Revolt Mother\" M.W. Freeman. The Professor Loves

¶ … Revolt Mother" M.W. Freeman. The professor loves women, sticking women's equality/rights. She scrutinizes plagiorism. Write success/failure Freeman's women characters strategies achieve independence & fulfillment traditional 19th century New England village society.

The traditional New England village social order in the 19th century had strict rules and the masses were accustomed to categorizing individuals on account of their gender. Women were regarded as housewives and it considered outrageous for a woman to act in disagreement with laws imposed by then male authority in her family. Mary E. Wilkins Freeman describes an episode in this society by concentrating on the relationship between men and women. Furthermore, she emphasizes the feelings experienced by a woman as she stands by and observes her forty-year-old marriage once again being dominated by her husband. One does not necessarily need to be surprised with regard to the central protagonist's behavior, as readers should actually understand the harsh criticism present in society during the nineteenth century.

Even though it initially appears that Sarah Penn and her husband, Adoniram, know each-other well enough to skip formalities, one can feel the tension in their relationship from the very first paragraphs of the text. The woman experiences a moment of consciousness at the time when she learns that her husband is building a barn instead of the house that she desperately needs and decides to override his decision. Freeman wants readers to understand that Sarah did not actually consider that women were discriminated in the 19th century society, as the character simply acted because she wanted the house badly and because she was aware that her husband was not as resolute as other men in her village when regarding the role of woman.

The fact that Adoniram and Sarah call each-other father, and, respectively, mother makes it possible for readers to understand that they value each-other equally and that they both put across a form of inferiority in regard to each-other in an attempt to maintain equality in their marriage. One can virtually claim that this is a modern couple that suffers damage because of traditional values that interfere and prevents the two individuals from openly declaring the respect that they feel toward each-other. In comparison to other individuals in the village, Adoniram seems to have a better understanding of the role of women in society. Even with this, the fact that he is pressured by traditional values influences him in putting across hesitance in regard to acknowledging the fact that women are equal.

In spite that she acts out of frustration, Sarah also appears to have a complex understanding of how women are perceived by society. She knows that there is very little that she can do regarding this and actually tries to influence her daughter in simply accepting that it would be impossible for her future husband to be any different from other men. Through associating men with weather phenomena Sarah further discredits women and anyone who would want to support feminist beliefs at the time. This is, however, a divisive matter and it is very difficult to determine whether Sarah feels that society's laws are unchangeable or whether she knows that conditions are unlikely to change in the near future.