Central Theme of 

My Mother at Sixty-Six
The poem, ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six,’  is an intimate work presenting the poet’s
thoughts. It deals with the feeling of fear and emotions that daughters
experience with their mothers. Any child is attached to its mother. Similarly,
children generally are afraid of losing their mothers. This poem brings out this
ordinary but profound human nature through a personal reverie. Death is
inevitable but people are afraid of losing their dear ones. As the poet
expresses, the bond between a mother and her child is special; and therefore,
the anxiety in losing the relationship is also strong. As its thematic concern,
the poem brings out the inner thoughts of a daughter for her mother.

Summary of My Mother at Sixty-Six

‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’ is a poem that confesses a daughter’s fear of losing
her mother. Firstly, the daughter, that is the poet, is surprised to realize that
her mother is aging. Secondly, she notices how the rest of the world appears
young and energetic. This is in contrast to her mother who continues to age.
Thirdly, the poet expresses her apprehension over losing her mother if the old
woman dies. Finally, the poet says how she hides her true feelings and smiles
outwardly. She wishes to show her love for her mother.
The poet is the confessor of feelings in this poem. She describes her feelings
for her mother while traveling in a car. It is during one of her visits to her
mother’s place. The poet looks at her mother’s face and realizes that her
mother had grown old. She is disturbed by the fact that her mother may soon
die of old age. She becomes emotional and tries to distract herself by looking
out at the passing scenery. The poet records the contrasting nature of the
scenery: there are young trees and playing children. They represent the
freshness and youth of what is on earth, while her mother looks old and frail.
In the final part of the poem, the poet expresses her fear of losing her mother
to death. Even as a young girl, the poet had similar feelings and fears. She was
so afraid of losing her mother that she would never leave her for a moment.
The poet, even as a grown-up daughter, experiences a similar emotion.
However, she can hide her fears. She smiles at her mother. She tries to
express her love and affection to her aging mother, as the poet bids goodbye
Analysis of My Mother at Sixty-Six
The opening segment of the poem, ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six,’  presents the
poet’s realization of her mother’s aging. The poet notices the old appearance
of the mother during her car journey from her place to the airport at Cochin.
The mother is sleeping with her mouth open. As the car travels, the daughter
observes her mother. The mother’s face appears ashen. The pale complexion
of the old woman is similar to that of a corpse. The mother looks as old as her
age. The thought of the corpse forces the poet to think of her mother’s death.
The sleeping form of her mother allows the poet to observe her uninhibitedly.
This makes her emotional
Middle part of the poem, ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six,’  alludes to the disturbed
state of the poet’s mind when she thinks of her mother’s death. She puts the
thoughts away. Then, she looks out through the window of the car. She looks
at the passing green trees and young children coming out of their homes to
play. The world around the poet appears young and energetic. It forms a
contrast to the state of her mother. The poet describes the youthful scenery of
the world to underscore the mature years of her mother. Furthermore, the
scenery distracts the poet for a while during the car journey.
The last part of the poem, ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six,’  highlights how reality
haunts the poet about her mother’s condition. The poet tries to distract herself
from her surroundings. But her mother’s appearance pulls her back again
during the airport security check. Once again, the poet observes her mother.
Her mother looks pale and grey. Then, the poet compares her mother to a
winter moon. This highlights that her mother is in the last stage of her life,
much like winter. The poet is once again reminded of the mother’s imminent
demise

Literary Devices:
Assonance: Here we see the use of vowel sound that is ‘o’.(To Cochin last
Friday morning)
Assonance: Use of vowel sound ‘o’,’a’, ‘e’ (doze, open mouthed, her face
ashen like that
of a corpse)
Simile: The colour of the mother’s face has been compared to that of a corpse
- ashen. use of ‘like’  (her face ashen like that of a corpse)
Consonance: use of the sound ‘s’ and ‘t’
imagery: when the poet say trees sprinting, merry children spilling
Repetition:  Repeated use of ‘looked’

Repetition: use of ‘smile’

Rhyme scheme - The poem does not follow any rhyme or rhythm. It has been written
in free verse.
Simile: Mother’s face is compared to the late winter’s moon - both are dull and
lifeless. use of ‘as’ (as a late winter’s moon).
 Questions
Q1. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?

