Fear
Gabriela Mistral (1889 – 1957)
[translated by Doris Dana]
She was a Chilean poet, diplomat, educator and feminist who took to writing poetry due to the trauma
caused by a personal tragedy. She was the first Latin American poet to win the Nobel Prize in Literature
and the National Prize for Literature in Chili. She basically wrote on the themes of Christian faith, love
and sorrow.
This poem is composed in three simple stanzas which have the same pattern with some repetitions so they are quite
lyrical and the poem reads like a song and the repetitions function like a refrain or a chorus of a song. It is written
employing first person narrative perspective since the poet persona reveals her anxiety about her daughter. The
simplest message the poet attempts to convey through her lyrical poem is “Love is greater than wealth or success”.
The attitude of the poet persona may seem quite old-fashioned when she is compared with the mothers of the
contemporary society but in fact her notion that the sacred relationship between a caring mother and an
affectionate daughter is more valuable can be considered as correct since human values should be always given the
priority.
The themes of the poem
Coming under the main theme ‘life’ the poem seems to convey several specific themes as well.
The importance of human relationships than material success
The poet persona is a mother whose anxiety of her beloved daughter’s future is expressed in such a moving
tone. She seems to worry about the fact that she and her daughter, one day, would drift apart if the daughter
moves to a faraway place leaving her behind in order to make her dreams come true. For this modest
mother what is more important is the daughter’s affection to remain as it always was. She does not want her
daughter to go after material success forgetting her roots and origin. She wants to maintain the same strong
bond and loving relationship with her daughter throughout her life because some children may estrange or
alienate from their mothers after they achieve success, status and wealth.
eg:- I don’t want them to make
My little girl a princess.
The human fear of loneliness
Nowadays children are self-seeking and opportunistic so they may leave their parents to realize their selfish
goals disregarding their parents’ feelings. A mother looks after her daughter with such gentle love and
homely actions like combing her hair, keeping her at the side of the bed and rocking her to put her to sleep
etc. With the mother’s caressing, cuddling and such genuine love, the daughter will grow up into adulthood
but if she forgets her poor mother’s feelings for her and leaves her, would the mother be able to bear the
pain? She would only hope and wait for her daughter to return to her . . . A mother would become helpless
in old age if her daughter is not there by her side to care for her just the way she did when the daughter was
so small and helpless. The mother’s self-concern is one reason why she is in fear, tension and anxiety about
the future.
eg:- “And when the night came, no longer
Would she sleep at my side.
Unrealistic, unrealizable false goals
Most people in the contemporary society target to reach very high goals to end up with material wealth,
very high social status, exceptional educational qualifications and so on. But it is pathetic to note that in the
process of achieving these they seem to forget human values, mother’s love, parental love etc. In fact, it is
the society, peers, media and some social groups that pressurize children to go in search of these
unrealizable goals. Some parents also may do the same as they are also influenced by the same pressure
from the society. But the mother whose point of view is conveyed in the poem seems to criticize this false
attitude. For her, happiness gained through genuine relationships is more precious than artificial merits like
material success and social status.
The techniques and literary terms available in the poem
Metaphors
eg:- swallow – This is an extended metaphor as it is referred to throughout the stanza. A swallow is a migratory bird
that would fly seeking warmer climates for survival. The mother wants her daughter to be by her side without going far
away from her like a swallow. The swallow symbolically suggests the selfishness and opportunism in children.
Symbolism
eg:- straw bed – This mother can be a poor and humble person whose simple lifestyle is implied by her straw bed.
tiny golden slippers – The ornamental, invaluable slippers of a princess symbolize the high status and wealth.
The throne – The highest position of a woman is symbolized by this as it is the authoritative chair for a queen
symbolizing both power and wealth.
Meadow – The mother wants the daughter to play on the meadow and be a down-to-earth person. The meadow
symbolizes a down-to-earth existence led in a natural and simple way.
Metonymy (A word used to represent a broader set of ideas)
eg:- princess – The word princess suggests all the aspects of the lifestyle of a princes making the reader easy to
imagine the huge gap between the humble mother and her daughter.
queen – The word queen is also metonymic; it also suggests every feature of such a high ranking person.
Simple diction
eg:- The words chosen by the poet to convey her themes are very simple; the simple diction is more apt in conveying
the genuine feelings of a traditional mother who is quite against the point of view of modern mothers.
Anaphora
The anaphoric effect contributes to the lyrical quality of the poem.
eg:- my little girl
Repetition
The mother repeatedly says that she doesn’t want ‘them’ to change her daughter; actually she doesn’t want the society
to changer her daughter’s attitudes towards her by influencing her. Her strong disapproval and rejection of the modern
attitudes is implied by the repetition.
eg:- I don’t want them to turn my little girl . . .
Rhetorical question
eg:- “How could she play on the meadow?”
