Poetry · Chapter
Restored explained
A woman mourns her warrior lover for years, and the angels, pitying her sorrow, restore him to life.
What happens
A woman mourns her warrior lover for years, and the angels, pitying her sorrow, restore him to life. However, he returns aged and stiff, having gained the years since his death. He bores her, and she elopes with her father's young groom, while the old lover contentedly returns to the tomb.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Communication
The woman's long mourning and the failed reunion highlight the gap between idealized love and reality.
Mortality and Regret
The restored lover is burdened by the years of death, leading to disappointment and a return to the tomb.
Deception and Self-Deception
The woman's expectation of her warrior lover is shattered by the reality of his aged, boring presence.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The narrator describes the woman's mourning and the restoration of her lover.
Key passages
“The angels pitied her sorrow, Restoring her warrior’s life; And he came to her arms on the morrow To claim her and take her to wife.”
The angels felt sorry for her grief and brought her warrior back to life; the next day he returned to marry her.
The restoration of the lover is a direct act of divine pity.
“As it was, he bored her, and she rambled Away with her father’s young groom, And the old lover smiled as he ambled Contentedly back to the tomb.”
He ended up boring her, so she ran off with her father's young servant, and the old lover smiled happily as he walked back to his grave.
The reunion fails, and the lover accepts his return to death.