Father and child relationships cannot be defined by black and white or love and hate. Instead, such kinship needs to be viewed as gray areas. Theodore Roethke's poem “My Papa's Waltz” displays a fine line between physical abuse and love. The relationship in Craig Thompson's
Blankets reveals a sense of psychological abuse followed by a content and loving relationship. These two pieces although seemingly different hold similar themes in common. In both, there is a sense of abuse (whether physical or mental) that can be overpowered by evidence supporting healthy or “normal” relationships between father and child.
“My Papa’s Waltz” may be interpreted in varying ways. The most predominant stance is that the poem reflects Roethke’s childhood positively. Theodore Roethke’s relationship with his father was not flawless and merry like
these two, but there is no definitive evidence suggesting there was any foul play.
Roethke’s word choice may hinder the idea of a loving relationship between the father and child (the child is presumed to be
Theodore), but overall the general undertone of the poem is that of playful and reckless behavior after the father returns home from work. Theodore’s father worked in a greenhouse, which would explain the caked dirt on his hands and the battered knuckle—greenhouse labor is taxing on the body.
The father had whiskey on his breath, but there was no indication that he was a violent drunk. He was simply unsteady on his feet, and when he missed a step, his belt buckle would knick the ear of the child.
The mother had her face in a frown, but for good reason. It was not because her child was being beaten, but because her dishes were falling from the shelf. I know my mother would do more than just frown at me for breaking dishes. I am certain she or many other mothers would stand by while their child is beaten so blatantly before her.
Recently, in my psychology of genders class, we discussed abuse. Most victims are female, but male victims should not be overlooked. One of our speakers, named Eric, said that it was not something he could come out and confess to his mother. He could only hint at it—and hope she understood. When the truth came out about his abuse, his mother claimed she would have done something more for him, had she known.
The mother in Roethke’s poem was witness to the events taking place. She had known what was going on and done nothing. Had this been a case of abuse, she would have stepped in and protected her child.
A “romp” has several meanings, but the main definition is of a fun or light-hearted affair. I highly doubt any form of abuse would be described as happy amusement, especially by the abused.
In this video,
“My Papa’s Waltz” is dissected quickly for literary and grammatical significance. This poem, like many others are open to interpretation even if the author has a set meaning for them. When assessing a poem, the only reason it becomes real or obtains meaning is because “…we believe them and believe in them” (Shapiro 174).
In the beginning of
Blankets, Craig puts up a visual front in order to portray the father as a sinister character. As seen below, the physical features of the father are menacing and sharp. Take his nose for example; it is hooked and sharp—giving the impression of a not-so-friendly personality. When the father first makes an appearance in the doorway of the boys’ bedroom, he is nothing but a large shadow that blocks the light.
In comparison to the boys’ faces, which are predominantly white and without excess ink, the father’s face has dark lines throughout it and one cannot even see his eyes. This gives an ominous feel to the entire demeanor of the father.
The father in
Blankets is a burly man, whose strength is exemplified by how massively he is drawn. He may not have been that large in real life, but his presence may have been so commanding that he seemed that large.
What needs to be taken into consideration about this scene is that we were only showed one instance of interaction between Craig and his father at this point. One cannot base lifetime relationship on five pages of illustration.
The final pages of
Blankets illustrate how Craig’s father really was. The eyes of a child can put a scary mask on anything. Now, with the eyes of an adult, Thompson is able to understand that his father was not as frightful as he once was.
In the frames below, one can see how some simplistic features have changed on the father. He has a slight smile throughout those panels and has lost those dark lines that were etched across his brow by Craig Thompson’s childhood imagination.
Fathers play a crucial role in the lives of their children, in both positive and negative ways, but that cannot be determined easily. The relationships portrayed in “My Papa’s Waltz” and
Blankets are those of healthy disposition. Even though there are some faults in the states of their relationships, they share positive bonds.
Works Cited
Molenaar, Peter C. M., SinClair, Katerina O., Rovine, Michael J., Ram, Nilam, Corneal, Sherry E. “Analyzing Developmental Processes on an Individual Level Using Nonstationary Time Series Modeling.” Developmental Psychology 45 (2009): 260-271
Shapiro, Johanna. “Can Poetry Be Data? Potential Relationships Between Poetry and Research.”
Families, Systems, and Health 22 (2004): 171-177
Thompson, Craig. Blankets. Ed. 5. Marietta: Top Shelf Productions, 2005.
