This language-shaping continues in the conversation between Nanny and Sarah