19 pages • 38 minutes read
In The Park
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Symbols & Motifs
Balloon
In Line 8, “a small balloon” rises from the man’s head. This cartoon thought bubble, an image the poem draws from the visual conventions of comic strip characters expressing their thoughts, represents the judgment the woman feels about herself, which she imposes on others and assumes they feel as well. The word “unquestionably” (Line 7) implies that there is no doubt in the woman's head that the man is having these thoughts, which depicts just how self-conscious she is about her chaotic and unruly children screaming and pulling on her clothes—she feels at all times the external judgmental gaze of social disapproval. The intrusion into her life of her pre-domesticity past heightens this anxiety and makes her consider the path of her life, as well as other possible futures she gave up. She assumes that the man is thinking, there “but for the grace of God” (Line 8)—a phrase of relief that he is not trapped in her life. This thought bubble reflects the woman’s rueful thoughts about the “great surprises” (Line 6) life has actually held for her.
Clothes
The first line of the poem describes the woman’s clothes as “out of date” (Line 1), suggesting that the woman does not have time to think about her appearance or the latest fashion. Her priorities are domestic. The second line mentions her clothing again: Rather than adorning her body or allowing her some self-expression, her skirt now functions like the service bell her children yank on to attract her attention to their complaints. Now that her clothes are playthings for her children, she can no longer use them to mark herself as attractive, pursue style, or use them in any other aesthetic way. The deeper implication is that women’s desires are not a priority when they become mothers—motherhood erases all other markers of identity. The woman's shabby appearance may be one reason why she considers pretending not to notice her ex-lover in the second stanza.
Rehearsing
In the third stanza, the woman is shown “rehearsing / the children’s names and birthdays” (Lines 9-10) with her former love interest. The concept of rehearsing relates to role-playing, memorization, and recital. When it is time to engage in conversation, the woman feels duty-bound to mention her children—the social expectation of mothers. The woman rattles off some basic facts about their ages in Line 10 and even goes so far as it add how “sweet” it is to “watch them grow and thrive” (Lines 10-11). As the fact of "rehearsal" shown, she has often performed this role of blissfully fulfilled mother, unable to share how she really feels about her maternal duties and her loss of sense of self in polite company. When it comes to playing a role for society and knowing what lines are acceptable to say or not, practice makes perfect. This woman cannot bond with the man she once loved, someone who does not know her well in her current state, someone she likely wants to impress after years of not talking to or seeing him, and as a result, this encounter leaves them strangers to each other—the "rehearsed" conversation cannot create actual human bonds.
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