ICSA TODAY 24
Book Review
Quivering Daughters: Hope
and Healing for the Daughters
of Patriarchy
By Hilary McFarland (Edited by Megan Lindsay)
Dallas, TX: Darklight Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0-9844686-0-7
(paperback). 232 pages. Currently out of print available via
Amazon.com: new from $180.86, used from $46.79 Google
books: $9.59 free ebook download: http://librebood.com/
libre/Hillary%20McFarland/Quivering%20Daughters%20
%281774%29/Quivering%20Daughters%20-%20
Hillary%20McFarland.pdf)
Review by Lawrence A. Pile
Author Hilary McFarland exposes a fairly well-hidden
subculture in North America that goes by several names:
patriarchy, Christian patriarchy, neopatriarchy, the Quiverfull
Movement, and the like. Both words patriarchy and quiverfull
derive from the Bible. The first occurs twice in the New
Testament book of Acts (2:29) in reference to King David, the
second in the book of Hebrews (7:4), in reference to Abraham
as the patriarch of the Jewish race. The second word, quiverfull,
is not found as such in the Bible but the concept is there, in
Psalm 127:3–5, which reads as follows:
3 Lo, sons are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the
womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons of
one’s youth.
5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them!
He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with
his enemies in the gate. (Revised Standard Version
[RSV], emphasis added)
The meaning is this: As arrows enable a man to affect events
at a distance (the killing of a deer for supper, or an enemy for
protection of his family), so children enable a man to affect
events at a distance spatially (as children grow up and move
to other places), chronologically (as they have families of their
own and carry on family values in later generations), and right
at home (as they are able to share family responsibilities). The
meaning does not include the idea of children forfeiting all or
part of their normal childhood for the sake of taking on the
role of surrogate mother or father because the parent(s) is(are)
too weighted down with responsibilities (or, perhaps, too
irresponsible).
McFarland knows well whereof she writes, being the eldest
of 11 children born to a couple who chose to live according
to the principles and values of the neopatriarchal movement.
Although movement families cannot be said to exhibit all
the same characteristics in the same degree, neopatriarchal
families do follow a similar pattern. The most notable trait is, as
the term quiverfull indicates, large families. The author explains:
Quiverfull is a lifestyle in which parents keep an “open
womb” and view children as a blessing, welcoming
as many as God wants to send. Many consider this
“letting God plan the family” or “giving God control
of our fertility” instead of usurping His place through
human intervention. This way of life is based on
Psalm 127…1
In addition to having many children, most patriarchal families
homeschool those children, believing the public school system
to be full of bad influences, including the teaching of evolution
and the ready availability of illegal drugs. (MacFarland makes
it clear that not all homeschoolers are neopatriarchal. Many
provide healthy environments in which to raise their children.)
In fact, among patriarchal families, society in general is
regarded as holding many dangers, particularly for the young
and vulnerable. The more extreme families (although probably
a minority) live “off the grid” entirely, as virtual survivalists.
These families grow most of their own food and may even
make some of their own clothing. Some raise livestock—
maybe a cow or two, or four or five goats, for milk and cheese
and so on. This scenario indicates that the first of Robert J.
Lifton’s characteristics of thought reform2— milieu control—is
much in evidence among neopatriarchal families.
McFarland’s book is well written. Some parts read like prose
poetry, especially a section at the end of chapter 2. Here she
graphically, and almost lyrically, describes woods and fields she
and her sisters loved to walk and ride their bikes in—those rare
times when they were free of responsibilities.
