"Her heart had turned to stone in her breast." The story of a grandmother's unwavering spirit and a lost wedding ring, a symbol of enduring love and profound grief.
The narrator is describing his grandmother, who was his mother's mother.
She lived on a farm in the "Kickham country" in Tipperary, Ireland.
"Kickham country" is located in County Tipperary.
The narrator's home was in a "bitter sea-coast village in Kerry."
He said that the grass wasted on a small stretch of roadside in Tipperary was more than you'd find in a dozen of his "sea-poisoned" fields in Kerry.
Uncle Con was the narrator's uncle, his grandmother's only son.
Aunt Annie was the narrator's aunt, Uncle Con's wife.
She was happy ("charmed") to let her mother-in-law be responsible for the farm, as she was a gentle person.
His horse walked into the farmyard pulling a cart (car) with Martin Dermody's dead body in it.
She had six children.
She had five girls and one boy.
When he held a jockey's crop (a horse-riding whip), its balance reminded him of his grandmother.
When he was fighting a large salmon with a "CastleConnell greenheart" fishing rod, the rod reminded him of his grandmother.
He remembers her as being "tall and dark and austere" (serious or strict).
This is answered in question 34.
She "laughed a little warmly."
He picked the narrator up, messed up his hair, and called him a "clever Kerry rascal."
She was in the hayshed, moving hay with a fork as it was being stacked.
She thought she had lost it in the "half-pillar" (a section) of hay they were building.
She had also lost the "keeper" (the outer ring).
She had lost it because her "hands are getting thin."
Her working motto was "Six to six."
She said that if they helped and didn't find it, she would worry they didn't search carefully enough and would have to search it all over again herself.
She found the keeper on Saturday afternoon, around three o'clock.
She finally found the ring on Saturday night, near midnight.
She walked into the house, put the lantern on the dresser, and put out the candle before she spoke.
At first, her face was "cold as death," but then she suddenly hid her face in her apron, "sobbed," and "cried like the rain."
She called out, "Oh, Martin, Martin."
It refers to the sharp, pointy peaks of the Galtee mountain range.
The notes explain it's an outer ring worn to protect or keep the main wedding ring in place.
The notes explain it's a "firm rod" (like a short whip) used by jockeys when racing horses.
The notes explain it's a type of strong fishing rod made from "greenheart" wood, named after a place in Ireland.
It refers to her strict working hours, likely from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
It means a type of love that was strict, serious, and not shown openly, hidden under her "hard" personality.
She was talking about breaking her own strict "six to six" working rule, justifying her choice to work late into the night.
It symbolizes her deep connection to her dead husband, Martin. Losing it felt like losing him all over again.
The ring was her last physical link to her husband. While she acted tough to cope with his death, the ring represented the love and sadness she had buried deep inside.
It tells us she was very tough and resilient. Like the rod, she could bend under great pressure (was flexible) but would never break (was not fragile).
He directly says that her husband's sudden death, which left her to raise six children alone, was what "turned her heart to stone" and made her so "hard."
He means she became emotionally hard and tough as a way to protect herself and cope with the shock of her husband's death and the burden of raising her family alone.
She said she needed "peace of mind." She felt only she would search carefully enough, and if anyone else failed, she would have to re-do the search herself.
They respect her authority completely. They offer help once, but when she refuses, they back off. They don't question her or stop her, even when she breaks her own rules.
It is important because it's the only time the narrator ever saw her show emotion. It shows that under her "hard" exterior, she still felt deep sadness for her husband.
As a child, he was "puzzled" by her and just saw her as strict and serious. As an adult ("Now"), he is more understanding and sympathetic, seeing "with greater clarity" why she was the way she was.
It was "bravery" because she was forcing herself to keep searching, but "brittle" (like it could easily break) because she was at her physical and emotional limit, looking "wan" and "strained."
One example is when he describes her as "like a mouse nibbling at a giant's loaf." This image clearly shows how huge the task was (the giant loaf of hay) and how small and slow her search felt against it.
