T. S. Eliot


We learn that Aunt Helen’s dogs ‘were handsomely provided for’. While some readers believe that this shows how lonely Aunt Helen was, it also shows that she had creatures she cared about and that she wanted to be taken care of after she was gone. There is no mention of bequests to family members – perhaps it would be indiscreet to mention such a thing. While the dogs were taken care of, Aunt Helen’s parrot died ‘shortly afterwards’. It was fashionable for rich ladies, especially unmarried ones, to have parrots  years, and they usually become very attached to their owners (like the parrot in the poem, who died so soon after Aunt Helen). Parrots cannot actually speak, but they can mirror the sounds their owner makes, so their song sounds like human speech, meaning that it appears as if they can hold a conversation. The fact that Aunt Helen had been gifted or had bought a parrot suggests she may have been quite lonely.


Certain luxury goods are iconic (Waterford Crystal being an Irish example). Aunt Helen’s  eye could tell how expensive and exclusive her belongings were. A Dresden clock is an intricate porcelain clock made in Dresden, Germany. They are very ornate but also renowned for their perfect timekeeping. While it is no surprise that Aunt Helen’s Dresden clock ‘continued ticking on the mantelpiece’ after her death, it also serves as a reminder that life goes on, and that all the things she surrounded herself with were merely objects, not family and friends who loved her.


The last three lines of the poem are unexpected, with an image that is either playful or disrespectful, depending upon your perspective: ‘And the footman sat upon the dining-table/ Holding the second housemaid on his knees––/ Who had always been so careful while her mistress lived.’ The servants have their own lives and passions, which seem the polar opposite to Aunt Helen’s regimented life. The second housemaid (who would have had to do the worst of the household chores) had been careful while Aunt Helen was alive. Was this because Aunt Helen was a good employer and she wanted to please her, or would Aunt Helen have considered such a physical display of affection inappropriate? While the upper classes maintain a stiff upper-lip at all times, perhaps the servants are enjoying a brief respite from their ordered lives. They are probably quite young and may even be in love. The fact that Eliot chooses to end the poem with this saucy image contrasts with the rather sterile portrait of Aunt Helen, whose only  to have been with her pets.


LEAVING CERTIFICATE HIGHER LEVEL


153


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