MY MOTHER AT SIXTY SIX

KAMALA DAS
Universal Theme: Social isolation and loneliness grips
the elderly when their offsprings move out in the world to
fulfil their lofty ambitions which they chalk out
for themselves and their economic appetite. Gradually, a
sense of detachment looms large on parent - child
relationship.

Subjective Theme: The poem revolves around the

theme of advancing age and fear that pronounces the loss
and separation. It also touches upon the filial bond
smeared in the backdrop of nostalgia and the fear of
future without the mother.

Essence of the Poem: The poem profiles the

helplessness of modern youth embroiled in the
vicissitudes of life. The sustenance of status quo in this
modern world of consumerism is an uphill task for them.
Their temporal existence in this motorized society is
assessed by their success in mapping their trajectory
farther and farther. Thus, they become unmindful of
disgusting their responsibilities towards their aging
parents, albeit unintentionally. However, one cannot deny
the fact that their feelings for their parents remains intact.
The poem is thus an intricate motley of fundamental
human tendencies- love for parents and fear of separation
from them.
The poem is born of love. The insertion of the
possessive pronoun ' My' before Mother validates
that.

Stream of Consciousness Technique:

The phrase SOC was first used as a literary technique by

William James which became widely adopted as a term of
art in literary criticism during the 20th Century. Many of
the literary experiments of the early 20th Century sought
to represent consciousness as a private affair of person
experienced from within. In these work of arts , the inner
life of the characters are illustrated by the writer as a
combination of their sensations , memories , thoughts ,
feelings and emotional condition.
Stream means a chain of unbroken thoughts while
consciousness means awareness of human experiences.
Kamala Das has adopted the SOC technique not
only to show what the character is thinking but to
replicate the experience of thinking which allows
the reader to enter the mind and world of the
character more fully.

Significance of 66: According to Hermetic beliefs ( one

of the oldest non- Christian belief systems still practised
today) , 6 stands for divine beauty. 66 therefore stands for
more beautiful. The total of 6and 6 sums up to 12, which
is the total number of zodiac signs. The number 12 is
suggestive of Totality of Creation. A mother invariably
stands for Totality of Creation. She is the primary care
giver to the child who is a beautiful extension of her being.
According to some other beliefs, Angel Number 66 is a
symbol of maternity and nurturing. Further, in other views,
66 resembles double quotation marks which indicates
separation estrangement.

Technicalities of the Poem: My Mother at 66 is a prime

example of confessional poetry. The poem follows a single
line thought and is as intense in its emotion as it is subtle
in its approach.The poem makes use of natural unaffected
rhythm(blank verse), striking imagery and sense of
movement to convey the physical , psychological realms
with great fluidity. The poem engages with a plethora of
emotions ranging from love , pain, nostalgia and despair
while dealing with the subtle intricacies of mother-
daughter relationship. The undertone of the poem is
melancholy and reflection of a lonely heart.

In the poem , Kamala Das the poetess has

used enjambment as she has written the whole
poem without any full stop in a single sentence.

Enjambment is a literary device in which a line

of poetry carries its idea or thought over to the next
line without a grammatical pause. This means that
the thought or idea “steps over” the end of a line in
a poem and into the beginning of the next line.

Division of the poem: For the sake of comprehending

the poem, we shall divide the analysis of the poem into
two parts:
A. The first part of the analysis will deal with the sensory
and emotional experience of the poet persona while
travelling in the car. (Lines 1 - 14)
B. The second part of the analysis will deal with her
contemplation, grave apprehension , agony and turmoil at
the airport before separating from her mother. ( Lines 15 -
28)

Driving from my parents home : The usage of present

progressive tense signifies momentum of an ongoing
journey. It lays emphasis on the central idea of the poem,
which is movement.

Idea of Movement: The idea of movement is central to

the poem.
a. The physical movement to the airport.
b. The emotional and psychological journey of the poet.
c. The movement of the mother towards her death.

Cochin- It is renowned as the financial, commercial and

industrial capital of Kerala. Metaphorically, it is a land of
colossal attainments , enormous exposure and the best
place to gratify one's economic appetite. It’s a place which
ensures material prosperity of youngsters who set sight on
monumental heights in the careers.

Morning: Morning stands for new hopes, new dreams

and new aspiration.
 Last Friday Morning: The poet is entering a new world
leaving her world with the mother behind. Although she is
jubilant, the childish treble of separation plagues her.
Words are indicated to signify time, space and position
(‘beside me’). The act of ‘seeing’ poses as a stationary
moment as against the kinetic act of ‘driving’. The drive
from home to Cochin also serves to illustrate the metaphor
of journey as experience.

