The Revolt Of Mother

“The Revolt of ‘Mother’” focuses intensely on the different roles that men and women play in and around the house. In the beginning, these roles follow the traditional separation of domestic and laborious tasks.

Objects and ideas related to the domestic sphere are clearly associated with the women of this tale. The Penn home is small and insufficient, but it is plainly depicted as Sarah and Nanny’s domain. The women are constantly shown cleaning, sewing, baking and cooking, fashioning laying out clothing, and talking about courtship, home matters, and the upcoming wedding. These tasks were traditionally relegated to women throughout history, before the emergence of feminism, and within this tale delineate the difference between women’s work and men’s.

The men in the story—Adoniram, Sammy, the farm laborers, and others—exist in an entirely separate space than the women. Their domain is one of field work, stock, and farming. They collar horses, dig in fields, unload wood, and milk cows. They are often outside, doing hard labor. The family patriarch is also in charge of financial decisions, as shown when Adoniram uses their money to build a barn and goes on a trip to buy a new horse. Men are also depicted as more educated; readers see Sammy go to school and work on arithmetic. And, as in the case of Minister Hersey, men are characterized as having a certain authority by virtue of their better moral standing and community leadership qualities.

The men in “The Revolt of Mother” use their strength daily, whether it is physical or spiritual, and are not used to having women ignore their wishes. Men’s labor provides families’ every financial need, and this traditionally meant that men had more rights over women. This, the symbols of men’s work were considered more desirable than those of women’s.

As such, women’s labor was often overlooked. Rarely were women honored for keeping the household running and ensuring everyone was fed and cared for; instead, they were belittled and ignored. Therefore, the attention paid to domestic work versus laborious work in this short story reinforces gender stereotypes to better emphasize the importance of Sarah’s ultimate rebellion.