Gabrielle Fonacier

Mrs. Maxwell

AP Literature and Composition

October 24, 2016

The Bistro Styx:​ Mother and Daughter, Sorrow and Separation

Capturing the scene and exchange between long-parted loved ones, ​The Bistro Styx​ by Rita Dove

was written to depict the intricacies of a mother-daughter relationship, and how separation leaves a very

lasting mark. The author takes the first person point of view of the mother and, throughout the poem,

develops a complex attitude in face of the problem. In a general sense, she takes on an attitude mainly of

restraint, yearning and incomprehension. Through a myriad of poetic techniques, the author conveys these

three attitudes to the readers to show what mothers go through for their daughters.

Firstly, the mother appears to be very restrained, unable to pour out her motherly affections, as

she begins engaging in conversation with her child. Rita Dove uses specific action diction to convey this.

As soon as the daughter settles down, the mother “lean[s] back to peruse [her] blighted child” (13-14).

The latter also “hazard[s] a motherly smile to keep from crying out” (15-16); and if that does not spell

motherly restraint, nothing else probably would. This cool demeanor may come across as uncaring, but in

truth, the mother is trying her best to suppress herself and making her appear more approachable to the

“aristocrat mole” (14).

The kind of dialogue the mother uses also encapsulates her restraint and how she initially tries to

hide her motherly-warmth. This is seen especially through a contrast between what she first asks her

daughter, and the last words he says. In greeting, the mother starts with the question, “how’s business?”

(15) But she really only does so to cover up what she ​really​ hoped to ask, whether or not she is “content

to conduct [her] life as a cliché” (16-17). The mother, by the end, does ask her beloved child, “are you
happy?” (34) out of genuine concern; but this only highlights the contrasting, cold and detached dialogue

of ‘how business is’ earlier.

Rita Dove, in addition, also takes advantage of color imagery to subtly help in creating a

restrained outlook of monotony. The mother takes notice right away that her daughter, upon entrance, is

wearing dull colors – “dressed all in the gray” (7), “graphite…shoes” (9), “her cape…of brushed steel”

(11, 14). The author’s chosen colors and imagery contribute greatly to the distant impression the mother is

taking on. She may be being as nonchalant as possible, as she is trying to match her daughter’s new cool

composure. But, truly, she in overly concerned for her child, so much so that she has to conceal just to

carry a simple conversation with her.

Though the mother is suppressing her emotions, they are still present. As mentioned, the mother

also presents herself as yearning for her daughter. She wants her child back into her own mother’s care,

or, at the least, far away from the clutches of the current controlling life she’s in. The author renders this

yearning through the pain and sorrow of the mother. And Dove has ​specific​ imagery to symbolize these.

In a vivid simile from lines 50 to 53, a sad and dreary tone is produced from the image of “a fringe of

rain”. A couple of lines ahead, the author she uses the “tear-shaped” (62) imagery descriptor not only to

tell us of the pear’s shape but to also, quite subtly, provoke some sorrowful connotation.

Aside from pain and sorrow, Rita Dove also (somewhat paradoxically) exhibits the mother’s

yearning for her daughter by how she has given up hope. In the final thoughts she shares with the reader,

she simply resigns that she has “lost her” (70). The yearning has reached its tipping point, past pain, past

sorrow and past the point of no return. Why? For the mother is now certain no more talk and no more

dates can restore her daughter back to her.

Finally, the entire poem showcases the incomprehension and extreme disbelief the mother takes

on as she faces reality full blown. Stemming off from her loss of hope, the mother cannot fathom her

separation from her own daughter. The author first uses dramatic simile to show the extent of how much
she is undergoing. Lines 31-32 make a vivid comparison of the “black plug steaming / like the heart

plucked from the chest of a worthy enemy”. Even though she may just be describing the savory goodness

of the Chateaubriand (highly unlikely), the author uses this to represent the mother’s heart ‘plucked out’

because of the actions and distancing of her own daughter.

The whole poem also being an allusion to the Persephone Greek tale plays a critical role in

presenting the total unfathomable state the mother is in. There are several references to the myth in this

poem, one of which is the presence of the characters. The mother is Demeter, the daughter, Persephone,

who “drapes in blues and carmine” (45), and her employer, Hades, since “he dresses in all black now”

(44-45). Even the way the employer “never thinks of food” (54) is a good indication he is the god of the

underworld – as Hades does not take part in the food and only those who enter his realm do. The last two

lines are also strong allusions to the mythical tale. In lines 69-70, the daughter, out of the blue, comments

“one really should try the fruit here”. With the mother’s response of her losing her daughter, it makes for

a perfect scene between Persephone and Demeter – the former eats the fruit (pomegranates) stays in the

Underworld with Hades, and the latter can do nothing but resign to the fate her daughter has and the pain

it brings.

The mother uses allusion not only to entertain. She deems it not fitting enough to simply retell her

story in plain prose. The pain is too great, the situation too incomprehensible. Alluding to another’s trials

also helps the mother rest on the fact that she is (or was) not alone — again, pointing to the inscrutable

hardship and matter at hand.

The Bistro Styx​, written by Rita Dove, is a story about a mother and her daughter, and what

separation looks like and results in between the two. The piece very well presents a complex relationship,

as well as a complex attitude by the speaker (the mother) herself. Through various poetic devices and

techniques, including dramatic imagery, simile, diction, allusion and tone, the author reveals the three

attitudes of the mother: that of restraint, yearning and incomprehension. They all intertwine with one
another and bring forth complexities only mothers can truly understand when their precious ones finally

depart from them.