Jewett’s work as an American poet and author influenced many authors, just as she had valued the criticism of the best before her. As Josephine Donovan has argued, Parsons, a professor and theologian, helped Sarah to see herself "as something of a missionary and a mentor to others, particularly younger women", in her life and in her career. She came to value this selected group above any of her potential audiences: "I have no greater wish," she wrote Parsons, "than to be a good friend to younger girls and I hope to be of more and more use in this way as I grow older” (Webb). She not only succeeded in this ambition, but also exceeded the goal in the years that followed, generously giving her time and energy to a whole new generation of writers like Alice Brown and Willa Cather. She would also continue to write for children throughout her life (Douglas). Jewett’s major novels are seldom the basis of critical discussions of Jewett. She is more famously known as a producer of highly-crafted regional sketches. Feminist critics often granted Jewett the high title of the first female American literary artist, but as time went on, other scholars suggested “that her artistry had never been granted more than a subordinate status in the realms of high culture” (Howard 376). They further suggested that Jewett's evasion of taking a modern political stance, a realm which the literary “sentimentalists" like Stowe had vigorously portrayed in their writings, “constituted authorship on terms which were regrettably diminished” (Webb). However, just because Jewett was not bold is taking a political side, she did, in fact, remain "politically" engaged, not only through her stories about poor widows and orphans, her sympathetic tales about the Irish, her defense of a woman's right to a professional career (A Country Doctor), her genuine commitment to developing a better comprehension between city people and country folk, and her constant pleas for conserving Nature, but also through the traditional feminine practice of "influencing" children (“Looking Back” 70). Her work always aimed at informing the public and aiding those new writers who looked to Jewett for guidance.