Analysis of The Revolt of Mother The Revolt of Mother by Mary Wilkins Freeman, was a story of a woman who lived in New England around or before the authors time. The mother, Sarah Penn, was kept out of the families decisions by the father, Adoniram Penn, until one event that lead to her taking drastic actions while her husband was gone. There are many religious symbols and actions taken by Mother within the story. Through the story Sarah moved from a feeling of servitude to her husband, to a feeling that she was in servitude to the Lords will and this led her, in the end, to hold power over her husband. The religious overtones start with the title of the story, The Revolt of Mother. The name Mother in many stories is used to relate to a divine or spiritual woman. It could be a direct reference to Mother Mary, but in the context of this story it is just meant to signify her clarity with what the Lord wants her to do. The word Revolt also has religious significance when related with that use of Mother. The revolt that Mother takes is a religious one because it is going against her husband and towns beliefs, which are both the same. This becomes clear in the part of the story when the minister comes to talk to Sarah about what she has done. When the minister came to see Sarah on Friday after she had moved into the barn she was described as having a saintly expression of her face(529). With that, and the fact that she acts so rude to him, especially since hes a minister, shows that she does believe she is right under the Lords will and he is not. The author also implies this by the name she gives to the minister, Mr. Hersey. His name sounds just like the word heresy and is spelled very similar. This is another indication that, in fact, the minister is going against the Lords own will and Sarah is not. The narrator has also described the minister as being a sickly man and that, he had scourge himself up to some of his pasto...
