Fear

Fear Summary | Detailed Summary

"Fear" is Gabriela Mistral's poem of a mother's love for her daughter, the intensity of which instills fear that the girl may become so worldly, successful, or well known that she will be unavailable to her own mother one day.

The poem opens with the woman declaring that she does not want "them" to turn her little daughter into a swallow because the daughter would then be able to fly away and perhaps never return. If the girl were to transform into a swallow, she would no longer sleep on her mother's straw mat and may even take up residence in the eaves of the house where the young girl could not be reached by her mother who wants to comb her hair. The mother repeats her fear of "them" turning her daughter into a swallow.

The mother transitions from the birds to the fear of "them" making her daughter a princess. If the girl were a princess, she would no doubt wear small golden slippers, which would be highly impractical for playing in the meadow. If the daughter were a princess, she would not be able to sleep in her mother's humble home each night which is one more reason the mother does not want her little girl to be made into a princess.

Elevating the mother's fear even more is the idea that if the little girl were a princess there is a strong possibility of "them" making her a queen. Clearly, then, the daughter would be placed on a throne and would not be accessible to her own mother. The final fear is that night would come and the daughter who is now queen could not be rocked by her mother. In closing, the mother states again that she does not want "them" to make her little girl a queen.