In the following essay, McElrath praises the construction of "The Revolt of 'Mother"' for the author's deft handling of plot, suspense, and climax. He also states that the character of Sarah Penn is a classic liberated woman over whom there is "no need to quibble [with] feminists' characteristic distortions and general hobby-horse riding."

Mary E. Wilkins Freeman's "The Revolt of Mother" is a short story which is now receiving a good deal of attention because of its relevance to the history of American feminism. The mother in revolt is one of those tough-minded, self-aware, and determined females that began to appear at the close of the nineteenth century when the so-called "New Woman" was assuming clear definition. And there's no need to quibble over feminists' characteristic distortions and general hobby-horse riding: Sarah Penn is the real thing, a female who successfully revolts against and liberates herself...