"35/10" Comparison between Mother and Child

Thesis: Sharon Olds' poem "35/10" incorporates the use of imagery and metaphor to develop a subtly depressing but loving contrasting relationship between an aging mother and a youthful child, therefore reflecting the twisted message of the circle of life and its natural way of replacing the old with the young.

1. Imagery
   
   • "Brushing out our daughter's brown / silken hair before the mirror" (1-2)
     The pleasant features described give a fragile innocence to the child. The "silken" hair is smooth and free of the harshness of reality and growing older. Her image is reflected as so in the truthful mirror and is contrasted by the grey on the mother's head. This first image of the poem sets the tone for the entire length of the work, the mother taking in the fresh beauty of her daughter as she also faces her own decay.
   • "I brush her tangled / fragrant hair at bedtime" (15-16)
     There is a slight shift to the decription of the child's hair. Before it was seens as flawless and soft, whereas by the end it is tangled. The mother is beginning to see her her daughter's fixable flaws, and her ability to soothe and untangle her nearly insignificant problems. The mother's flaws are seen as permanent, and so she must cherish the time when she can mend her daughter's imperfections while she knows she still can.
2. Metaphor
   
   • "She opens like a moist / precise flower on the tip of a cactus" (9-10)
     The use of the simile hints at the power of reproduction, the blossoming of the flower made by the mother's reproductive system. She is "precise" and planned, her placement on the cactus and in the world done purposely. Flowers are also seen as pure, and on a cactus, the flower is the only part that is not harmful to the touch. In this way, the daughter is seen as perhaps the only thing cherished by her mother. Similarly, the flower on a cactus is not reachable by the thorns of the plant, therefore simbolizing how the child is still away from hurt's reach, or so thinks her mother.
   • "her full purse of eggs, round and / firm as hard-boiled yolks, is about to snap its clasp" (13-15)
     Once again, the topic of reproduction resurfaces. The biological eggs in the girl's uterus are compared to the yolks of eatable eggs. Both kinds are able to create a new life, however if the eggs are hard-boiled, then the life has been lost. The mother seems to recognize her daughter's ability to reproduce, but she is not yet ready for another generation to exist. She will not allow her daughter to experience the bittersweet feelings of motherhood.
     
3. Contrast
   • "the fold in my neck / clarifying as the fine bones of her / hips sharpen?" (13-15)
     The mother heavily contrasts her signs of age with her daughters signs of puberty. The bones of the child seem very fragile, almost as though they have not been used completely. As the hips are being described as sharpening also adds a slightly unhealthy aspect to the girl's physique. 
   • "As my skin shows / its dry pitting, she opens like a moist / precise flower on the tip of a cactus" (8-10)
     The metaphor used to compare the child to a cactus flower contrasts the mother's view of her own skin's imperfections. Her daughter has no physical, or emotional, scars as of yet, and the mother seems to be reflecting on the hopes she has for her daughter to stay as innocent and unharmed as she is now.