The Black Lace Fan My Mother Gave Me Analysis

It was the first gift he ever gave her,

buying it for five five francs in the Galeries

in pre-war Paris. It was stifling.

A starless drought made the nights stormy.They stayed in the city for the summer.

The met in cafes. She was always early.

He was late. That evening he was later.

They wrapped the fan. He looked at his watch.She looked down the Boulevard des Capucines.

She ordered more coffee. She stood up.

The streets were emptying. The heat was killing.

She thought the distance smelled of rain and lightning.These are wild roses, appliqued on silk by hand,

darkly picked, stitched boldly, quickly.

The rest is tortoiseshell and has the reticent clear patienceof its element. It is

a worn-out, underwater bullion and it keeps,

even now, an inference of its violation.

The lace is overcast as if the weatherit opened for and offset had entered it.The past is an empty cafe terrace.

An airless dusk before thunder. A man running.

And no way to know what happened then-

none at all-unless ,of course, you improvise:The blackbird on this first sultry morning,

in summer, finding buds, worms, fruit,

feels the heat. Suddenly she puts out her wing-

the whole, full, flirtatious span of it.

.: Inaccurate information :.

This explanation is completely wrong - the poet is Irish, not French. It is not about people having an affair, rather it's about a moment in her parents' lives.
This poet is considerably more complex than this "Approved Guest" has suggested; there are references to WWII, as it looms in the future. It swings between rich metaphors and simple prose narrative, which are stylistic choices of the poet.
The current analysis above should be removed as it is completely inaccurate.

| Posted on 2008-02-20 | by a guest

.: :.

“The Black Lace Fan My Mother Gave Me”, is a poem by a female French writer, Eavan Bolland. It tells of a joyous moment that happened in the mother’s past, and the child is retelling it of only what she knows.
The mother is telling of, “the first gift he gave her” (1). Even though this gift was the first one he ever gave her Bolland is trying to imply that it is not the last and there are many more gifts to come. This man seems to be a special person, in which the mother adores. In the first stanza the speaker is giving the setting of the past to us. At first it seems really romantic in Paris but them goes on to tell that , “it was stifling, a starless drought made the nights stormy” (3-4) making the sense of romance fade.
The next stanza leads you to believe maybe this man and women are having an affair. “She was always early, He was late” (6-7), they were trying to be at the same place at different times so no one would suspect they were together. This on evening he was later than before. He was getting the fan wrapped, a gift he was going to give the women. As “he looked at his watch” (8), “she looked down the Boulevard des Capucines” (9). The woman is anticipating his arrival, but she does not leave and she orders more coffee. She wants this relationship to work. Bolland uses a metaphor in this sentence stating, “The heat was killing” (11). Yes, it was humid literally outside, but what she is trying to imply is the suspense of waiting for the man to arrive is killing her. Also she uses diction by saying, “she thought the distance smelled of rain and lighting” (12). What she “smelled” was trouble. She may have known this relationship was too risky and it may not work, as much as she wanted it too.
In the third stanza the speaker describes the fan as, “wild roses, appliquéd on silk by hand” (13). Bolland is using this sentence as a comparison to their relationship. It is very fragile and delicate, yet it is “wild” and exciting.
In the sixth stanza the speaker is saying that “no way to know what happened then” (23). Since no one really knows what happened, except for the man and women, she has to improvise and fill in the gaps herself. The last stanza is back in the present and the child is telling of what she thinks happened. “The blackbird on this first sultry morning…” (25), the blackbird is referring to the black fan and she uses sultry morning in opposite of stifling night. “In summer, finding buds worms fruit” (26), these are new things as if saying the man and women’s relationship has just sprung and is still growing.

| Posted on 2006-05-07 | by Approved Guest