Constructions of childhood

The parents in Wide, Wide World were portrayed to the audience as role models. People you should look up too, learn from, and because parents teach you life lessons you should respect them. Parents were there to teach their children morals, which in the case of this story were done through the bible. In other instances there were simply phrases to live by. One was “have patience; and let your motto be ‘overcome evil with good’”. Ellen always took what was told to her seriously because what parents told you is crucial for life. The author was trying to send across the message that parents will teach and love you.
The role of the mother was much clearer in The Wide, Wide World because that is who Ellen spends most of her time with. The mother prepares Ellen for learning how to do jobs that women were expected to know how to do. The situation is a little different because Mrs. Montgomery was not going to be around to raise Ellen, so all she could do was prepare her for activities such as writing, and sewing. I would assume under normal circumstances the mother would actually teach the daughter the household chores and what was expected of her. Mr. Montgomery was not present for most of the story. The author suggests that he did run the house, because there were circumstances where he told his wife what to do and she obeyed. For instance, at the end of the novel when Mrs. Montgomery wants to wake and worn Ellen of her early departure, Mr. Montgomery will not allow it. I had another thought that part of the reason Mr. Montgomery was not included much in the story is because the main character is a young girl; therefore, that is for a mother to deal and work with. Had the main character been a son it is possible Mr. Montgomery would have played a more active role in his child’s life.
I wasn’t able to tell how Ellen felt about Mr. Montgomery because he wasn’t around. It seemed if he told her to do something she obeyed, which would indicate that she respected him. During the whole story Ellen constantly praises her mother and tells her how much she is going to miss her. Its seems Ellen has a firm grasp on the idea that your parents are the ones who teach you and help you grow up and that without hers she will b e alone and have to learn for herself. For example when Ellen is making toast she realizes she will never be able to make it for her mother again. She also realizes her mother will not be able to read the bible with her. Both examples are activities that you learned from your parents. Although it was implied through Ellen’s kind words that she loved and would miss her mother, as a reader I question the circumstance. Was Ellen really that close to her mother or was it due to the fact that her mother would be leaving? People act differently when someone is dying, so did that have an effect on how Ellen treated her mother?