In spite of such evocative sections scattered throughout
the book, on the whole the book is not an easy read—not
because of the style, but because of the content. It was
difficult especially for me as an evangelical Christian to
read McFarland’s and others’ accounts of life as a “quivering
daughter.” The author writes of growing up in an extreme, or
neopatriarchal family, the seriously distorted concepts of what
the Christian way of life should be, and the consequences in
the minds, bodies, and spirits of the girls and women raised in
such an environment. McFarland dwells on the adverse effects
such large families (and often primitive living conditions) have
While Quiverfull
teaching exalts children
as supreme blessings, it
doesn’t reveal its grim
underside…
Book Review
Quivering Daughters: Hope
and Healing for the Daughters
of Patriarchy
By Hilary McFarland (Edited by Megan Lindsay)
Dallas, TX: Darklight Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0-9844686-0-7
(paperback). 232 pages. Currently out of print available via
Amazon.com: new from $180.86, used from $46.79 Google
books: $9.59 free ebook download: http://librebood.com/
libre/Hillary%20McFarland/Quivering%20Daughters%20
%281774%29/Quivering%20Daughters%20-%20
Hillary%20McFarland.pdf)
Review by Lawrence A. Pile
Author Hilary McFarland exposes a fairly well-hidden
subculture in North America that goes by several names:
patriarchy, Christian patriarchy, neopatriarchy, the Quiverfull
Movement, and the like. Both words patriarchy and quiverfull
derive from the Bible. The first occurs twice in the New
Testament book of Acts (2:29) in reference to King David, the
second in the book of Hebrews (7:4), in reference to Abraham
as the patriarch of the Jewish race. The second word, quiverfull,
is not found as such in the Bible but the concept is there, in
Psalm 127:3–5, which reads as follows:
3 Lo, sons are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the
womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons of
one’s youth.
5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them!
He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with
his enemies in the gate. (Revised Standard Version
[RSV], emphasis added)
The meaning is this: As arrows enable a man to affect events
at a distance (the killing of a deer for supper, or an enemy for
protection of his family), so children enable a man to affect
events at a distance spatially (as children grow up and move
to other places), chronologically (as they have families of their
own and carry on family values in later generations), and right
at home (as they are able to share family responsibilities). The
meaning does not include the idea of children forfeiting all or
part of their normal childhood for the sake of taking on the
role of surrogate mother or father because the parent(s) is(are)
too weighted down with responsibilities (or, perhaps, too
irresponsible).
McFarland knows well whereof she writes, being the eldest
of 11 children born to a couple who chose to live according
to the principles and values of the neopatriarchal movement.
Although movement families cannot be said to exhibit all
the same characteristics in the same degree, neopatriarchal
families do follow a similar pattern. The most notable trait is, as
the term quiverfull indicates, large families. The author explains:
Quiverfull is a lifestyle in which parents keep an “open
womb” and view children as a blessing, welcoming
as many as God wants to send. Many consider this
“letting God plan the family” or “giving God control
of our fertility” instead of usurping His place through
human intervention. This way of life is based on
Psalm 127…1
In addition to having many children, most patriarchal families
homeschool those children, believing the public school system
to be full of bad influences, including the teaching of evolution
and the ready availability of illegal drugs. (MacFarland makes
it clear that not all homeschoolers are neopatriarchal. Many
provide healthy environments in which to raise their children.)
In fact, among patriarchal families, society in general is
regarded as holding many dangers, particularly for the young
and vulnerable. The more extreme families (although probably
a minority) live “off the grid” entirely, as virtual survivalists.
These families grow most of their own food and may even
make some of their own clothing. Some raise livestock—
maybe a cow or two, or four or five goats, for milk and cheese
and so on. This scenario indicates that the first of Robert J.
Lifton’s characteristics of thought reform2— milieu control—is
much in evidence among neopatriarchal families.
McFarland’s book is well written. Some parts read like prose
poetry, especially a section at the end of chapter 2. Here she
graphically, and almost lyrically, describes woods and fields she
and her sisters loved to walk and ride their bikes in—those rare
times when they were free of responsibilities.
In spite of such evocative sections scattered throughout
the book, on the whole the book is not an easy read—not
because of the style, but because of the content. It was
difficult especially for me as an evangelical Christian to
read McFarland’s and others’ accounts of life as a “quivering
daughter.” The author writes of growing up in an extreme, or
neopatriarchal family, the seriously distorted concepts of what
the Christian way of life should be, and the consequences in
the minds, bodies, and spirits of the girls and women raised in
such an environment. McFarland dwells on the adverse effects
such large families (and often primitive living conditions) have
While Quiverfull
teaching exalts children
as supreme blessings, it
doesn’t reveal its grim
underside…