When the poet sees her ageing mother who is about to die, she felt the pain of
losing her. This is similar to the pain which she use to feel if her mother was
not near her. She feels that as her mother is growing old and pale, she will die
soon and they will get separated. Time and death never spare anyone. Not
even the poet’s mother and so, she has to lose her.
Q2. Why are the young trees described as sprinting?

A2. While the poet was on her way to the airport. She saw the trees beside the
road which seemed to be running fast as she was travelling in a car. It seemed
as if they were sprinting. Here the poet tries to show the difference between
her pale and weak mother who looked like a corpse and the trees that were
running and were full of life.

Question.3. How does Kamala Das try to put away the thoughts of her
ageing mother? (Delhi 2014; Modified)
Answer. Kamala Das finds the thoughts of her ageing mother very painful and
disturbing. It is hard for her to accept the fact of her mother growing old, as it
brings back to her mind her childhood fear of losing her mother. She makes a
deliberate effort to drive or put away such thoughts by looking out of the
moving car, at the trees ‘sprinting’ and the joyful young children rushing out
of their homes.

Question.4. What was the poet’s childhood fear? (All India 2014)
or
What were Kamala Das, fears as a child? Why do they surface when she is
going to the airport? (All India 2011)
Answer. As a child Kamala Das was insecure about losing her mother just as
all young children often are. The same feelings are evoked inside her while she
is on the way to the airport, as she sees her mother’s pale face, which is a sign
of her old age and impending death.

Question.5. What do the parting words of Kamala Das and her smile
signify? (Compartment 2014)
or
What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify? (All India
2010)
Answer. The poet’s parting words and her smile are a facade to hide her
feelings of insecurity. The pale and senile appearance of her mother brings
back her childhood fear of losing her mother. She can definitely experience
the pangs of separation, yet she bids her farewell in a pleasant manner. She
reassures her mother that all will be well and they would meet again.

Question.6. Why has the poet’s mother been compared to the “late
winter’s moon”? (Delhi 2013)
or
Why has Kamala Das compared her mother to a “late winter’s moon”?
(Foreign 2011)
Answer. The poet has used this simile as ‘the late winter’s moon’ looks too
hazy and lacks brightness and lustre. Similarly, the mother, who is now sixty-
six, is pale and has a shrunken and ashen face. She is devoid of the
effervescence and exhilaration of youth.

Question.7. Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’? (Delhi

2012,2010)
Answer. The poet is travelling in a speeding car and the roadside trees seem
speeding past or sprinting in the opposite direction. The poet has contrasted
the ‘young trees’ which are moving fast to her mother, who is old and slow.

Question.8. What were the poet’s feelings at the airport? How did she
hide them? (All India 2012)
Answer. The poet was torn apart by the feeling whether she would see her
mother alive the next time or not. She hid her feelings by smiling reassuringly
at her mother.

Question 9.
How does the poet describe her mother?
Answer:
Kamala Das describes her mother as old, pale and senile. As she was
asleep, the poet noticed that her mother looked as pale and colourless as a
dead body. She seemed to have lost the vitality of life.

Question 10.
What were Kamala Das’ fears as a child? Why do the fears surface
when she is going to the airport?
Answer:
Kamala Das fears that her mother would leave her alone and go away.
These fears surface now as she looks at her old mother doze with her
mouth open in the car.

Question 11.
How can suspension of activities help?
Answer:
The poet wants to prove that there can be life under apparent stillness. The
poet invokes the earth as a living symbol to prove his point. The earth
never attains total inactivity. Nature remains at work even under apparent
stillness.

Question 12.
Explain ‘pale as a late winter’s moon.’
Answer:
This is an example of a simile. The poet has compared her mother’s face to
a winter’s moon. Winter symbolises death and a waning moon symbolises
decay. Just like winter loses its magnificence and beauty when covered
with fog and mist, similarly the poet’s mother has lost her youth and vitality,
and has become inactive and withered.