I saw my mother beside me: The mother was

accompanying the daughter to see her off at the airport .
It signifies the Indian ideology to exude all pervading
conviviality, vibrance and radiant optimism at the moment
of departure to a distant land.

Saw my mother: It was a, moment of awareness for the

poet to glance at the mother in her personal space. Far
away from the hustle bustle of a demanding career, she
manages to glean few moments to observe her mother.
This word acts as an antidote to the central idea of
movement.

Last Friday Morning: The poet is entering a new world

leaving her world with the mother behind. Although she is
jubilant, the childish treble of separation plagues her.

The mother was napping while accompanying the poet.

Probably, the steady vibrations at low frequencies of the
moving car induced sleepiness.
 Open mouthed: This expression defines the mother's
aging. She is probably over wrought and fatigued .

Doze, open mouthed............of a corpse: The imagery

of eventual death has been evoked by Kamala Das. The
hollowness Life and inevitability of Death is echoed in. A
terrible numbness engulfs the poet at the sight of the
mother. The mother is napping, oblivious and unmindful
to her surrounding owing to her old age. The physical
state of the mother is decaying and degenerating. The
poet also highlights the torpidity associated with old age
and the fact that she is inching towards her death. The
striking image of a woman weakened by age, dozing off
with her mouth open leaves a very strong impression on
the poet who feels that her mother’s face resembles the
pale face of a dead body ( like that of a corpse). The
thought of her mother rapidly advancing (quite like them
in the car) towards death deeply agitated the poet.

Corpse conjures the image of morbidity. The mother

appears lifeless and inert . It reminds the poet that the
mother is lumbering towards her death and that her days
are numbered.

Ashen : It is the colour of dreariness and depression.

When the poet glances at the mother's face, the fabric of
pessimism, lack of spirit and fear overpowers her psyche.
She experiences unsettling feelings and thus becomes
morose.
Face ashen like that of a corpse: FOS Simile. Simile is
a comparison of two things, however different in other
respects, have some strong points in common. Similes use
the words ‘as’ or ‘like’ to make the connection between the
two things that are being compared.

Thought: A psychological flicker, this thought refers to

the poet's state of mind . She is caught in a trapezium of
emotions vacillating between agony, fear , apprehension
and anxiety. He premonition of losing her mother eclipses
her psyche. The mother on the flip side is languishing in a
world oblivious to her surroundings and her daughter. The
poet has very little to do in the mother's world. She feels
ostracized from the world of her mother. Dejected, the
poet looks out of the car window pane to obliterate her
negative feelings.

IMAGERY OF CONTRAST:
This transition from the stillness of the dozing mother to
the frivolity and movement of youth through a single
glance is simply remarkable.

The literary device of Antithesis is used to bring

out the distinctive features of the two different
worlds separated by a window pane – one with the
infirmity of old age and the other tinted with the
frolic of youth.

Antithesis: It is the use of words or phrases with

opposite meanings balanced against each other. Contrast
between vitality of young trees sprinting and merry
children spilling with that of frailty of the mother.

The device of personification used to describe the trees

‘sprinting’ outside. They are likened to children “young
trees sprinting’’ while describing their apparent movement
as seen from inside the car. The merry children on the
other hand, are said to be “spilling” out of their homes,
thus providing a fluid nature to their happy movement.
The figure of speech deployed is Metaphor.

Young trees sprinting : The young trees seem to be

running in opposite direction when seen through a moving
car.
Merry children spilling: The happy children are bursting
out from their homes just like pea pods spill out when the
pea is shelled.

Analysis: This movement perceived by the poet evokes

the image of life, vitality , activity and fluidity . While the
mother is an image of fading away of life, fragility, frailty
and stillness associated with old age.

Depiction of human subject( children) in terms of

an inanimate object (trees) is known as
CHREMAMORPHISM.

If personification is the technique of giving

inanimate (things not alive) human
characteristics, Chremamorphism is giving
characteristics of an object to a person. For
example: "she shined upon him with her eyes"
gives qualities of an object, like a star, to a person.

Imagery: Imagery is a rhetoric device that deals

with words or phrases that appeal to any sense or
any combination of senses. On one hand, the poem
deals with the imagery of contrast and on the other
it deals with the imagery of internal sensation. The
poem deals with fear, pain , worry and anxiety of
the poet , her internal sensations which plague her
when she drives back from her parents’ home to
Cochin.

Airport: The poet notices that the airport too is brimming

with activities. The airport is suggestive of the fact that the
poet is taking off to a distant place. Metaphorically, it hints
at estrangement or separation of the mother and
daughter. The mother is at 66 (the age resembles double
quotation marks) when emotional disconnect or
estrangement punctuates their lives.

