MARY WILKINS FREEMAN
Reading Guide: “The Revolt of Mother”
Mary Wilkins Freeman (1852-1930)
1. Who is Mary Wilkins Freeman? Read the short biography in your text or on a website.
When you finish reading “The Revolt of Mother,” use biographical criticism to
determine what events in her life may have informed her story.
2. What is regionalism? What are the characteristics of this literary movement within
realism?
3. As you read the story, note the characteristics of regionalism.
“The Revolt of Mother” (1891)
(Note that some questions contain a bold faced word. If you do not know the meaning of the
word, look it up in one of the glossaries on my homepage.)
1. Note the title. Based on the title, what does Freeman you for? Note that the word mother
is in quotation marks.
2. Note the exposition. How does Father respond to Sarah’s questions?
3. Describe Sarah Penn. What does Freeman often associate with Sarah’s physical
appearance? Do you think the word applies for her?
4. What seems to be the initial conflict of this story? How is this conflict indicative of a
larger conflict in the Penn household?
5. Describe the Penn’s house. What had Adoniram promised forty years ago?
6. Where is the new barn to be built?
7. Sammy knows about the barn, but Sarah does not. Explain.
8. Does the Penn family really need a new barn? Offer proof.
9. How does the new barn function as a symbol? Contrast the house and the barn. In what
ways do these two structures represent gendered space?
10. Describe Sammy. In what ways is he like his father?
11. How does Sarah wash the dishes after her conversation with Sammy? Explain.
12. What does Sarah say about men to her daughter?
13. In spite of the conflict with her husband, what does Sarah say to Nanny about Adoniram?
Account for Sarah’s words.
14. On the day of Sarah’s encounter with her husband, what does the bake for dinner?
Explain.
15. Note the showdown Sarah has with her husband. How does Sarah stand in the doorway
before her conversation with Father?
16. Sarah makes a long case for her viewpoint on the new barn. How does her husband react?
17. After her long argument, what action does Sarah next take in the house?
18. What unusual idea does Nanny have about her upcoming wedding?
19. When Adoniram gets ready for his trip, what does Sarah do for her husband? What does
this action say about her?
20. When Sarah moves into the barn, how does the town react?
21. Who comes to visit with Sarah concerning the move to the barn? Describe the scene in
detail. Note how Sarah works with the peas!
22. Where does Sarah house the cows after the move? What is the irony?
23. How does Adoniram react when he returns and discovers what Sarah has done? What
does Sarah do for him?
24. Account for Sarah’s final reaction when she puts the apron to her face.
25. Comment on Adoniram’s last line to her. What is your final estimate of Adoniram? Is he
a good man?
26. Where is the climax of this story?
CRITICAL THINKING
1. Are Sarah’s actions a threat to family solidarity? Take a stance and prove your point.
2. Compare and contrast Adoniram and Sammy.
3. Make a character study of Adoniram. What are the features of his personality? His
strengths? Weaknesses?
4. Does Adoniram resent what Sarah has done? Does he show any love or affection or
understanding?
5. State a possible theme of this story.
6. Note the use of language in this story. How do the men speak? How do the women
speak?
7. Apply feminist criticism to this story. In what was is the story a study of female
language and space.