The Pattern (Leaving Cert English): Revision Notes
The Pattern
Overview and central themes
Paula Meehan's powerful poem "The Pattern" explores the complex relationship between a daughter and her deceased mother. The poem grapples with the universal fear of inheriting our parents' traits and mistakes, particularly focusing on how we attempt to separate ourselves from our past while often finding ourselves trapped in similar cycles.
The central theme revolves around the concept of escaping destiny - the speaker's struggle to break free from the patterns established by her mother's life. This isn't simply a sentimental remembrance of a lost parent, but rather a nuanced exploration of love, resentment, and the difficulty of forging one's own identity when shaped by family history.
The poem operates on both literal and metaphorical levels - while "pattern" refers to sewing patterns used by the mother, it also represents the cyclical nature of family behaviours and societal expectations passed down through generations.
The inheritance and early conflict (lines 1-8)
The poem opens with a catalogue of physical objects the speaker has inherited from her mother: "Little has come down to me of hers, / a sewing machine, a wedding band, / a clutch of photos, the sting of her hand / across my face in one of our wars / when we had grown bitter and apart." These items represent both material inheritance and emotional baggage, immediately establishing the troubled nature of their relationship.
The domestic imagery of the sewing machine and wedding band suggests traditional female roles, while the reference to "the sting of her hand" reveals the physical conflict that marked their relationship. The phrase "our wars" indicates that this was an ongoing battle rather than isolated incidents, highlighting the intensity of their troubled connection.
Line Analysis: Opening Inheritance
The juxtaposition of objects creates powerful meaning:
- "sewing machine" = traditional female domesticity
- "wedding band" = marriage as women's expected role
- "clutch of photos" = memories and family history
- "sting of her hand" = physical/emotional violence
This progression moves from objects to actions, showing how inheritance includes both material items and traumatic experiences.
Social expectations and women's roles (lines 9-18)
The poem then shifts to examine how society defines women through their relationships to others rather than as individuals. The speaker reflects on how women are categorised "without tags like mother, wife, / sister, daughter, taken our chance from there." This commentary reveals how patriarchal society limits women's identities to their familial roles.
The mother's journey "At forty-two she headed for god knows where" suggests both literal and metaphorical escape attempts, while the daughter's admission "I've never gone back to visit her grave" reveals the complexity of grief mixed with unresolved anger. The detailed description of the mother's domestic routine - scrubbing floors, working despite physical pain, taking breaks for tea - paints a picture of relentless domestic labour that defined her existence.
The poem critiques how women are defined by their relationships to others rather than as independent individuals. This reflects broader societal patterns where women's worth is measured through their roles as mothers, wives, and daughters rather than their personal achievements or qualities.
The mother's domestic world and limitations
Meehan employs rich sensuous imagery to elevate the mundane aspects of domestic life. The "lavender polish" that would "percolate back through the flat" transforms routine cleaning into something almost sacred. This technique shows how the poet finds beauty and significance in working-class women's daily experiences.
The description of the mother working "by fading light / to remake an old dress" for her daughter's first day of school demonstrates both maternal love and economic necessity. The phrase "she works day and night" emphasises the exhausting nature of her life, while the specific detail about repurposing clothing highlights their financial struggles.
Meehan's use of sensuous imagery serves a dual purpose: it honours the often-overlooked labour of working-class women while also showing how domestic work can be transformed into something beautiful and meaningful through poetic language.
Memory and self-reflection (lines 19-27)
The poem's most introspective section reveals the speaker's fears about her own identity. She wonders whether her mother ever "attempted to identify her true self" when looking in mirrors or polishing surfaces. The repeated questions - "Did she catch her own face coming clear? / Did she net a glimmer of her true self?" - suggest the speaker's own struggle with self-recognition and authenticity.
The imagery of children skating around the mother "in our socks" while she worked creates a powerful picture of family life, with the mother as the central figure around whom everyone else orbits. However, the speaker's greatest fear is revealed: "she is afraid of what she might have in common with her" - the terrifying possibility of following in her mother's footsteps.
Mirroring and Self-Recognition
The speaker's questions about her mother seeing herself in reflective surfaces parallel her own struggle:
- Mother looking in mirrors = search for authentic self
- Polishing surfaces = creating moments of clarity
- Speaker's fear of resemblance = anxiety about inherited identity
This technique shows how self-awareness can be both liberating and frightening.
The cycle of patterns and inheritance (lines 28-47)
The poem's title metaphor becomes explicit when the mother is described working on a dress while "the younger kids are long in bed." The physical act of sewing becomes symbolic of life patterns being passed down through generations.
A crucial memory is shared about a repurposed lambswool dress and the speaker's encounter with her grandfather's abuse. This section reveals the intergenerational nature of trauma and oppression, showing how patriarchal control affected multiple generations of women in the family. The grandfather's violent reaction to his daughter's autonomy and the mother's broken promise of protection ("It'll be over my dead body anyone harms a hair of your head") adds layers of irony and pain to the narrative.
The broken promise of protection reveals a tragic irony - the mother cannot protect her daughter from the same systemic oppression she herself experienced. This highlights how patriarchal violence creates cycles that individual women struggle to break, despite their best intentions.
Dreams of escape and artistic expression (lines 48-77)
The speaker's memories shift to her own childhood dreams of escape through education and travel. The "three new copybooks" and "bronze nib, St Christopher strung on a silver wire" represent hope for a different future through learning and faith.
