The Selfish Misery of Home Burial Robert Frost's poem "Home Burial" is an intriguing portrait of a marital relationship gone awry. Although at first glance it may seem that the cause of the couple's problems is the death of their son, a closer reading allows the reader to see that there are other, more serious and deep-rooted problems at work. Couples' differences in how they approach grieving are just the beginning of their problems. Many of the real problems lie in the wife's self-centered attitude of consuming unhappiness and anger. Her view of life and marriage is so narrow that she ends up making both her husband and herself victims of her problems. It is clear that Frost intended the reader to see through the dialogue of "Home Burial" how one's selfish misery can devastate others and how it may be impossible to overcome such a situation. Modern readers may prefer to look at "Home Burial" from a feminist point of view, insisting that the husband is to blame and that the wife is the victim of her lack of adequate concern and communication. This is not the case, as the husband's concern for his wife is clearly shown throughout the poem. From the beginning of the scene Frost illustrates this with her husband's attitude and approach. In the very first line the husband watches his wife as she looks out the window (line 1). Since immediately after she turns he asks her what interests her so much, it is clear that he was thinking about what might upset her when he saw her on the stairs. Twice he calls her "dear" (12 and 44). It is not often that people who are completely unsympathetic to another person call him affectionately and contemplate his distress. In the center of the sheet, you discover the wife's stubborn anger. A parent/child relationship could easily have the same issues of poor communication and misunderstandings. “Home Burial” can be seen as a commentary on selfish misery that destroys more than just the unhappy person. If only the wife was willing to step back and listen to her husband, perhaps she would be able to save their marriage and have a happy life. However, the end of the poem does not leave much hope for such reconciliation. One might hope that anyone reading "Home Burial" would be willing to do more than his wife was to save any relationship they might be struggling in, but the way Frost ends the poem implies that he might see that hope as unrealistic. Roberto. "Home burial". Bedford's compact introduction to literature. Ed. Michael Mayer. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2000. 792-794.