The writer uses humor in the story about the narrator and the man on the road. The narrator proudly says he's a Dermody, but then says he's named after "Uncle Con," not his famous grandfather, which makes his grandmother laugh.
He compares her to a jockey's crop and a fishing rod to show she was tough and flexible, but not fragile. He also compares her search to "like a mouse nibbling at a giant's loaf."
This sentence is a comparison (hyperbole), not personification. A real example of personification is in the same paragraph, calling the fields in Kerry "sea-poisoned," which makes the sea seem like a living thing that can poison the land.
Her description as "hard, main hard" and how she "faced the world bravely" after her husband's death hints (foreshadows) that she will show the same amazing, stubborn determination in searching for the ring.
It is told from the first-person perspective ("I," "my"). The narrator is an adult remembering his childhood.
The author builds tension by making the search last for many days (Monday to Saturday) and by describing how tired and stressed the grandmother becomes. The moment of false hope, when they think she found the ring but it was "only the keeper," also makes the tension rise.
It provides a big emotional release. When the grandmother finally breaks down and cries, we finally understand her character. We see that her "hard" personality was just hiding her deep sadness for her husband.
The passage explores the theme of a family led by a strong woman (a matriarch). The family respects the grandmother's authority, and the story also touches on unspoken love and shared sadness.
It's shown through her "bravely" raising six children alone after her husband died, and through her six-day, non-stop search for the ring, where she searches "wisp by wisp" and refuses all help.
It shows a life of hard farm work, where people depended on the land. It also shows that people had to be very tough to survive hardships and that families often had a strong, respected elder in charge.
Her pride is shown in her refusal to accept help. She insists on searching alone because she believes only she can do it properly, and she doesn't want to rely on anyone else for something so important.
The whole story is a memory. The narrator is telling a story from his childhood but explaining it with the understanding he has now as an adult. He is connecting the "strict" woman he remembers with the sad woman he now understands.
Loss is shown as a life-changing event. The main loss—her husband's death—is what "turned her heart to stone." The fear of losing the ring is so great because it feels like losing her husband all over again.
Respect is shown as obedience. The narrator and his family do what she says and "didn't cross her." They are in awe of her and are careful not to upset her, giving her space when she "resented" their pity.
(Interpretation) Yes, it was reasonable for her. The ring wasn't just jewellery; it was her last physical link to her dead husband. Her entire "hard" personality was a way to cope with his death. Losing the ring threatened that, so a desperate search was understandable.
(Inference) It probably would have broken her. Her "brittle bravery" would have shattered. Since finding the ring made her cry so much, not finding it might have left her in deep despair, feeling she had failed to protect the last piece of her past.
It represents her dead husband, Martin, and the life she had with him before he died. It was a symbol of the time before she had to become "hard" to survive.
(Inference) It would be more practical and less emotional. Con is "gentle" and worried about the farm work being delayed. He would probably focus more on his mother's health and the farm, not on analyzing her "character" the way the narrator does.
(Interpretation) It is an affectionate (loving) description. Although he uses hard words like "austere" and "stone" at first, he uses them to show a mystery. By the end, when he explains her sadness, it's clear he understands and loves her deeply.
The search is a small example of her life. She is faced with a huge, impossible-seeming task (the pile of hay, or raising six kids alone) that she must handle with determination, all by herself, no matter the personal cost.
(Interpretation) No, it wouldn't work. Without her breakdown, she just stays a "hard" and "austere" woman. The ending is the whole point—it gives the "clarity" the narrator talks about and shows the deep sadness that shaped her.
She shows resilience by "facing the world bravely" and raising six children alone after her husband's death. She also shows it by pushing through six days of hard searching, ignoring her own health, to find the ring.
He included it to show her human side. It's the only time he remembers her laughing "warmly" and shows the "black affection" she had for him. It's an important contrast to her usual "hard" behavior.
The author uses the light, funny story about the shilling to show the grandmother's warmer side first. This makes the later story of her "pathetic" and sad search for the ring feel even more powerful and emotional.
