Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anne Sexton's poem "The Division of Parts" is an exploration of grief, memory, and the complex relationship between mother and daughter. It is structured in four parts, each reflecting on different facets of the speaker’s emotional journey as she processes the death of her mother. The poem intertwines themes of familial duty, religious reflection, and the personal struggle to reconcile with loss.

In the first part, the speaker receives her mother’s will, symbolizing the "division of money" and the inheritance that now makes her "one third" of her mother’s daughters. The physical remnants of her mother—her coat, jewelry, and "gaudy fur animals"—are described as settling on the speaker "like a debt." These items, imbued with the weight of memory, are burdensome rather than comforting. The speaker recalls sorting through her mother’s belongings, noting the "obstacles of letters, family silver, eyeglasses, and shoes." These possessions, which once had significance, are now merely objects to be sorted and discarded, emphasizing the finality of death.

The poem’s first section also delves into religious imagery, specifically the crucifixion of Christ on Good Friday. The speaker reflects on the rituals of worship that her mother taught her, rituals that now feel "old" and disconnected from genuine belief. The "black birds" that "pick at [her] window sill" serve as a metaphor for the relentless nature of grief, while Easter’s arrival with its promise of resurrection feels hollow and unfulfilled. The speaker confesses that she "planned to suffer / and [she] cannot," revealing her struggle to genuinely mourn within the expected religious and cultural frameworks.

In the second part, the poem shifts to the period of the mother's illness. The speaker recounts the months spent at her mother’s bedside, engaging in daily rituals of care—reading from "The New Yorker", bringing flowers, and joking with nurses. Despite these efforts, there is a sense of helplessness as the mother’s condition deteriorates. The mother becomes "old," her fifty-eight years "sliding / like masks from [her] skull," and the speaker is left to grapple with the reality of her mother’s impending death. The mother’s nightgowns, packed away in suitcases, symbolize the remnants of her life, now reduced to mere belongings. The speaker’s journey home after her mother’s death is described with a sense of detachment, as if she had been "told / I could pretend / people live in places," highlighting the disorientation and denial that often accompany loss.

The third part of the poem reflects on the speaker's attempts to navigate life after her mother’s death. She describes herself as "fumble[ing] my lost childhood / for a mother," seeking solace in memories but finding them insufficient. The imagery of Lent, a time of penance and reflection in the Christian tradition, pervades this section, with the speaker acknowledging the "dangerous angels" that "walk through Lent." These angels, representing guilt and the burden of religious expectation, challenge the speaker to "convert" her grief into something meaningful. However, the speaker’s relationship with her mother remains unresolved, as she struggles to find a "reasonable" love that is "as solid as earthenware."

The final part of the poem returns to the present, with the speaker sleeping in her mother’s nightgown, a symbolic attempt to reconnect with the lost maternal figure. The mother appears in the speaker’s dream, but the encounter is fraught with tension, as the speaker curses her mother to "keep out of my slumber." This outburst reveals the speaker’s unresolved anger and frustration, emotions that conflict with the expected reverence for the dead. The poem culminates in an acknowledgment of the mother’s enduring presence, a "brave ghost" who "fix[es] in [the speaker’s] mind without praise / or paradise." The speaker is left to grapple with this inheritance of memory and emotion, a legacy that is as much a burden as it is a connection to the past.

"The Division of Parts" is a deeply personal meditation on the complexities of mourning. Through its exploration of inheritance, both material and emotional, the poem captures the enduring impact of a mother’s death on her daughter. Sexton’s use of religious imagery, juxtaposed with the mundane details of sorting through a deceased parent’s belongings, underscores the tension between societal expectations of grief and the individual’s lived experience of loss. Ultimately, the poem presents a nuanced portrayal of how the dead continue to shape the lives of the living, even as they recede into memory.

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