Looking at the title for "The Miracle", one can see that the year it was published was in 1928. The date brings to mind some common stereotypes about the era, such as of a society where households complied with some of the more traditional aspects. For example, when I think of a 20's era house, I think of a house that is traditionally androcentric, with the wife as a keeper of the house and slightly submissive character. Ford's "The Miracle", however, defies this notion almost from the first line. Miss Sinclair is asserted as the main power in the story. It is largely written in her voice, and for this reason it seems as if she does most of the thinking. Her judgments of the Professor are the only ones we see, and she more than once displays her opinion in her superior position. For example, she is the one who hid the collar-studs from the Professor, and she also asserts that she is the one with the truly "Scientific Mind". All of this seems to contradict the traditional ideal of a woman as one who quietly sits back and is submussive, and who especially lets the husband do the science. In her function within the story, however, Miss Sinclair seems to still give off the impression of the submissive housewife. For example, we learn that she doesn't dare contradict him in his impression of himself as having a Scientific Mind, or that he subconsciously does things when he is thinking. Also, she does not let him know of the judgments (for purposes of eugenics) she passes on him. And, above all, she knows when to submit in order to, ultimately get her way. This is apparent at the end of the story, when it is clear that she does no believe in the Professor's faith, but she pretends to go along with it anyway. In this story, the role of the female is two-fold: to the reader, she is the strongest character and takes rule of the household, but, to the characters in the story, she is still submissive.
These roles become even more interesting when juxtaposed with the ideologies in which they represent. Throughout, Miss Sinclair is represented as calculating, scientific, and no-nonsensical. She considers herself to have the "Scientific Mind", and is interested in eugenics. The Professor, on the other hand, is represented as scatter-brained, absent-minded, and subject to his wife's criticism and manipulations. His most important characteristic is that he had a revelation while bathing, where he realized his belief in "Special Providence". Thus, there is an apparent contrast between the science of Miss Sinclair and the spirituality of the Professor. When these inherent characteristics are looked at in conjunction with the roles they play, a possible message of the story is seen. Perhaps, because of Miss Sinclair's domination in the story, and her power over the Professor, Ford is making the claim that science is stronger than spirituality, or faith. This is supported by Miss Sinclair's frequent interruption of the Professor while he is telling her of his revelation, as well as her guessing the end of his story, when he forgot the cigarettes. She always holds the upper hand. This is especially apparent at the end, where she tries to go along with his newfound faith by offering to go to church. From her earlier narration, however, when she explains that she has learned when "it is wiser to submit, the whole being greater than the part", we know that she submits only because she knows it will contribute to her plan as a whole. Thus, she is shown as having complete power over the Professor, especially after he has his revelation and becomes linked with faith.
As far as religion goes, I think that Ford discredits it by also including the whole collar-stud scenario. From this, we learn that he is prone to forgetfulness, which rather discedits him as having believable ideas. Aside from this, however, the collar-studs make the point that, when he is thinking, he does things that he doesn't remember doing. This becomes important in his story of the bombinb raid. He says that it seemed to take him hours to pack all the bombs in the knapsack, but that it went extraordinarily quick. Perhaps, it can be inferred that he was caught in thought where he didn't realize what he was doing. If this was the case, then he may very well have packed the cigarettes up without realizing it. This would mean that the miracle never actually happened, which would discredit his story and the whole reason for his faith. His revelation becomes illogical, and just a consequence of his absent-mindedness. Because of this, and because of Miss Sinclair's manipulations, the root of science is portrayed as winning out over religion.