Question 13.
Why did the poet promise her mother of a meeting in the near future?
Answer:
The poet was doubtful of seeing her mother again. She knew that the
mother was also aware of the same. Yet, to encourage her mother, to leave
a hope in her mind, to make herself strong, the poet promised a futile
reunion in the future.

Question 14.
The poet’s repeated smile seems out of the place in a way. In which
way is that appropriate?
Answer:
The poet had no reason to smile at the time of separation from her aged
mother. She was deeply distressed and pained to separate from her
mother when she was so old. Yet, to make the mother feel ‘there is nothing
to worry,’ the poet attempted to be glad, cheerful and reassured her by her
extended smile.

Question 15.
What different images does the poet use to convey the idea of her
mother’s old age?
Answer:
Late winter’s moon. Her pale, bloodless and wrinkled face resembles that
of a corpse. She has no vigour and energy left in her. She looks wan and
pale. The sprinting trees and merry children are happy and young. They
present a contrast to the mother’s pain and old age and the poet’s worry
and fear. They symbolise youth, vigour and spring, whereas the mother is
old, decaying and frail.
Answers Long Answer Type
Question 1.
Ageing is a natural process; have you ever thought what our elderly
parents expect from us ?
Answer:
Ageing is a natural process. When the person be-comes old he becomes
weak, he needs support .both emotional and physical. Thus, it becomes
our duty to provide our old parents the love-, emotional support and respect
they deserve. Our parents usually give us their best period of life to bring
us up. Therefore it becomes our moral duty to reciprocate the same when
they become old.

But unfortunately, due to rank materialism and nuclear family system the
old people are treated as an unnecessary commodity. They are harassed
and sometimes even beaten up. Many a time the old people are sent to old
age homes, where they lack emotional support which the family can
provide. It is very shameful for the younger generation. Our parents do not
deserve such shabby treatment in their old age.

Question 2.
Having looked at her mother the poet looked at her mother, why does
Kamala Das look at the children ?
Answer:
The poet is full of pain and ache when she looks at her ageing mother. She
has grown so old that she might not grow older. This means her days on
this earth are numbered. The poet looks at the children outside to divert her
attention from the sad thoughts she has about her old mother.

EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS

Read the extract given below and answer the

questions that follow :
Extract 1: Driving from my parent'shome to Cochin last Friday morning, 

I saw my mother, beside me,

doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that of a corpse

and realized with pain that she was as old as she looked

but soonput that thought away... 

 1. The poet described her mother as 

(a) beautiful as rose 

(b) young and charming 

(c) old and pale 

(d) kind and loving 

 2. "her face ashen like that of a corpse and realized with pain..." 

Which poetic device is used in the given lines? 

(a) Metaphor

(b) Alliteration 

(c) Simile

(d) Personification 

 3. Choose the option that best applies to the given extract. 

(1) a request

(2) an order 

(3) a piece of advice 

(4) an argument 

(5) a recollection 

(6) a suggestion 

(a) 1, 3 and 6

(b) 2, 4 and 5 

(c) Only 5

(d) Only 1 

 4. Choose the option which is not correct as per the above stanza. 

(a) As the car travels, the daughter observes her aging mother. 

(b) The mother's face appears like ashen. 

(c) The pale complexion of the old woman seems her similar to that of a corpse.  
(d) The thought of the corpse forces the poet to think of her mother's young age. 

Extract 2 : ...I saw my mother,beside me, 

doze, open mouthed, her face 

ashen like thatof a corpse and realized with pain 

that she was as old as she looked but soon

put that thought away... 

 1. Why was the realization painful? The realization was painful because 

(i) It brought with it the distressing thought that she was also nearing the death. 

(ii) The poet started thinking about the separation from her mother. 

(iii) The poet has not seen anybody dying before. 

(iv) The poet was not that close to her father as she was with her mother. 

