All the Years of Her Life

“His face got red and he knew he looked fierce with indignation.”

This line describes Alfred’s reaction to Mr. Carr confronting him about his shoplifting. Though the young man feels fear, he behaves as though he is insulted by this charge. This contrast supports the story’s theme of The True Meaning of Maturity: Alfred recognizes that his “indignation” is a performance, highlighting his willful (if momentary) refusal to take responsibility for his shoplifting and be held accountable by his boss.

“Ever since Alfred had left school he had been getting into trouble wherever he worked.”

With this line, Callaghan’s narrator provides some brief exposition on the main character. This quote appears early but not immediately in the story: As “All the Years of Her Life” opens in medias res, subtle context clues like this short line provide one of the only insights into Alfred’s background.

“While Sam Carr smiled and stroked the side of his face very delicately with the tips of his fingers, Alfred began to feel that familiar terror growing in him that had been in him every time he had got into such trouble.”

This passage suggests Mr. Carr’s satisfaction, punctuated with his smile, at having managed to get Alfred to admit to shoplifting. Mr. Carr’s calm contrasts with Alfred’s perception of the scene, which intrudes on the line: Alfred feels a “familiar terror” rising in himself, as he had each time “he had gotten into such trouble.” This is not the first time Alfred has gotten into trouble with an employer, and likely not the first time he has shoplifted—either from Mr. Carr or at his previous jobs.

“You’re a fool. Maybe I should call your father and tell him you’re a fool. Maybe I should let him know I’m going to have you locked up.”

Mr. Carr threatens Alfred with a call home to his father, as well as the possibility that he may get police involved in his shoplifting. Although Mr. Higgins does not appear in the narrative, his mention reveals Mr. Carr’s presumption that Alfred’s father holds significant power in the young man’s life. Mr. Carr hopes to inspire fear in making this remark to Alfred, although he quickly learns that Mr. Higgins is not available to discipline his son.

“Alfred knew how his mother would come rushing in; she would rush in with her eyes blazing, or maybe she would be crying, and she would push him away when he tried to talk to her, and make him feel her dreadful contempt; yet he longed that she might come before Mr. Carr saw the cop on the beat passing the door.”

This quote displays Callaghan’s use of contrast to support both characterization and theme. First, the narrator expresses that Alfred “knows” what his mother will do when she arrives at the store; in reality, he utterly fails to anticipate her demeanor, highlighting the role The Development of Empathy will play in his character arc. Further, the narrator contrasts Alfred’s worries about his mother with the frightening potential for what may happen if Mr. Carr calls on a cop to intervene. While Alfred (incorrectly) fears his mother, he is at least a little more concerned about Mr. Carr calling upon the police.

“Mrs. Higgins must have been going to bed when he telephoned, for her hair was tucked in loosely under her hat, and her hand at her throat held her light coat tight across her chest so her dress would not show.”

This quote appears just as Mrs. Higgins arrives at Mr. Carr’s drugstore. She says nothing in this moment, but her appearance generates suspense, as it suggests that she could be annoyed (her bedtime was forestalled) and behave in the angry way Alfred feared. This line may also be read as foreshadowing the end of the story, when Alfred’s mother is at last able to relax a little with her cup of tea, following the trouble caused by her son.

“Mr. Carr was a bit embarrassed by her lack of terror and her simplicity, and he hardly knew what to say to her, so she asked, ‘Is Alfred in trouble?’”

Like Alfred, Mr. Carr apparently expected Mrs. Higgins to arrive at his drugstore in an emotional state, showing “terror” and likely defensiveness of her son. However, Mrs. Higgins relieves suspense by subverting these expectations through contrast. The narrator (through Alfred’s point of view) registers Mr. Carr’s embarrassment at her composure, indicating that Mr. Carr’s shock is likely also perceptible to Mrs. Higgins, who speaks first.

“‘He looks like a big fellow, doesn’t he? It takes some of them a long time to get any sense,’ and they both stared at Alfred, who shifted away with a bit of light shining for a moment on his thin face and the tiny pimples over his cheekbones.”

Alfred’s mother diplomatically points out to Mr. Carr that while her son may appear to be grown up, he is still quite immature. Callaghan’s narrator further points up Alfred’s youthfulness by noting the “tiny pimples” on his face. His uncomfortable shifting contrasts with his earlier “bluster” toward Mr. Carr, underscoring that his behavior was only a cover for his immaturity.

“Without being alarmed, while just being large and still and simple and hopeful, she was becoming dominant there in the dimly lit room.”

Mrs. Higgins’s character emerges through both her physicality (“large”) and her demeanor (“still and simple and hopeful”). By indicating that her manner is intentional, the narrator registers the significance of her victory (i.e., “she was becoming dominant”) in persuading Mr. Carr not to involve the police.

“The mother and son walked along the street together, and the mother was taking a long, firm stride as she looked ahead with her stern face full of worry.”

Mrs. Higgins’s manner on the walk home contrasts with the calm, hopeful composure she demonstrated earlier, subtly foreshadowing her demeanor in the story’s closing scene. However, like at the drugstore, Mrs. Higgins’s manner reveals purpose, as she walks with “a long, firm stride,” intent upon getting herself and Alfred home. Although her face is “full of worry,” she is prudent and self-possessed, intent upon shielding her son from danger but nevertheless disapproving of his actions.

“‘Be quiet. Don’t speak to me. You’ve disgraced me again and again,’ she said bitterly.”

Mrs. Higgins’s statement reveals that Alfred’s misbehavior is likely regular. More significantly, she registers Alfred’s behavior as having “disgraced” her “again and again.” This sharply contrasts with The Selflessness of Maternal Love that she demonstrated for her son at the drugstore, indicating that in this moment, she likely does not feel that Alfred reciprocates (or perhaps even fully understands) her love.

“He could still see Sam Carr nodding his head encouragingly at her; he could hear her talking simply and earnestly, and as he sat on his bed he felt a pride in her strength. ‘She certainly was smooth,’ he thought. ‘Gee, I’d like to tell her she sounded swell.’”

In ironic contrast to how his mother feels about him, Alfred feels proud of Mrs. Higgins. He refers to her speech and demeanor as “smooth” and “swell,” revealing his obliviousness to how the dialogue with Mr. Carr humiliated his mother. The moment highlights Alfred’s immaturity and superficiality, as he seems able to appreciate his mother’s appearance at the drugstore only insofar as it benefitted him.

“Her face, as she sat there, was a frightened, broken face utterly unlike the face of the woman who had been so assured a little while ago in the drugstore. […] She swallowed the hot tea eagerly, and then she straightened up in relief, though her hand holding the cup still trembled. She looked very old.”

In the story’s closing scene, Alfred observes his mother in their family kitchen; for the first time, he sees the toll his behavior has taken on his mother. Contrasts between Mrs. Higgins’s public composure and her private, fearful weariness are important here. This contrast adds gravity to her manner with Mr. Carr, as she must have struggled to appear calm and confident, and is meant to take readers, along with Alfred, by surprise.