Patience and Sarah: Analysis of Major Characters
"Patience and Sarah" explores the complex relationships and character dynamics within a narrative focused on two women navigating their love and aspirations in a restrictive society. Patience White, a 28-year-old aspiring painter, grapples with her identity and purpose while living in a household dominated by traditional expectations. Her journey of self-discovery is sparked by her relationship with Sarah Dowling, a 21-year-old who exhibits a strong yet independent spirit. Sarah's candidness about her feelings challenges societal norms, leading her to disguise herself as a man during a time of personal crisis.
The story is further enriched by a diverse cast, including Ma Dowling, who supports her daughter's desires, and Pa Dowling, whose strictness stems from his own internal struggles. Patience and Sarah's shared dreams are supported by their contrasting strengths and vulnerabilities, allowing them to complement each other as they aspire to break free from societal constraints. Meanwhile, secondary characters like Rachel and Parson Peel add layers of complexity to the narrative, highlighting the varying responses to love and desire. Overall, "Patience and Sarah" presents a nuanced exploration of identity, love, and the pursuit of happiness against the backdrop of societal limitations.
Patience and Sarah: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Isabel Miller
First published: 1969, as A Place for Us
Genre: Novel
Locale: Connecticut and New York
Plot: Love
Time: Early 1880's
Patience White, a single twenty-eight-year-old who aspires to be a painter. The house she shares with her brother and his family is half hers. She does all the necessary household chores and has no desire to marry. The daily example of Edward and Martha gives her little reason to be idealistic about marriage. Her paintings often involve stories of transformation. When she meets Sarah, who confesses her love, Patience discovers her purpose in life. Her love transforms her, making it possible to be kind even to Martha. Her love also frightens her as others learn of it; she has learned well to be concerned about appearances. That concern makes her answer no to Sarah when Sarah asks in front of Pa Dowling and Edward if Patience is still willing to go with her. Given time to reflect, she realizes that nothing would be worse than losing Sarah, so when Sarah returns, Patience becomes the force that pushes their dream to become real. Though shy, she has a strong experimental nature and a boldness many miss because of her feminine style.
Sarah Dowling, who is twenty-one years old. She is practical, hardworking, and strong like her father. Her silent independence belies her great depth of feeling, which is mixed with an ability to take risks, as she does by confessing her love to Patience. She is honest to the point of endangering her relationship with Patience by speaking openly of it, and she is forgiving, even of her father, who beats her to keep her from Patience. When Patience refuses to leave with her, her pain takes her on the road alone, disguised as a man named Sam. Her openness brings her the aid of at least one farmer's daughter and of Parson Peel. She returns less sure of her ability to make things happen and with more understanding of the limits the world places on individuals. She is therefore reluctant to leave again, despite Patience's urgings. Even when Martha walks in on them kissing and Sarah sees that Patience will not desert her again, it takes her mother's support for her to agree to go. She and Patience struggle to make use of each other's strengths and compensate for weaknesses. Sarah is trusted with the task of selecting their farm; handling “polite” society is left to Patience.
Ma Dowling, Sarah's mother. The mother of seven daughters, she has been silent in her relationship with her husband. Recently, she has begun going into the woods alone and talking to the trees. When Sarah desires to leave home, Ma helps in every way she can. She understands and supports Sarah's desire to live with Patience.
Pa Dowling, Sarah's father. A hardworking man, he chooses Sarah to help in the fields and be his “boy.” When she expresses interest in Patience, he believes that his actions caused her feelings and that he must be harsh with her. He hates beating Sarah and hates how his other daughters look at him because of it; he punishes himself through his daughter.
Rachel Dowling, the Dowlings' second daughter, deeply attached to Sarah. When told she cannot go homesteading with Sarah because Patience is now Sarah's mate, Rachel turns vengeful. She then teaches Sarah to manipulate Pa by lying to him. She represents a destructive power of love.
Parson Daniel Peel, a traveling bookseller who is about thirty years old. Every summer, he leaves his wife and large family in New York to travel. An intelligent, generous man, he hires Sam (Sarah in disguise) and teaches him to read. He may be bisexual.
Edward White, Patience's older brother and, by terms of their father's will, her keeper. He takes religious questions and his responsibilities very seriously. He loves his sister and tries to honor her happiness without compromising his own life. His relationship with his wife Martha is guided more by his roles and responsibilities as husband and father than by love.
Martha White, Edward's wife and mother of a large number of children. Before marrying Edward, she was Patience's friend. She married Edward to be close to Patience but never admitted this to Patience. She is stuck in an unhappy marriage that drains her physically and psychologically. Her dislike for Sarah is based on jealousy and the obvious way Sarah shows that social strictures can be broken.