Fisherman Mourned By His Wife

Fisherman Mourned By His Wife

Patrick Fernando

When you were not quite thirty and the sun
had not tanned you into old-boat brown
when you were not quite thirty and had not begun
to be embittered like the rest, nor grown
obsessed with death, then you would come
hot with continence upon the sea
chaste as gull flying pointed home
in haste to be with me !

Now that, being dead you are beyond detection,
and I need not be discreet , let us confess
it was not love that married us nor affection,
but elders’ persuasion, not even loneliness,
recall how first you were so impatient and afraid,
my eyes were open in the dark unlike in love,
trembling, lest in fear, you would let me go a maid,
trembling, on the other hand for my virginity.

Three months the monsoon thrashed the sea,
and you remained at home; the sky cracked like a shell
in thunder, and the rain broke through .
at last when pouring ceased and the storm winds fell,
when gulls returned new plumed, and wild,
when in our wind-torn flamboyant new buds broke,
I was with child.

My face was wan while telling you and voice fell low,
and you seemed full of guilt and not to know
whether to repent or rejoice over the situation.
You nodded at the ground and went to sea.
But soon I was to you more than God or temptation,
and so were you to me.

Men come and go, some say they understand.
Our children weep, the youngest think you’re fast asleep;
theirs is fear and wonderment.
You had grown familiar as my hand,
that I cannot with simple grief assuage dismemberment.

Outside the wind despoils of leaf
trees that it used to nurse;
once more the flamboyant is torn,
the sky cracks like a shell again,
so someone practical has gone
to make them bring the hearse
before the rain.

Patrick Fernando

A Sri Lankan poet.  He was born in 1931 and best known in Sri Lankan literary society.  One of the most accomplished poet of Sri Lankan poets. He is one of the first poet to be published in London. His work depicts the reality of life, struggle of survival and love and loss.  He died in 1983.

Summary

The poem is about the uncertain life of a fisherman.  The poem expresses from the view of the fisherman’s wife.  She mourns for her dead husband.  The marriage between the fisherman and his wife was arranged by the two families.  They start their life with no emotions.  But soon it turned into a great affection and they lived a happy life with love and affection.  The wife now becomes pregnant.  She feels frightened to express her joy.  After hearing the news his reaction was quiet and went to work.  But he could treat her as his queen and she is going feel her husband as her god.  Soon their happiness shattered by the death of the husband.  The children being small could not understand the loss of their father.  The small kid believes that his father is sleeping and wonders why others are weeping for him.  Now being a widow she enters into another world which is full of new challenges.  All her hope has gone

Detail analysis

First Stanza

“When you were not quite thirty and the sun
had not tanned you into old-boat brown
when you were not quite thirty and had not begun
to be embittered like the rest, nor grown
obsessed with death, then you would come
hot with continence upon the sea
chaste as gull flying pointed home
in haste to be with me!”

In the first stanza the poet expresses the sad soliloquy of the widow.  She reminisces the past with her husband.  She thinks with happiness, the love and her new relationship with her husband as they are newly married.  She says her husband is not quite thirty and his body had not tanned due to long work under the sun.  The sun had not turned him to an old boat brown to show that he is getting old. He is not obsessed with death and not showing bitterness in life like the rest.  They are new married and living a happy life. Perhaps in future he would become and possess all these qualities.   During these happy days the fisherman comes home after his hard work with dreams to his wife.  He is like the gull the bird who is very genuine and mate with only one partner until it dies.  Like that bird that fisherman comes to his wife with love and affection in one direction.  He had one pointed direction in which he would go with self-control or continence.

Second stanza

“Now that, being dead you are beyond detection,
and I need not be discreet , let us confess
it was not love that married us nor affection,
but elders’ persuasion, not even loneliness,
recall how first you were so impatient and afraid,
my eyes were open in the dark unlike in love,
trembling, lest in fear, you would let me go a maid,
trembling, on the other hand for my virginity.”

In this stanza the poet makes a reminder as this is not a happy remembrance, the poem is mourning her dead husband.  The first two lines give the message of his death.  She wants to confess many things. He is very far from her, now where to be seen.  He is not with her to reply her and she could feel the pain of his disappearance. She says their marriage was an arrange marriage by the elders.  They decided their future as a part of their culture and custom.  She remembers how first her husband felt impatient and afraid.  When they shared happiness it was without love with trembling and nervous. Her fears are real.  She felt insecure as if he might not be husband literally. He may either with her always or abandon her.