Security check: It literally means that the passengers

filter through the customer care.

Ironically it means that although she is standing at the

security check, she is insecure from within. With great
stoicism she accepts this menacing milestone of life.
Although she is preparing herself for the separation from
her mother, she is emotionally devastated. Her insecurity
is a reflection of her agitation, fear, agony and most
importantly love for her mother.

Wan , pale: FOS Tautology. A tautology is an

expression or phrase where two near synonyms are placed
consecutively or very close together for effect. Often it is
used to add emphasis or clarity to the idea which the poet
seeks to establish.

A brilliant imagery of the winter moon is used in this part

of the poem. “Winter” is used to evoke a sense of an
ending (like the ageing mother), a certain frigid, inert state
(like that of a corpse) and the inevitable darkness (death)
that is to follow. Winter is the last phase of the season.
Late winter's moon is dull, dim, hazy, colourless , devoid
of brightness . The comparison with late winter's moon
symbolises ebbing away of life. It also conjures the image
of approaching end , decay and degeneration of life
force.

Also, moon has stereotypically received a feminine

treatment and the simile “as a pale moon” is quite apt to
describe the luminous pallor of the aged mother.

Familiar ache: The psychological turbulence of the poet

resurfaces once again. She feels a faint ache gnawing
within her. The poet was familiar with the pain as she had
often , like any other child. She feared the very thought of
separating from her parents and losing them to the
inevitable. These thoughts once again beset her with
sorrow and insecurity.

All I said was: Lot of thoughts and emotions were

coursing through the poet's mind. Probably, she wanted to
say something meaningful or hug her.

All I did was: The poet tried to put up her brave front .
Possibly, she is trying to convince herself that her fears
were unfounded. That's why she smiled at her mother.
The smile was a facade to conceal her agitation.

All I said was…..all I did was: FOS Anaphora:The

repetition of word or phrase at the beginning of successive
clauses.

Smile ....smile and smile... : FOS

Iteration/Repetition. The poet is now overtaken by
terrible numbness and helplessness. A realization has
dawned upon her that she is not near her mother when
she needs her the most. Her guilt ridden conscious plagues
her . The forced smile is the facade to garb her genuine
feelings. It is a smile of reassurance, hope , radiant
optimism which she tries to infuse in her being . The smile
is the manifestation of her passive acceptance of the
inevitable which would mark the ultimate separation from
her mother. It is the smile which precedes the separation:
the moment of reconciliation, reassurance and acceptance
which she invariably strives to embed in her psyche.
See you soon Amma: FOS Apostrophe.The poet
probably lambasted herself for her unfilial act of moving
away from her mother. This regret adds to the quantum of
her trepidation. The mother however accepts the
estrangement with customary stoicism. Her impassioned
plea, " see you soon Amma " is the transcription of the
inner recesses of her heart.

Apostrophe: Apostrophe is a figure of speech in which

someone absent or dead or something non-human is
addressed as if alive and present and able to reply.

Irony inherent in the conclusion: The poem ends with

an ellipsis thus lending a mysterious end to the poem. Her
parting words and her prolonged smile are ironical.They
are a sharp contrast to the mysterious premonition and
agony the poet experiences with regard to her ageing
mother and her frail health.

Significance of ellipsis: The poem ends with an ellipsis

to signify that the spontaneous overflow of poet's
emotions hasn't ended and another set of profound words
would yet again convey the same excruciating pain which
the poet has articulated throughout the poem.

Ellipsis: It is the omission of a word or words. It refers to

constructions in which words are left out of a sentence but
the sentence can still be understood.

Questions
1. The poem mirrors the modern society. Elaborate.
2. The mood and setting in the poem comes a full cycle.
Explain.
3. Explain the contrasting situations in the poem.
4. Why is the poet morose?
5. Through vivid imageries, what does the poet seek to
establish?
6. The poem is a reflection of a lonely heart. Comment.
7. The poet reinforces a warning to the youngsters.
Explain.
8. Action and emotion are beautifully intertwined in the
poem. Validate.

Value Points
1. The poem profiles the helplessness of modern youth
embroiled in the vicissitudes of life. The sustenance of
status quo in this modern world of consumerism is an
uphill task for them. Their temporal existence in this
motorized society is assessed by their success in mapping
their trajectory farther and farther. Thus, they become
unmindful of disbursing their responsibilities towards their
aging parents, albeit unintentionally. However, one cannot
deny the fact that their feelings for their parents remain
intact. The youngsters now a days in order to satisfy their
economic appetite leave their parents and go to distant
lands far away from them just like the poet in the poem
was going to Cochin leaving her old and helpless mother
behind. Thus the poem mirrors the modern society.

