Aunt Helen Analysis

Prufrock and Other Observations1917Miss Helen Slingsby was my maiden aunt,

And lived in a small house near a fashionable square

Cared for by servants to the number of four.

Now when she died there was silence in heaven

And silence at her end of the street.

The shutters were drawn and the undertaker wiped his feet--

He was aware that this sort of thing had occurred before.

The dogs were handsomely provided for,

But shortly afterwards the parrot died too.

The Dresden clock continued ticking on the mantelpiece,

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.

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it is about an aloof lady that is described through her possessions and place in time. she has a momentous death and it creates a silence. silence represents both what the poets does not want to say, and what he can not say. therefore it is important. her silence can also been seen as representing the ideal of the 'silent feminine', the passive and submissive woman that observes conventions. Time moves on, as it always does after death, and this is symbolised by the clock ticking.
the sevants behave differently, certainly in a manner she would not approve of, and it illustrates a degeneration of society and said societie's beliefs.

| Posted on 2009-10-04 | by a guest

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"Aunt Helen" by t.s. eliot is a poem about his aunt named miss Helen slingsby.The poet's aunt dies in her town. The poem is basically about all the changes that have taken place post the death of the aunt.
Eliot begins the poem by briefing us about his aunt's lifestyle when she was alive. She was unmarried, lived in a small fashionable house and had four servants at her service.This states that she was a well -to -do lady and had some accumulated wealth too. Being a dignified lady she was given a decent funeral. There were certain things that changed after she passed away and certain that remained constant ,like the dogs were generously provided with food and taken care of as always. But her parrot to followed her after death. The dresdon clock continued to tick on the shelf above the fire place.But the footman and the housemaid seemed not to be doing along well. The footman held housemaid on his knees who had always been very careful and disciplined while his mistress was alive.

| Posted on 2009-04-07 | by a guest

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I don't know what this means. perhaps it means the second housemaid did something to her 'mistress' which in itself has multiple meanings. it could have been dastardly intentions or honest ones. i honestly don't know.

| Posted on 2009-03-21 | by a guest