Third Stanza

“Three months the monsoon thrashed the sea,
and you remained at home; the sky cracked like a shell
in thunder, and the rain broke through .
at last when pouring ceased and the storm winds fell,
when gulls returned new plumed, and wild,
when in our wind-torn flamboyant new buds broke,
I was with child”

In the third stanza the poet describes the love they shared.  Three months the monsoon strikes the sea and the husband is forced to stay at home.  Their love and passion burst out like the sky cracked like a shell in thunder and they poured their love like a rain. At last the storm ends and the pouring stopped, the storm winds fell.  The gulls came back to their home and their plumage feather was new, the love and passion between the fisherman and his wife have turned them into a very close relationship as a result they are blossomed with bud. She is blessed with a child for their love.

 

Fourth Stanza

“My face was wan while telling you and voice fell low,
and you seemed full of guilt and not to know
whether to repent or rejoice over the situation.
You nodded at the ground and went to sea.
But soon I was to you more than God or temptation,
and so were you to me.”

The fourth stanza reveals the transformation of the fisherman from husband to a father.  The speaker in this situation feels fearful to share the good news of her pregnancy to her husband.  Her face went pale and her voice was so low, as she is scared to share her happiness with her husband.  After hearing the news fisherman nodded with no emotions and at once went to sea.  He was so confused by the news and didn’t know how to react.  Soon he comes back as he realises that his wife is more than god or temptation.  She is more than anything to him, temptation of life by evil forces or the blessing of god.  She is something great. She is above all to him now.

Fifth Stanza

Men come and go, some say they understand.
Our children weep, the youngest think you’re fast asleep;
theirs is fear and wonderment.
You had grown familiar as my hand,
that I cannot with simple grief assuage dismemberment.

The speaker expresses her feelings of the society after the death of her husband.  The society says about the practical life of a person.  They say men come and go, no one can stay forever, also they know her situation and they feel for her too.  But all their efforts are to comfort her.  only she knows the real situation where she weeps with her children. The children are the gifts of their love.  The youngest child could not understand why people cry when their father was sleeping.  The innocence gives more pain to the readers and brings a visual imagery of the sad situation.  She lost her happiness and hope.  She says “you are my hand and I lost my hand now.” The grief is not a simple one to get over with. She cannot make it easier to walk away from her grief.  She has to live in that pain accepting her hope and sunshine has disappeared from ever. 

Sixth Stanza

Outside the wind despoils of leaf
trees that it used to nurse;
once more the flamboyant is torn,
the sky cracks like a shell again,
so someone practical has gone
to make them bring the hearse
before the rain.

The concluding part of the stanza talks about the reality world.   She says about the strong wind pulls the leaves from the trees that nurse them.  Her husband who is a pillar, tree has blown away and left her alone in that world without none to comfort her pain. Again she feels the sky cracks open, not as before where they pour their love on each other with bursting feeling of love.  This time her hope is torn apart and her world is cracked like a shell.  She could not get over her grief but others, the society continue their lives as it is the practical end of life.

Literary Devices

The title explains and brings the visual image of the mourning of a fisherman’s wife.

The theme is uncertain life of a fisherman, practical acceptance of the society, pain of a wife.

Narrative style is soliloquy of the young widow who expresses her grief.

The poet uses musical rhyme pattern of ABABCDED

The poem consists six stanzas with various line pattern.  In each stanza the lines go in descending order. The poet suggests that the difficulty of the young widow to accept the reality of life.

The technique of Flash back and stream of conscious are used well to bring out the grief of the mourning wife so the readers could feel the pain and see the reality of life.

The repetition “You were not quite thirty” - they are young couple.

“Trembling, lest in fear you would let me go a maid, trembling, on the other   hand for my virginity.” - The feeling and fear of a young wife and new married couple.

 

Personification “sun had not yet tanned” denotes life is not so hard to turn him rough.

“The monsoon thrashed the sea” climatic change brings monsoon season and that makes her husband to stay home.  A turning point where they poured their love.

Outside the wind despoils of leaf” leaves blown away from the tree to nurse it. Nature has its own way to come back.  But none were there to comfort the young widow.

 

The bird gull is symbolized to show the purity of their relationship.  He always share his love only with his wife. “The sky cracks like a shell again,” a great change in her life is unavoidable. Flamboyant represents the family life which is filled with happiness and hope.

 

Visual images are old boat brown, a gull flying pointed home.

 

Simile - “they sky cracked like a shell,”
“Like the rest”
“Chaste as gull flying pointed home”- purity
“My eyes were open in the dark unlike in love” -natural behaviour of the arranged marriage.
“You had grown familiar as my hand,” -great loss and pain.

Comparative “I was to you more than god or temptation and so were you to me”

“Cracked like a shell” could be a auditory image.

The poem says about the uncertain life of a fisherman and the pain of the young widow who mourns for her departed husband.  The poet also through his simple language draws the economic situation of the fisherman. Certain climatic changes stop the fishermen to do their daily routine.  They wait until the climate becomes normal.  Their life is a daily struggle for survival. The poem blends the reality of life and death is unavoidable which causes a great pain to their loved ones.