The vivid imagery of dreaming about distant places - "Zanzibar, Bombay, the Land of the Ethiops" - contrasts sharply with the claustrophobic domestic environment. This section shows how imagination became a form of resistance against limitation, with the speaker "sizing up the world beyond our flat patch by patch."
The photograph of her mother "in the Phoenix Park / alone on a bench surrounded by roses" provides a rare glimpse of the mother as an individual rather than just a domestic figure. The description of her as "wrapped entirely in her own shadow" and "already a dream, already lost" foreshadows both her death and the limited nature of her existence.
The contrast between exotic place names and the confined domestic space emphasises how education and imagination offered the speaker possibilities that were denied to her mother's generation. The "copybooks" become symbols of potential escape routes through literacy and learning.
The mother's constrained life and quiet desperation
The poem uses onomatopoeia in "Her steel needles sparked and clacked" to bring the mother's sewing to life, while the "sensible shades" she preferred - "Moss Green, Mustard, Beige" - reflect both practical necessity and perhaps a personality shaped by limitations. These colours suggest someone who has learned not to draw attention to herself or expect too much from life.
The mother's pregnancy while living this constrained existence adds another layer of tragedy - even her body becomes part of the endless cycle of domestic responsibility and limited choices.
Color Symbolism and Character
The mother's colour choices reveal her constrained existence:
- "Moss Green" = earth-toned, practical, natural
- "Mustard" = muted, functional, not vibrant
- "Beige" = neutral, unremarkable, safe
These "sensible shades" contrast with the daughter's dreams of "pure colour" and artistic expression, showing generational differences in possibilities and expectations.
The daughter's struggle for independence (lines 78-91)
The final section reveals the daughter's own attempts to break free from inherited patterns. The metaphor "I dreamt a robe of a colour / so pure it became a word" suggests artistic ambition and the desire to express herself through poetry rather than domestic skills.
However, the poem's conclusion is deliberately ambiguous. The "tongues of flame in her dark eyes" could represent either anger or passion, and the mother's final words about teaching her daughter "to follow a pattern" can be read as both loving guidance and a warning about the difficulty of escape.
The switching of verb tenses throughout this section reflects the daughter's confusion about whether to embrace or reject her mother's influence. The final image of the mother as potentially "a demonic puppeteer" suggests the haunting nature of inherited patterns and the difficulty of achieving true independence.
The poem's ambiguous ending reflects the complexity of breaking free from family patterns. The mother's influence can be seen as both nurturing (teaching skills) and limiting (enforcing conformity), showing how love and control often intertwine in family relationships.
Social context and Irish family dynamics
Within the context of Irish culture and family relationships, this poem holds particular significance. Many Irish families, especially working-class ones, operated under strict hierarchies where children faced significant pressure to conform. The poem addresses issues of financial hardship, mental health struggles, and potentially alcoholism - factors that often contributed to family dysfunction.
The speaker's recognition that "there are characteristics in our parents that we simply despise" reflects a universal truth about family relationships, while her realisation that "those characteristics will one day be ours as well" captures the terrifying inevitability of inherited patterns.
Understanding the Irish working-class context helps explain the intensity of family dynamics described in the poem. Economic hardship, limited opportunities, and traditional gender roles created environments where intergenerational conflict was often inevitable.
Poetic techniques and literary devices
Meehan employs several sophisticated techniques throughout the poem:
- Domestic imagery: Transforms everyday objects and activities into powerful symbols of women's experiences
- Sensuous imagery: Uses detailed sensory descriptions to elevate mundane domestic work
- Ambiguity: Particularly in the final sections, allows multiple interpretations of the mother-daughter relationship
- Irony: The mother's promise of protection is broken, highlighting the cyclical nature of abuse
- Onomatopoeia: Brings the mother's sewing to life through sound
Technique in Action: Domestic Imagery
Meehan transforms ordinary household items into powerful symbols:
- Sewing machine = traditional female role and creative potential
- Wedding band = marriage as social expectation
- Lavender polish = finding beauty in mundane labour
- Steel needles = both creation and potential harm
This technique elevates working-class women's experiences to the level of art and makes their struggles visible and significant.
About Paula Meehan
Paula Meehan is a distinguished Irish poet and playwright from Dublin who grew up in a working-class family. Her background informs much of her poetry, which often explores themes of family, social class, and women's experiences in Irish society. Her poetry collections include Return and No Blame (1984), Reading the Sky (1986), The Man Who Was Marked by Winter (1991), Pillow Talk (1994), Mysteries of the Home (1996), Dharmakaya (2001), Six Sycamores (2004), and Painting Rain (2005).
Key Points to Remember:
- The poem explores the difficulty of escaping inherited family patterns and the complex nature of mother-daughter relationships
- Meehan uses domestic imagery to highlight working-class women's experiences and the limitations placed on them by society
- The title "The Pattern" works both literally (sewing patterns) and metaphorically (life patterns passed down through generations)
- The speaker's fear isn't just of her mother, but of becoming like her mother - trapped in similar cycles of limitation and struggle
- The poem demonstrates how patriarchal society affects multiple generations of women, creating ongoing cycles of oppression and trauma
- The ambiguous ending reflects the complexity of breaking free from family influence and the ongoing nature of intergenerational relationships