On her blindness Flashcards
Title
Blindness represents not just the loss of physical sight, but a deeper emotional and psychological blindness—the refusal to fully confront or accept painful truths. The mother’s refusal to face her reality, as she pretends to ignore her decline and continues to act as though she can see.
Parallel to on his blindness
Mimics the poem which ultimately arrives at acceptance, with Milton concluding that his suffering is part of God’s plan. In contrast, On Her Blindness portrays a painful denial, as the mother continues to “see” things she cannot, pretends to live normally, and refuses to accept her loss of sight.
Structure
The free verse form reflects the disordered, unpredictable experience of dealing with a loved one’s decline, with no strict boundaries or control, much like the mother’s gradual loss of sight and the speaker’s struggle to process it
What does the shift in structure show
tone becomes more resigned, mirroring the realization that she can no longer pretend. The final lines, where the mother’s death strips her of the ability to pretend, highlight the ultimate surrender to truth, with blindness representing both a physical and psychological barrier that prevents them from confronting reality until the very end.
It’s living hell, to be honest Adam. / If I gave up hope of a cure, I’d bump / myself off.
Disrupts the usual narrative of resilience associated with disability. Instead of a stoic or inspirational account, the speaker’s mother expresses her unfiltered despair.
He wonders if he can still serve God, just like Adam wondered how to live after leaving paradise.
In the end, Milton accepts his suffering, believing that patience and faith are enough.
The phrase “living hell” is stark and uncompromising, stripping away any sugarcoating.
“Bump myself off” (a casual, euphemistic phrase for suicide) contrasts with the gravity of what she is saying, making it all the more jarring
Dying has made her no more sightless, but now she can’t pretend
Makes her blindness irrelevant in the final moments of life. a release from the burden of pretense that the mother lived with—when she was alive, she had to pretend to engage with the world despite her blindness, but in death, this pretense is no longer possible.
Pretend to see this void
Ironic—how can one see a void? This paradox highlights the tension between visibility and blindness, as well as the human tendency to deny painful realities.
It was up to us to believe / she was watching, somewhere, in the end.
After death, there is no longer any possibility for the mother to assert her own identity or to provide answers about her condition, her experience, or what happens after she dies. Instead, the living must create and carry on the narrative of her existence and significance.
Saw things she couldn’t see and smiled.
. She may be “seeing” things that are not visible to others—like love, connection, or beauty in intangible forms. Sight is made internal - The smile could also be a mask for her true feelings
Bumping into walls like a dodgem.
a sense of disorientation and helplessness - also reflects how she might feel trapped in a world she cannot fully engage with. This suggests a reduced sense of control over her environment
