Freeman And Feminism

3 Pages 814 Words

Freeman and Feminism
It is no hidden fact that many generations of women have suffered. Hundreds of thousands of women throughout history have been slaves in their own homes. They cooked, they cleaned, they raised the children, and they kept their opinions to themselves. Women did not go to college, they did not vote, and they did not work outside the home. This of course changed over time. It took many years of struggling, fighting, and suffrage for women to be where they are today. Being that the road to equal rights for women was such a long and windy one, many female writers have used it in their literary works. It has become a very popular theme among the female writers of American Literature.
Mary Wilkins Freeman does just this. Freeman is best known for her stories that portrayed rural life in small New England towns at the end of the nineteenth century. This time happened to be a time of great change. While her portrayal of New England life contributes to an accurate picture of the village community at the time, in “The Revolt of Mother” her emphasis lies more with the oppression and rebellion of women. She created a strong female character that stands up for herself against her husband, demonstrating a perfect example of how many women throughout history have overpowered the male dominance of their time.
In addition to demonstrating the rebellion of women, Freeman clearly depicts the devotion women were required to have for their husbands. This devotion was so expected it eventually became second nature to the women of Freeman’s time. Sarah’s initial acceptance of the building of the barn, despite her husband’s 40-year-old promise of a house to be built on that spot, shows this devotion that I speak of. “However deep a resentment she might be forced to hold against her husband, she would never fail in sedulous attention to his wants” (759). Despite her anger in the reality that her husband...