“The Wide Wide World” encourages us to view parents as the loving overseers of children. They hold supreme power and must be respected. Ellen says to her mother, “You have the management of me entirely.” Everything the parent does for the child is in the child’s best interest and preparing for the child’s future. Ellen says, “I know you’ll take care of me.” However, I get the impression from the text that the parents might not always know what is truly best for the children. Would boarding school not have been better for Ellen than going to her unknown Aunt’s? Mr. Montgomery in particular seems to have his own selfish agenda in mind as indicated my the last line of the passage: “But Ellen’s off—that’s one good thing—and now I’ll go and engage berth in the England.” Parting with his child was merely something to check off on his checklist of the day.
A father’s role is purely financial. He is meant to work hard so that the children will be able to afford the necessities for a decent future. Mr. Montgomery’s presence is not welcome and Ellen takes no enjoyment in him. He is a symbol of supreme rule and is feared and never crossed or questioned. Both Ellen and her mother have to almost slink around Mr. Montgomery in order to do what they want. When Mrs. Montgomery wants to wake up Ellen all Mr. Montgomery has to say is “I cannot allow it” and she has no choice but to follow his cruel orders.
Ellen expects her father to play as little a role in her life as possible, but to provide for her. She knows she must do whatever he dictates of her and she is too nervous around him to interact much with him. The old man was more of a father to Ellen than Mr. Montgomery. The passage says “Ellen and her protector went forth”, and as a parent’s primary job is to protect and take care of the child, the unknown gentleman better fulfills parental duties by helping Ellen shop than her true father’s incessant absence does.
Mothers are meant to be seen as the primarily caretakers for the children. A mother’s job is to prepare her daughter for her future. Mrs. Montgomery does this by making sure Ellen has every article of clothing and objects for letter writing that she could possibly need. Ellen loves her motherly almost too dearly and expects her to always be there for her and to comfort and converse with her. Her mother is her best friend and essentially her God. “She felt that in earth or in heaven there was nothing so dear [as her mother].”
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I also believe that the old man played a critical role in the development of Ellen as a person. He served as the father figure that Ellen never had because her dad was stuck traveling the entire time. I know that if Ellen would of had her dad present in more of her life that she would of changed as a human being.
ReplyDeleteLike Trevor, I agree that the old man was the key male figure in Ellen's life. As you pointed out, he played a much larger role than her own father. I wrote about a similar theme in that mother's were seen as the primary caregivers. Mrs. Montgomery does everything in her power, regardless of the expense to her health, to provide Ellen with the tools she needs to grow into a lady.
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