Essay Sample on Gendered Language in Revolt of a Mother

Introduction

Gendered language is very prominent in the "revolt of a mother" since the language used in the story is geared towards making women subservient to men. The story depicts the typical woman during the 1890s and how women were viewed as the weaker sex compared to males through male chauvinism. The language used in the story towards women is authoritative, lacking respect, and reflecting cultural norms that made women be weaker sex compared to me.

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How the Lack of Voice for Mothers Is Depicted

From Cutter's point of view, the patriarchal society that existed during this time is depicted in the story, such that mothers are seen as people that should only be submissive to men in terms of owning property and making decisions at home and in the society. The gendered language in the story depicts mothers as being less intelligent, and weaker or less important than men. The subjection of women in the story is one of the issues that made mothers seen to be lesser human beings from the experience of Sarah Penn and the language used against her (Reynolds, 164). When Sarah Penn questioned her husband concerning the house, he had promised her for the last forty years, and the barn, the husband, does not even have plans to discuss this with her. The story depicts mothers as less necessary since the way the husband treats sons is in a way that makes mothers less important than their children in their marriage and lacking a voice in making decisions.

The father usually uses a gendered language to his wife that makes her not feel important in marriage and life. Even though Sarah Penn was subservient to her husband, the word that he used towards her made her think that she was not necessary as a human being in the family and the house (Reynolds, 200). Sarah Penn cannot be a speaking subject in the house since the language the husband uses in the story is mainly geared towards making her be taking instructions and not be giving instructions (Freeman 4). The language that men speak in the story is one that causes them to freely converse with themselves but speak with women using authoritative language that makes the mothers feel they only have to take what men have to offer and not the contrary.

From Cutter's point of view, the language used in the story is patriarchal and makes men feel that they are more vital compared to men to an extent where the son of Sarah Penn ignores the instructions that her mother gives to him. Even though a woman is a significant protagonist in the story, the language the father and sons use towards her is usually one that is not of respect towards women (Cutter 289). The gendered language used in the story aims at making men have power against women even if the decisions that women make are better for the family. The language used in the story makes women be people that cannot make decisions from them but rely on the choices that men make in the family and the larger society (Freeman 10). Most importantly, the cultural norms that made masculinity to thrive in New England during the time make men use authoritative language against women for anything they are supposed to do.

Works Cited

Cutter, Martha. "Frontiers of Language: Engendering Discourse in "The Revolt of 'Mother." American Literature, 63. 2 (1991): 279-291.

Freeman, Mary E. Wilkins. "The Revolt of "Mother," n.d. Web 2th May 2020. Available at https://americanliterature.com/author/mary-e-wilkins-freeman/short-story/the-revolt-of-mother.

Reynolds, Simon. The Sex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion, and Rock 'n' Roll. New York: Harvard University Press, 2016. Print.