Religion In The 19th Century Essay

In the 19th century the church taught and believed that women had no voice of reason and had to submit to have a new house built in that lot over in the field before the year was out” said Sarah Penn to her husband Adoniram. The same husband who promised her the house of her dreams the day they married forty years ago. Forty years has passed and Sarah remains in the home the two wed in with their two children. No new house but her husband is building a new barn where her home she was promised should lay. Sarah Peen actions threatens the community stability.

While Adonriam has not fulfilled his promise Sarah does not let that abandon her duties as a wife. Sarah remains a good wife and continues to keep their home unblemished, food on the table,

However, as it turns out, Sarah put a halt to what the minister thought he could do which was deter her from moving into the new barn. “There ain’t no use talkin’, Mr. Hersey.” She told him that what she does is between God, her husband, and herself. At this point, the minister gives up to Sarah. This confrontation of Sarah with the minister symbolizes the conflict between the woman and the church. Religion is a major part in the people's lives in this time era, and is an extremely powerful means to manipulate the human's thinking and actions. Churches took the lead in making up social rules and standards, and supervise that people follow them. The society's fundamentals are laid down by the church and are seen as the morally truthful guidelines of life. In the 19th century, the church taught that women had to submit to men, and therefore, strengthen the structure of the patriarchal society. As Sarah explains herself to the minister, she also reveals her standpoint to the society that as long as what she does doesn't go against God's will, other people has no right preventing her. When Mother decides to stand up to her husband, she is aware of the social force that stands behind him, ready to undermine her will and get the whole lot of things back to its routine. By moving the house to the barn, Sarah goes against every social rule at the time, when women still had little