“A Woman Mourned by Daughters”, by Adrienne Rich, is a very descriptive poem in which two wo
men are speaking to their dead mother. There are several parts to this poem starting from the when
the mother dies, and moving gradually backward to when the daughters were young girls.
It begins wi
th the daughters sitting in their mothers kitchen, “mourning” over their mothers death, only they ar
en’t upset or crying (Lines 1-3). They are “spent” (drained and tired) from all the pressure their m
other put on them, before and after she died.
The next section (Lines 4-10) is a description of t
heir dead mother as a persistent presence in their lives. They are so burdened by the power she sti
ll carries over them, even though she is no longer living.
They proceed in speaking about her as an
elderly woman, weak and frail, “a straw blown on the bed” (Lines 11-14). The describe her on her
death bed. “Like a corpse pulled from the sea”.
In the fourth section (Lines 15-20) they discuss th
at what upsets them now that she is gone, isn’t the fact that she died, it is all the things that sh
e used to do to them. A knot forms in their throats (“what rises in our throats like the food you p
rodded in”) as they think about how they used to be treated.
After the mother dies, the daughters a
re left with several responsibilities which are discussed in the next section (Lines 22-28). These
responsibilities are not ones which the daughters would be happy to take care of. They are so hatef
ul toward their mother and the problems she left are only a burden to them. They feel that they are
still being pushed around even after she is dead. Even the thought of taking care of their sick an
d dying father is thought of as a chore instead of a blessing.
The final section of this poem (Line
s 29-33) basically states that if they do something, and it isn’t exactly the way their mother would
have wished it done, they will be punished. They will feel the guilt from their mother, from beyon
d the grave, if they do not do things the way she did them, or would have wanted them done.
The au
thor of this poem made the daughters the speaker and the mother the auditor. In some ways it makes
you feel sorry for the mother, yet in others you feel sorry that the daughters went through all this
and have to live with it for the rest of their lives. It probably would have been written totally
different if it were written in the eyes of the dead mother as opposed to the daughters.
------------------------------------------------------------- woman mourned daughters adrienne rich very de
scriptive poem which women speaking their dead mother there several parts this poem starting from wh
en mother dies moving gradually backward when daughters were young girls begins with daughters sitti
ng their mothers kitchen mourning over their mothers death only they aren upset crying lines they sp
ent drained tired from pressure mother them before after died next section lines description dead pe
rsistent presence lives they burdened power still carries over them even though longer living procee
d speaking about elderly woman weak frail straw blown lines describe death like corpse pulled from f
ourth section discuss that what upsets them that gone fact that died things used knot forms throats
what rises throats like food prodded think about used treated after dies left with several responsib
ilities which discussed next section these responsibilities ones which would happy take care hateful
toward problems left only burden feel still being pushed around even after dead even thought taking
care sick dying father thought chore instead blessing final this poem basically states something ex
actly would have wished done will punished will feel guilt beyond grave things would have wanted don
e author this made speaker auditor some ways makes feel sorry others sorry went through have live wi
th rest lives probably been written totally different were written eyes opposedEssay, essays, termpa
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