Robert Frost Home Burial - Selfish Misery Essay - 1662 Words

The Selfish Misery of Home Burial Robert Frosts poem Home Burial is an intriguing portrait of a marital relationship that has gone wrong. Though at first glance it may seem that the cause for the couples trouble is the death of their child, closer reading allows the reader to see that there are other serious, deeper-rooted problems at work. The couples differences in their approach to grieving is only the beginning of their problems. Many of the real problems lie in the wifes self-absorbed attitude of consuming unhappiness and anger. Her outlook on her life and marriage is so narrow that she winds up making both her husband and herself victims of her issues. It is clear that Frost intended the reader to see through the†¦show more content†¦Rather, she dehumanizes him in her mind, thinking of him as a blind creature who wont be able to understand her pain (15-16). When he asks what is disturbing her, she refuse[s] him any help (13). She is making the deliberate decision not to let him be a caring person. Even when he tells her that hes seen the cause of her window gazing, she refuses to believe him. Frost has her immediately contradict the husbands realization, using the word challenge to conjure up a better image of the wifes defensive nature. While the husband is understanding of his wifes pain, she refuses to allow him any. The husband tells her to try and talk to him, insisting that he is not so much unlike other folks (63). Even though he admits he thinks she is perhaps to demonstrative in her grief, he wants to talk to her and help her. He acknowledges that she is unhappy, and he wants to be of assistance. The wife, however, isnt even willing to grant that her husband could be feeling any loss. When he begins to speak of their dead child, she recoils from him, crying Dont, dont, dont, dont (31-33). He asks Cant a man speak of his own child hes lost? (37), clearly confused that she would be so upset over the slightest mention of the child. She responds with an instant, Not you! (38), implying that only he isnt worthy of grieving. She doesnt appear to think he should be allowed any emotion at all, but still seems to expect him to be moreShow MoreRelatedStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pages, with David DeCenzo (Wiley, 2010) Prentice Hall’s Self-Assessment Library 3.4 (Prentice Hall, 2010) Fundamentals of Management, 8th ed., with David DeCenzo and Mary Coulter (Prentice Hall, 2013) Supervision Today! 7th ed., with David DeCenzo and Robert Wolter (Prentice Hall, 2013) Training in Interpersonal Skills: TIPS for Managing People at Work, 6th ed., with Phillip Hunsaker (Prentice Hall, 2012) Managing Today! 2nd ed. (Prentice Hall, 2000) Organization Theory, 3rd ed. (Prentice Hall, 1990)