Aunt Helen by T.S.Eliot Essay Example

Helen Slingsby no longer lives in the house because Eliot writes in the past tense, "lived", instead of the present tense, "lives".The reader knows that Helen was middle class because Eliot writes "near a fashionable square" however she is not immensely wealthy because she lived in a "small house" this is re-enforced when Eliot states, "servants to the number of four" Eliot again users the past tense "cared" re- enforcing Helen's absence, although aunt Helen wanted to give the impression to society that she was wealthy due to her choice of location, "a fashionable square" and due to the number of employees she employed.

The reader has now become intrigued and wants to find out want happened to aunt Helen and her current location. In line four, we realise why Eliot refers to Helen in the past tense because "she died". In honour of her death there was "Silence in heaven", as though even the angels were silent in honour of her life and grieving for her death. "Silence at her end of the street" evokes to the reader that perhaps she was popular among her community and that this woman was genuinely kind, warm- hearted woman.In line six, Eliot writes, "The shutters were drawn" which is symbolic of mourning, people would not let light into the house and would wear black as a sign of mourning. Eliot also states, "the undertaker wiped his feet", a sign of respect towards the deceased.

The undertaker seems to be "aware that this sort of thing had occurred before", "sort of thing" is a euphemism for death and it is regarded as a minor circumstance, which on first

reading may sound cruel or harsh, however the undertaker did not know this women, therefore he feels no personal or emotional loss and his job is associated with death and has become custom for him. Eliot states in the next line, "dogs were handsomely provided for", which illustrates to the reader that Helen was a animal lover, however, in the next line Eliot writes "shortly afterwards the parrot died" once again Eliot is establishing the circle of life; we are born, we live, we die and re- enforcing the concept of time files. A parrot is an exotic bird which would have symbolized a exotic lifestyle.The clock is symbolic of the passing of time, "The Dresden clock continued ticking", even though Aunt Helen and the parrot have passed away, the clock continues to tick; life goes on for everybody else and unless you knew and had an emotional connection with either Helen or the parrot, life continues as normal. "The Dresden clock" is an expensive product, again re-enforcing the value of Aunt Helen.

The employees of the late aunt Helen are continuing their lives, "the footman sat upon the dining- table" and "holding the second housemaid on his knees" which is an action neither would have done in the presence of Helen, "always been so careful while her mistress lived" however neither feel guilty because they are only engaging in harmless flirting and moving on with their lives and having fun in the process, one never knows when their last days are coming to an end and the death of Helen has established this so the footman and the second housemaid are making the most

of their lives while they still can. Eliot writes, "second housemaid" to perhaps convey that the first housemaid is also dead.The symbolic reference to the clock and the death of Helen and the parrot are an indication that death can at times be unexpected and that people should not repress themselves due to society's conventions because "Tempus Fugit". I like this poem because I do believe that life is too short to live by other people's expectations and requirements, no matter what one achieves you will not be able to please everyone, as a result i believe you should have fun with life while you still have the time and to be able to die without any regrets.