Frank Tells His Story.....

"Through our sunless lanes creeps Poverty with her hungry eyes, and Sin with his sodden face follows close behind her. Misery wakes us in the morning and Shame sits with us at night." -Oskar Wilde

As Frank relives the anguish of his childhood through the power of his words, the poverty and suffering of his family become a reality to the reader. The above quote illustrates the McCourt family and their mental, physical, and emotional poverty-driven struggles.

The uncharacteristic capitalization of “Poverty,” “Sin,” “Misery,” and “Shame,” along with the use of personal pronouns, showcases Wilde’s use of personification in the above quotation. Each of these nouns can be given an individual identity by being properly assigned to one of the McCourt family members: Poverty to Angela, Sin to Malachy (the father), Misery to the living children, and Shame to the deceased children.

While the McCourt poverty is not the result of her actions, Poverty most properly represents Angela. Angela’s depression, while most directly the result of her children’s deaths, is indirectly the result of her poverty and inability to properly nourish her family. As her husband hastily spends the little money he earns at the pub, Angela begs that he bring home food for the children instead of alcohol for his mind, and thus her eyes and desires could be describes as “hungry.” The verb “creeps” in the above quote parallels Angela’s sluggish, somber, sickly physical movements as she struggles to balance her severe depression and the responsibilities of motherhood: “Most of the day Mam lies in bed with her face to the wall. If she drinks tea or eats anything she throws up in the bucket under the bed […]” (McCourt 41). The lanes are also describes as “sunless,” just as her room remains dark while she mourns the death of Margaret. Sunless would also suitably describe Angela’s day-to-day living experiences that are filled with little or no moments of pure happiness.

Plagued by the desire and need to drink, Malachy McCourt is represented by “Sin.” Excessive consumption of alcohol would be viewed by many as a sin, as would the withholding of money from one’s starving family. “Drinking. That’s where he is. There isn’t a penny in the house. He can’t get a job but he finds money for the drink, money for the drink, money for the drink,” (37). Regardless of these sins, Malachy leads the family, although not a firmly as the more practical Mrs. McCourt, which is why he is described as “following close behind her.” The adjective “sodden” used in two contexts describes different aspects of Malachy’s persona. Sodden can be used to describe one who is soaked with liquid or moisture. Water, used as a derogatory symbol throughout this memoir to represent sadness and suffering, describes Malachy’s obvious misery and dissatisfaction with himself. Used in another context, sodden means dull or stupid, especially from drunkenness, representing Malachy’s drinking habits.

The living children, Frank included, are properly represented by “Misery.” Not only does the misery of their childhood create significant roadblocks to success and happiness, but it induces tears as well-the same tears that have awoken parents to wet drops of sadness since the beginning of time. “They make faces and run to Mam’s bed, crying. She keeps her face to the wall and they run back to me, still crying,” (36). These tears and other numerous references to water represent the desperation of the Irish people. “Limerick gained reputation for piety, but we knew it was only the rain,” (12). This quote illustrates that it was desperation, rather than dedication to faith, that drew huge masses of battered individuals together in worship. The children’s misery is consistent as feelings of helplessness erupt from hunger and desperation. This desperation is exaggerated by the theme of flight, or lack of flight. The following quote, “The swings are frozen and won’t even move,” (29) shows not only the lack of flight, and thus lack of freedom from misery, but the inability of these children to live the carefree, jovial days of childhood.

Shame, coupled with guilt, is a prevalent theme living throughout the words of this memoir. The deceased McCourt children represent the unbearable shame any parent would suffer knowing their lack of nourishment caused the death of their own children. Angela cries in desperation and shame after Margaret’s death, “In the pram, Mrs. Leibowitz. Near my bed. I could have picked her up and she didn’t have to die, did she?” (38). Not only do Mr. and Mrs. McCourt have to struggle with the shame of their lost children, but they have to struggle with their personal imperfections as defined by societal norms. For example, with religion forming the cornerstone of Ireland’s social structure, any child born to parents not legally deemed man and wife, like Frank, is frowned upon: “The sisters knew what was wrong and any doubts could be resolved by the […] church. They knew that Angela, unmarried, have no right to be in an interesting condition […]” (15). Additionally, one’s church affiliation was highly indicative of the types of settings in which one would be accepted: “’Tisn’t his fault if there’s Presbyterians in his [Malachy’s] family,” (16). Shame created by societal standards was incredibly common in this time period.

As the McCourt family struggles to maintain a stable family unit, poverty, sin, misery, and shame create a seemingly unbeatable symphony of indestructible forces. Frank’s dismal childhood is personified, and described by the words of Oskar Wilde.