This poem alludes to the Greek mythology and the story of Persephone and Demeter in order to depict a troubled relationship between a mother and a daughter. However, in this modern version Demeter (the mother) has found Persephone (the daughter) enamored by the Underworld (the city of Paris and all it has to offer.)
In the first stanza, the mother is waiting for her daughter to arrive and when she does she notices differences in her daughter's appearance - "thinner...mannered gauntness...silvery cape." The stanza ends with an italicized "What's this" as if to imply the mother doesn't even recognize her own daughter anymore.
Second stanza, the daughter makes her way to the mother crossing the parquet and the mother notices she is "dressed in all gray..." The color of the daughter's clothes here could symbolize the death of emotion, or the 'death' of the daughter the mother once knew.
Third stanza, the daughter apologizes for being late and throws her cape off and slides off into the chair. The mother makes an internal comment that "she [the daughter] wasn't [sorry]" and here the diction could imply that the mother feels hesitant towards her daughter.
Fourth stanza, they kiss and the mother "peruse[s] [her] blighted child, this wary aristocratic mole." By describing her daughter in this manner, 'wary' implies hesitant of danger, 'aristocratic' that her daughter is know seen as/perceives herself to be/dresses as if she is of a higher stature, and 'mole' could mean a duplicitous nature.
Fifth stanza, the mother asks how the daughter is, hazardly mind you, but restrains herself form what she actually wants to say which is why her daughter would ever choose to live her life as a model for an artist. She internally calls her life a cliche. The diction here is important the mother "hazarded a motherly smile" with the implication that the conversation is uncomfortable and she is not content wit hher daughter's life. She does not approve.
Sixth stanza, the mother describes where her daughter lives and works now which is the daughter's boyfriend's/artist's studio/shop. She speaks as if it is a lowly place unworthy of her daughter (or at least the daughter she used to know or thought she knew.)
Seventh stanza, the daughter brushes her mother off and tries to imbue the importance and value of the city by saying how tourists and Parisians love them (daughter and the boyfriend) but it can be inferred that this means nothing to the mother who views the city and inhabitants as transitory and incapable of love.
Eight stanza, the food arrives and it is lavish and French. Direct allusion to Greek mythology in which Persephone eats the six seeds of Pomegranate and mud remain in Hades. In turn, the daughter eats the Parisian food and will remain in the city and continue pursuing art.
Ninth stanza, the mother asks what the Parisians admire about the shop and the daughter responds it is the way they have kept their art business afloat.
Tenth stanza, the mother is not pleased with the daughter's response form the previous stanza because she takes that to mean that her daughter is now posing nude for 'appalling canvases'.
Eleventh stanza, the mother "ventures" to come by and see the studio and the daughter says "Yes, if you wish..." but hen delicately rebuffs her mothers wish.
Twelfth stanza, the daughter talks about how her boyfriend now dresses in all black (which is assumed the mother again finds cliche) and dresses the daughter in blues and carmine. However, she states how she prefers more muted shades. This stanza is another reference to the power of color in this poem in portraying mood and tone. The daughter's desire to wear muted grays reflects the mother's believe that she has lost her daughter even though she is sitting in front of her. It is as if they live in two different worlds.
Thirteenth stanza, the mother acknowledges, somewhat hesitantly, her daughter's beauty even if it in a "spookily insubstantial" manner.
Fourteenth stanza, the setting of Paris beyond the cafe in which they sit is described. It is raining, sooty, and skyward - a city which no doubt the mother finds drab and overwhelming.
Fifteenth stanza, he daughter talks of how she wishes her boyfriend artist would eat just as more food arrives at the table.
Sixteenth stanza, the mother keeps her food simple but notes how fully her daughter eats and all of the 'fancy' food she orders, no doubt a reflection on her life in Paris versus the mother's simple life and meal. The mother notes how the daughter is never satiated and this again alludes to Persephone. In eating the pomegranate seeds, Persephone lost any possibility of ever being fully restored and thus became half living and half dead. In the poem, the daughter eats plentifully and without hesitation, thus losing (willing almost) any chance of restoring herself to her mother.
Seventeenth stanza, the mother asks "But are you happy?" but she is fearful and whispers it quickly. The daughter replies "What?" although it is most likely she heard the mother. She then quickly changes the subject back to food. This further drives home the theme of the poem and how the daughter is lost. It seems as if the daughter is more interested in the meal and in her lavish Parisian life than in he conversation with her mother.
Eighteenth stanza, the mother thinks to herself "I've lost her." and it is important to note that it is italicized thus drawing a parallel between the first stanza in which there was also one italicized sentence and this last stanza. By now it seems as if the mother has given up hope. She will not regain her daughter. She calls for the bill.
The story told in this poem is one in which a mother looking for and losing her daughter, a direct allusion to Greek mythology. The River Styx is referenced to note the daughters crossover into what the mother considers darkness. The bright setting of the bistro they are in is the only glimmer of light in the poem and offsets what would otherwise be a dark poem. The tone of this piece is uneasy - the mother is hesitant and uncomfortable around her daughter, while the daughter feels much to highly of herself and does not treat her mother with the respect she deserves. The fact that the mother disproves of the daughter's boyfriend and their life together only further adds to the tense tone of the poem. The word choice supports the tone by using words such as "hazarded" "ventured" and "blighted" to describe the mother's hesitant nature and sad attitude towards her daughter. For imagery, as mentioned before the setting of the bistro is the only bright point in the poem. Otherwise, strong imagery paints the city from the mother's viewpoint as oppressive and overall negative. The main syntax present in the piece is the author's use two italicized sentence fragments, one in the first stanza and one in the last. This juxtaposition first is to imply the mother's inability to recognize her daughter and then at the end, after their conversation, she realizes she was right in thinking she did not recognize her daughter because she had become lost to her, lost in the city. The overarching theme of this poem is one of sadness, one in which a mother realizes there is no hope in salvaging her daughter and their relationship. It is painful for the mother, but it is too late to do anything.
I felt a personal connection with this poem because even though we read the poem through the mother's eyes and sympathize for her and feel her sadness, I am also able to understand the daughter's viewpoint. Especially now as we are all gearing off for college, I myself am feeling the lure of the big city, the call of the bright lights. I can understand the daughter in her choice to live her life in a way that makes her happy, even if that means alienating her mother. However, while I can recognize both sides of the situation, I should hope that my relationship with my mother never escalates to this point. I've had many the conversation with my own mother about my future - how pursuing a degree in liberal arts isn't secure, about how I should double major in something more tangible like business or law, how it would be so much easier on me, on the family, if I didn't go to New York and just stayed in Lexington. Those are only a few of the many topics we've come to discuss on a regular basis as of late. And as time passes, I feel more and more like the daughter in this poem. I try to explain the allure of the arts and of the city to my parents and I truly do think that they understand, but I also know that no matter how much they may nod and say "uh-huh we understand, yes." there will always be a part of them that cannot comprehend why I chose to live my life. I suppose it's a generational thing, I can't be certain. And I'm also not certain of the future, the choices I'll make, and what path I'll eventually go down. But one thing I am certain of is that even if I can relate to the daughter in this poem, I will never allow myself to get lost just as she did, nor will I let my relationship with my mother reach the point there's did.
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