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Brooke Findlay

Ross Bullen

ENGL1003

10,21,2022

A Child’s Worst Fear

From the first sentence in the short story “The Mother” by Lydia Davis, it brought me

back to my childhood. Those sensitive, crucial young years, when everything in your

surrounding environment affects you. Lydia writes a complex story through a few, simple,

thought-out lines that perfectly lay out the experience of an unwanted child for the reader.

The child in the story is constantly being put down by her mother when doing anything remotely

challenging. For example, Lydia writes “The girl dug a small hole in the garden. “But how much

better if you dug a large hole,” said her mother.” There is irony in the mother discouraging her

child. This is going against all of the foundations of what it means to be a mother. So many

adults have self-hatred and take it out on their innocent children. As someone who grew up in an

abusive household, I related heavily to Lydia's story. How much little side comments and

narcissistic behaviours from a parent can affect your will to keep going.

She perfectly portrays how it feels to be an unwanted and unappreciated child. So much so that it

sometimes feels as though your parents want you dead. This is apparent in the last line when

Lydia writes “The girl dug a hole and went to sleep in it. “But how much better if you slept

forever,” said her mother.” This heartbreaking line is the truth about how malicious parents can

be. To me, this feels as though the mother wishes the child was never born. Especially in young
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parents and parents who had the child by accident, they are usually not prepared to have a child,

hence growing resentful of them. In return, the child feels as though their existence is a burden

and it is their fault.