2. The poet is leaving with a heavy heart. She glances at

her mother while the journey is underway. The emotional
upheaval she undergoes. Her parting words and her
smile.

3.The poem represents a transition from the stillness of

the dozing mother to the frivolity and movement of youth
through a single glance. The literary device of antithesis is
used to bring out the distinctive features of the two
different words separated by a window pane- one with the
infirmity of old age and the other tinted with the frolic of
youth. The poem brings about a contrast in the emotional
and psychological journey of the poet. The first part deals
with the sensory and emotional experience of the poet
persona while travelling in the car. On the other hand, the
second part deals with her contemplation, grave
apprehension, agony and turmoil at the airport before
separating from her mother.

4.This transition from the stillness of the dozing mother to

the frivolity and movement of youth through a single
glance is simply remarkable. The poet observes two
different worlds separated by a window pane – one with
the infirmity of old age and the other tinted with the frolic
of youth. The merry children are said to be “spilling” out of
their homes, thus providing a fluid nature to their happy
movement. The other contrasting situations in the poem
arises when the poet arrived at the airport as it hints to
the separation or estrangement of the mother and
daughter. When the poet surges ahead to the security
check to filter through the customer care, the imagery of
contrast is illuminated as, although the poet was standing
at the security check, she was insecure from within.
5.The poet becomes morose because she experiences
unsettling feelings. When the poet glances at the mother’s
face, the fabric of pessimism, lack of spirit and fear
overpowers her psyche. She is caught in a trapezium of
emotions vacillating between agony, fear , apprehension
and anxiety. Her premonition of losing her mother eclipses
her psyche. The mother on the flip side is languishing in a
world oblivious to her surroundings and her daughter. The
poet has very little to do in the mother’s world. She feels
ostracized from the world of her mother. A terrible
numbness engulfs the poet at the sight of the mother. The
striking image of a woman weakened by age, dozing off
with her mouth open leaves a very strong impression on
the poet who feels that her mother’s face resembles the
pale face of a dead body(like that of a corpse). The
thought of her mother rapidly advancing towards death
deeply agitated the poet.

6.The poet uses vivid imageries to explain her love for her
mother and also the pain she experienced when she
parted from her mother which was not temporary
according to her premonitions. From starting the poem
lists imageries like the poet seeing her mother, it was a
moment of awareness for the poet to glance at the mother
in her personal space, far away from the hustle bustle of
a demanding career. The imagery of open mouthed
napping mother conveys the imagery of eventual death as
evoked by the poet. The hollowness of life and inevitability
of death is echoed in. A terrible numbness engulfs the
poet at the sight of the mother. When the poet felt morose
she glanced out of the car window. She saw the sight of
“young trees sprinting” and “merry children spilling”. She
saw two different worlds separated by a window pane.
One with the infirmity of old age and the other tinted with
the frolic of youth. This movements perceived by the poet
evokes the images of life, vitality, activity and fluidity while
the mother was the image of fading away of life, fragility
and stillness associated with old age.
The undertone of the poem is melancholy and reflection of
a lonely heart.
My Mother at 66 is a prime example of confessional
poetry. The poem follows a single line thought and is as
intense in its emotion as it is subtle in its approach. The
poem makes use of natural unaffected rhythm(blank
verse), striking imagery and sense of movement to
convey the physical , psychological realms with great
fluidity. The poem engages with a plethora of emotions
ranging from love , pain, nostalgia and despair while
dealing with the subtle intricacies of mother- daughter
relationship.

7.The poem profiles warning to the modern youth

embroiled in the vicissitudes of life. The sustenance of
status quo in this modern world of consumerism is an
uphill task for them. Their temporal existence in this
motorized society is assessed by their success in mapping
their trajectory farther and farther. Thus, they become
unmindful of disbursing their responsibilities towards their
aging parents, albeit unintentionally. However, one cannot
deny the fact that their feelings for their parents remains
intact. The youngsters now a days in order to satisfy their
economic appetite leave their parents and go to distant
lands far away from them just like the poet in the poem
was going to Cochin leaving her old and helpless mother
behind. Thus the poem mirrors the modern society.

8.The poem My Mother at Sixty Six is a touching poem

written by Kamala Das which harps upon the central
theme of ageing, the immense love and the pain of
separation. It seizes the reader’s attention and highlights
the bond which exists between a mother and a daughter.
It conveys the insecurities of a daughter who is going
through the realization of pain of separation from her
mother. It has blend of emotions of love,pain and
separation. The action and emotions in the poem are
intertwined beautifully to showcase the pure relationship
of a daughter and a mother.