Analysis Of To Judge Faolain Dead Long Enough

In McCarriston’s poem “To Judge Faolain, Dead Long Enough: A Summons,” the narrator— who by the emotion in the poem appears to be the daughter of the abused woman—now orders and recalling the original scene in the judge’s courtroom. This is indicative of the fact that the narrator is speaking to the judge in the past tense about her mother, as she began the poem with “Your Honor, when my mother stood / before you…” (1, 2). I believe the narrator is female because of how she startlingly interrupts her own narration with an emotional response to the injustice done to her mother, “no, not “someone,” / but a woman there, snagged / with her babies, by them” (12-14). The narrator’s emotion regarding her mother’s injuries is also within the descriptions of her abuse, particularly the mentioning of her face being “pancake” and “her heart / the bursting heart of someone snagged” (7, 10-11). In my analysis of the poem, a male narrator would not seem to relate and empathize as much with his mother in these descriptions, but a female narrator would be able to relate and empathize, thus giving meaning as to why the narrator included those particular descriptions of her mother. …show more content…
I believe the narrator interrupted her narration to correct the judge’s jaded, coldly professional misunderstanding of her mother who once stood before him, for she is not just another defendant, but her mother, and a victim of domestic abuse that should not be ignored. The narrator describes this abuse as her mother endured it for weeks, healing and waiting for a response from the routine submissions to the judge (1-8). When the mother was in front of the judge in this particular scene remembered by the daughter, the mother wore a “homemade forties hairdo” (6-7). Her mother’s hairdo and makeup indicate that she was not only suffering physically but also financially, as her hair was homemade and not done by a salon worker. In addition to evidence of physical abuse and poverty, the narrator also implies that her mother was sexually abused. This sexual abuse can be inferred from the daughter describing that her mother’s “holy of holies [was] healing” (8). From my knowledge of Christianity, I know that the Holy of Holies refers to the place where God dwelt in the Old Testament. This place was known to be a sanctuary for God with an inner room separated with curtains where He would directly dwell. Because God was said to dwell in this place, the sanctuary was seen as sacred and highly respected, so sacred in fact that only the high priest was allowed to enter it on a Jewish holiday called Yom Kippur (but only after he was known to be clean, spiritually and literally). If anyone else entered the sanctuary, it was said that this person violated the law and dishonored God. In the same way, the mother’s “holy of holies” referred to her reproductive system, for it is vital for life and therefore is demanding of respect. To violate or abuse a person sexually would desecrate their reproductive system, undervaluing its purpose and acting contrary to law. Not to mention, a woman’s reproductive system is literally inside their bodies, so just as God