Mother of a Preacher

• Preacher's Daughter
• Willoughby Tucker
• Preacher's Wife
• Mother of a Preacher

Preacher's Daughter

Willoughby Tucker

Preacher's Wife

Mother of a Preacher

Mother of a Preacher
General Information
Title	Mother of a Preacher
Credits
Artist	Ethel Cain
Ethel Cain Chronology
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Mother of a Preacher is an upcoming studio album by Hayden Anhedönia under her current stage name, Ethel Cain.

Mother of a Preacher will be the third and final installment of a trilogy of albums that comprise the Ethel Cain Cinematic Universe. It will take place before the events of Preacher's Daughter and Preacher's Wife, focusing on the paternal grandmother of Ethel Cain and mother-in-law of Vera Cain, Ethel Cain Sr. She is the mother of Joseph Cain, the titular preacher in the series.

Background

Anhedönia first publicly announced plans to make a trilogy of albums while doing press for Preacher's Daughter in 2022. While little has been shared about the eldest Cain's story, she has been described by Anhedönia as "the matriarch" of the family and very significant to the overall plot of the trilogy.

It is unknown when the Mother of a Preacher record will release. It will come after Preacher's Wife, but it is likely other projects will be developed and released between the two final "tent-pole" albums in the trilogy.

Theme

Mother of a Preacher will close the trilogy of albums about the Cain family, focusing its oldest member, Ethel Cain Sr. Speaking on the role of the grandmother in the trilogy, Anhedönia shared:

“	Who’s in the story most is the grandmother. It’s a cautionary tale. It’s the story of this woman who experiences something and the way it affects her life, and the way that her actions, in retaliation, affect the rest of her family’s lives for the next fifty years. When I talk about Ethel Cain, the old woman with the hair pulled back in the white dress and the freaky-deaky old-timey American – that’s the grandmother, the matriarch of this whole story. She’s where it started and where it ends. But I’m excited to eventually get to her, because that’s the horror story: that’s where things get the darkest and the series of events are revealed that lead to Ethel Cain, her granddaughter, dying in some basement.	”

Anhedönia provided further insight into the eldest Cain's story while discussing the role of "female rage" in the world of Ethel Cain with Vice in late 2022:

“	[...] we haven’t even scratched the surface of female rage just quite yet. Because Ethel, the daughter, is definitely the victim and the unfortunate sacrifice, but we haven’t even gotten into the boss lady yet, the bloodshed is coming. It’s not from the daughter but it is in the family tree and it is in the bloodline, so it’s coming and I’m really excited. Everyone’s always like 'We love the record but we wish it was less indie pop, we want it to be more like ‘Ptolemaea’,' but for Ethel it didn’t make sense [...] But the darkness, grittiness, anger and frenetic female rage is coming. It wasn’t right for [Preacher's Daughter], but it’s coming, in full. I can’t wait to get to the darkest story.	”

According to long-time fans, there is a cult element to the character of Ethel Cain Sr. that was shared by Anhedönia as she privately discussed plans for the trilogy on a now-deleted fan Discord server. The Cain matriarch is alleged to be the leader of the Daughters of Cain cult mentioned in "Ptolemaea" lyrics. While this information cannot be verified, the character of Ethel Cain was described as a "cult leader" in some pre-Preacher's Daughter press interviews, potentially foreshadowing the eldest Cain's role in the trilogy.