Adrienne Rich's Mourning Picture Meaning

In Edwin Romanzo Elmer artwork, “Mourning Picture”, the setting consists of a family sitting outside their large wooden house near the hills in western Mass on a bright day. The family includes a small girl and parents, the young girl stands at a distance from the parents. The dark clothed parents are in a corner near a lilac bush sitting down on wooden chairs. The mother, however, sits under the shadows of the bush. Toys are scattered around the grass as well as a pet cat and lamb. At the first glance, it seemed as if the artwork had only depicted a family in their daily routine of a family bonding with their daughter. After repeatedly examining the artwork one notices how both the parents and daughter have gloomy expressions on their faces …show more content…
One can imply that according to the title that someone in the artwork is mourning, specifically the parents due to them be the only one with funeral like clothing. The daughter, however, has a body language that suggests she’s apart from the family. Supposedly, the daughter named Effie is who they are mourning about. The daughter got appendicitis and died at the young age of nine (Smee). Therefore, it could be inferred that the artwork is of remembrance of the author’s daughter. Poet and radical feminist, Adrienne Rich, entitled her poem “Mourning Picture” where she uses the voice of the dead daughter Effie to narrate the poem. The poem set the same dismal tone as in the artwork. In the poem, the voice of Effie is used as an observer of the many aspects of the artwork focusing mostly emphasizing mourning loss and remembrance of the life with …show more content…
Rich uses phrases such as “my doll lies in her wicker pram gazing at western Massachusetts” and “I could remake each shaft of grass feeling its rasp on my fingers” as if she 's there as a living being remembering. Effie is clearly not alive, however, it can be implied that she was acting as if she was alive in a dream when she states: “Out of my head, half-bursting, still filling, the dream condenses”. In other words, her dream seems to fade away because it is not reality. This suggesting that she had been an observer. Including when she says “I am Effie, visible and invisible, remembering and remembered” which also suggests that she is an observer, visible in the artwork and poem but invisible in real life as well as remembering her life as it used to be and being remembered by her parents, Specifically being remembered by her father, the artist of the picture. In the artwork scattered around near Effie are her belongings. It was known that after Effie’s death her parents had moved away from the family house, packed away all her toys and gave away her pets (Smee). In the poem, Effie speaks on how her parents mourn her death. Effie states: “They will move from the house. Give the toys and pets away”. In other words, Effie exposes how her parents mourn their loss. This suggesting that she’s aware and accepts their form of