The Wide, Wide World

In Susan Warner’s The Wide, Wide World, it is quite evident that the roles of parents are very crucial to the development of a child’s life. Throughout the text we see various examples of how the influence of parents and strangers instruct and shape Ellen Montgomery into a proper, God-fearing lady of the nineteenth century.
The text encourages the ideal that the role of parents is to instruct, and children are to absorb this knowledge with respect and strict obedience. Throughout the text we see Ellen following instruction given by various adults. The Doctor, for example, comes to the home and on multiple occasions instructs Ellen on how to be a good nurse to take care of her mother. I believe the role obedience is very different regarding the relationship between mother and daughter. For Ellen, “love to her mother was the strongest feeling her heart knew.” (pg. 25) and this love caused her to have a stronger will to obey and honor her mother. After many tears were shed over the thought of a near separation, Mrs. Montgomery states that she “cannot bear this much longer.” (pg 26) and Ellen’s tears ceased immediately.

The roles of mothers and fathers in the text are clearly different. Mr. Montgomery is absent throughout the majority of the text, although the reader can still sense a level of great respect from Ellen for her father. He still is the highest authority figure in her life, but he is rarely present. He is described in the text as a man “not readily touched by anything,” (pg 74) and I believe this is true to his daughter as well. He seems to take little interest in his daughter’s upbringing, leaving the responsibility of raising Ellen solely upon his ill wife. Mrs. Montgomery’s parental role is to instruct Ellen in how to be a proper lady and strong in her faith with the Lord. Mrs. Montgomery goes to great lengths in order to provide Ellen with the tools necessary for Ellen to be a success in society. This is shown especially in the passages on their day shopping for Ellen’s things.

I believe that Ellen views her mother as someone who is to be respected and obeyed. But there is a major role reversal present throughout this entire text. Ellen is both child and parent in many instances. Ellen must care to her mother while she is ill and she takes great joy in this role. “She treated it as a very grace affair.” (pg 25). She wishes to provide her mother with the best that she can offer. She also finds great joy in giving her the birds from the old gentleman. While walking with the gentleman he asks, “would you rather have something for yourself or your mother?” (pg 65) and Ellen without hesitation chooses her mother, showing all the more how much she longed to express her love to her mother. I believe that Ellen also viewed her father with respect, but they clearly had a different relationship, if a relationship at all. Much of her interactions with her father were of her following orders.