Heart and Home in Frost\'s

¶ … Heart and Home in Frost's "Death of a hired Man"

Robert Frost's "Death of a Hired Man," provides readers with a sense of the differences between men and women as Warren and Mary express diverse feelings and attitudes toward Silas. Frost also explores the meaning of home and how it means different things to different people. Mostly dialogue, "Death of a Hired Man" looks at how people interact with one another. Frost also points out how we all die alone regardless of the safeguards we may use to keep that from occurring. Matters of the home and heart become a factor in this narrative poem.

Frost highlights a major difference between men and women in this poem by using Mary's responses as more emotional and Warren's responses as more analytical. The first thing readers see about Warren is his anger upon hearing that Silas has returned to their farm. He says, "What help he is there's no depending on. / Off he goes when I need him most" (Frost 17-8). Warren is somewhat justified by feeling this way because Silas is older than most of Warren's other workers, so he should be more dependable. Instead of being more dependable, he is remembered for sleeping on the job, leaving work before the job was complete, and fighting with his fellow workers. Regardless of these facts about Silas, Mary remains sensitive to Silas' plight because he returns to the farm to die with the only family he has ever known. Mary says, "Poor Silas, so concerned with other folk, / and nothing to look backward to with pride, / and nothing to look forward to with hope" (102-4). Here we see the scope of Silas' life through Mary's eyes. She is sympathetic toward his situation because she knows he is nearing the end of his life. When she sees him, she automatically knows he is "worn out" (33) and she tells her husband that he is a "miserable sight, and frightening, too" (36). While Warren is wondering about his meadow, Mary urges him not to begrudge the "poor old man" (52) as she relates to his thinking of the right thing to say too late" (80). These instances show us how Mary is willing to forgive Silas for his shortcomings as he moves to ward the end of his life.

Frost shows us the meaning of the word home with this poem as the couple continues their conversation. She is aware that he has returned to their farm to die because he has no other place to call his own. She tells him he does need to fear Silas will leave again because he has "come home to die" (114-5). Mary tells Warren that home is the "place where, when you have to go there, / They have to take you in" (122-3). This displeases Warren because he does not feel Silas deserves to call their home his own. Warren is not convinced and as he discusses Silas' brother with Mary, he claims Silas is "worthless" (149). Here we see how Warren thinks people should earn most of the things they have in life, including a place to call their own. Mary, on the other hand, understands Silas' need to feel as though he has returned to a safe place to spend his last days. With Silas at "home" she has hope for the future, even though Silas' state is grim.

Through irony, Frost also demonstrates how we all die alone despite our best efforts. Silas returns to a place he knew as home but in the end, Warren and Mary were bickering while he lay dying. Silas looked to the couple for companionship during his last days but he found none. Silas wants to do things to help Warren around the farm and while this sounds good, it may too little too late. Warren has no faith in Silas and Silas is too old and frail to be of much help. He is alone even though he did not want to be. When Warren returns and tells Mary Silas is "dead" (175), he encapsulates everything he knew about Silas' life, past and present. We may not all live like Silas did but we will probably all want to have someone near us when we die -- preferably someone we consider like family. While this is a nice image, Frost is pointing out how unnecessary it is because it will not change the fact that we pass through the pearly gates with no one holding our hand. Silas returned to the only home he knew but it did not do him much good in the end.