The Mother · Chapter
The Younger Son's Return explained
The younger son returns home, bringing the mother fleeting comfort.
What happens
The younger son returns home, bringing the mother fleeting comfort. He is restless and distant, staying only nine days before leaving again. He comes and goes without warning, idling in the hamlet and speaking radical talk. The mother dotes on him, saving treats and stealing eggs, while the elder son grows bitter with resentment. The mother sees no fault in her younger son, cherishing his presence and his small gifts.
Themes in this chapter
Family Conflict and Favoritism
The mother's blatant favoritism toward the younger son creates deep resentment in the elder son, who feels unappreciated and burdened.
Isolation and Loneliness
The mother's loneliness is palpable as she clings to her younger son, saving treats and watching the road for his return.
Desire and Repression
The mother's repressed desires for love and connection manifest in her obsessive care for her younger son, while the elder son's anger is repressed to maintain social propriety.
Characters to notice
- The Mother
Finds comfort in her younger son's return, dotes on him, saves treats for him, and is oblivious to his faults.
- The Young Man
The younger son who returns home restlessly, speaks radical ideas, and is favored by his mother despite his idleness.
- The Elder Son
Resents his younger brother's idleness and the mother's favoritism, expresses bitterness.
- Cousin
The cousin's wife speaks mildly to the mother about the younger son's age and behavior.
Key passages
“Then did it seem as though the mother’s heart might have some comfort, for in the springtime of that year the younger son came home and he said, “I am come home to stay a while, mother, how long I do not know, but at least until I am bid to go again.””
The mother felt a glimmer of relief when her younger son returned home in the spring, announcing he would stay until told to leave.
The mother's hope is briefly revived by the son's return, though his stay is uncertain.
“But the mother saw no fault in him at all.”
The mother was blind to any of her younger son's flaws.
Highlights the mother's unconditional and uncritical love for her younger son.
“Much time she spent in watching these small bits to see they did not mold, and she kept them as long as she could, and when he put off coming home and she was forced to eat them lest they spoil she felt it no pleasure and scarcely could she enjoy the dainty, although she loved food, too.”
She carefully preserved treats for her son, but when he delayed his return, she ate them reluctantly, finding no joy in them.
Illustrates the mother's devotion and the emptiness she feels when her son is absent.