(a) (i), (ii) and (iii) 

(b) (ii), (iii), and (iv) 

(c) only (iv)

(d) both (i) and (ii)

 2. Choose the book title that perfectly describes the condition of the poet's
mother. 

Title 1: You're Only Old Once by Dr. Seuss 

Title 2: The Gift of Years by Joan Chittister 

Title 3: Somewhere Towards the End by Diana Athill 

Title 4: The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read by Philippa Perry 

(a) Title 1 (b) Title 2 (c) Title 3 (d) Title 4

 
3. Choose the option that displays the same literary device as in the given lines of
the extract.
"her face ashen like that of a corpse..." 

(a) Just as I had this thought, she appeared and........... 

(b) My thoughts were as heavy as lead that evening when ... 

(c) I think like everyone else who.......... 

(d) I like to think aloud when .....................

 4. Find the word from the passage which means the same as 'sleep lightly'. 

(a) Doze (b) Ashen 

(c) Open mouthed  (d) Corpse

Extract 3 : And

looked out at Young 

Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling 

out of their homes, but after the airport's

security check, standing a few yards away. 

I looked again at her, wan, pale 

as a late winter's moon and felt that old

familiar ache............

1. The phrase 'merry children' symbolizes 

1. Pain 2. Nostalgia  3. Happiness

4. Sluggishness  5. Vitality 6. Exuberance 

(a) 3, 5 and 6

(b) 1, 2, and 4 

(c) 4 and 5

(d) only 6 

 2. Who does 'her' refer to here? 

(a) Poet's friend  (b) Poet's aunt  (c) Poet's mother  (d) A co-passenger 

3. The phrase "young sprinting trees' signifies. 

(a) the dull life of city people 

(b) the beauty of nature 

(c) the imagination power of the poet 

(d) the fast paced life 

 4. "...And looked at the young sprinting trees..." Which poetic device has the poet
used in the above line? 

(a) Onomatopoeia  (b) Personification 

(c) Simile (d) Hyperbole

 Extract 4: ...old familiar ache, 

my childhood's fear, but all 

I said was, see you soon, Amma, 

all I did was smile and smile and smile...... 

 1. What was the poet's childhood fear? 

(a) The fear of losing her childhood. 

(b) The fear of losing her youth. 

(c) The fear of separation from her mother. 

(d) The fear of losing her childhood friends. 

 2. The poetic device used in the last line is 

(a) Alliteration  (b) Assonance 

(c) Repetition (d) Metonymy

3. The phrase 'old familiar ache' has been used to refer to a fear, in this extract.
This phrase can also be used to

(a) compare physical pain with mental agony 

(b) elicit someone's unanswered queries 

(c) substantiate reasons for aches and pain

(d) describe a longing one has been aware of. 

 4. Choose the option that appropriately describes the reason why the poet smile
end. 

Statement 1: The poet smiled as she was lost in the memories of her childhood days. 
Statement 2: The poet smiled because she wanted to hide her fears from her mother.

(a) Statement 1 is appropriate but statement 2 is not. 

(b) Statement 2 is appropriate but statement 1 is not. 

(c) Both statement 1 and statement 2 are appropriate. 

(d) Both statement 1 and statement 2 are inappropriate.

 Extract 5: ...I looked again at her, wan, pale

as a late winter's moon and felt that old familiar ache, 

my childhood's fear, but all I said was, see you soon.

Amma, all I did was smile and smile and smile...

1. "as a late winter's moon and felt that..." Which poetic device is used in the
above line? 

(a) Metonymy  (b) Simile  (c) Apostrophe  (d) Hyperbole 

 2. What do the poetess' parting words suggest? The words suggest the
___________ of the poetess 

(a) strength (b) fears  

(c) optimism (d) longing desires 

 3. Choose the option that completes the sentence given below. 

Just as the brightness of the winter's moon is veiled behind the haze and mist,
similarly, ____________

(a) the pain of separation has shaded mother's expression. 

(b) age has fogged mother's youthful appearance. 

(c) growing up has developed a seasoned maturity in the poet. 

(d) memories warm the heart like the pale moon in winter. 

 4. Find the word form the following that describes the word 'pale' as given in the
extract. 

(a) Colorless (b) Glowing 

(c) Fearful (d) Sanguine