Gender Issues in Freeman’s The Revolt of Mother

Abstract

This paper analyses the gender role in Mary E. Wilkins Freeman's (1890) one of the most popular short stories, The Revolt of Mother through a Marxist feminist perspective. The story depicts the gender disparity created by the patriarchal American society of the nineteenth century and the revolt of a female character, Sarah as the indication of the women's movement of 1848. The analysis of the story reveals how females are dominated and oppressed by the males in the family and also in society concerning decision-making affairs. Furthermore, it shows that if male domination and suppression continue without understanding females’ desires and fulfilling the promises made for them, they can be turned into rebellions and the traditional gender dichotomy can be broken down in a while as the protagonist appears in the story. This article also relates gender discrimination and proposes possible ways to maintain the equality and harmony between males and females concerning Nepali society.