A waltz is one of the most intricate and formal dances in the world. It is a dance of love. Although My Papas Waltz by Theodore Roethke seems as if it may be an intimate loving moment between a child and his father, My Papas Waltz is about a dangerous relationship lead on by child abuse and alcoholism. 

The reader can tell that this is between a child and a grown adult because of a line in stanza three. “And every step you missed my right ear grazed the buckle” (Roethke 90). This shows that the narrator is short and only reaches up to the buckle on the father’s pants. Although this example may be trivial it shows the size of the child and shows they aren’t strong enough to fight back and therefore the dance becomes more dangerous than one would see in the beginning. 

In the first stanza, the reader gets a sense of what her father is like. For example, “The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy” (Roethke 90). These two lines immediately share with reader that the father in the story is a drunk which could result in the man acting violent towards his child. Being under the influence of alcohol can lead to dangerous choices that can put others in danger. His ability to know right and wrong is severely diminished. Although there is no evidence that the father is a habitual drinker this does not change the fact that he is under the influence of a drug which diminishes his ability to think sensibly and his agitation is heightened. 

 The word romped is not a graceful word used to describe a dance, it has a more negative connotation. “We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf” (Roethke 90). When describing a waltz, which the author is doing here, romping does not come to mind. A waltz is a structured dance that can be described as graceful. Romping is not a graceful action. It is more of a struggle. The child is fighting to get away from his/her abuser, which in this case is his/her father. No matter how hard the child fights they are unable to break from the grasp. 

Growing up myself in an alcoholic household, my mother would try everything she could to keep me safe, but sometimes she needed to stay out of it. The child speaks of his mother as, “My mother’s countenance could not unfrown itself” (Roethke 90). This specific line refers to how the mother knows what is going on, but in order to keep her and her child safe she stays out of it. She feels guilty because her child is getting the worst of it, but she is doing what is best for her child in that moment. As in the quote it mentions that she is frowning and the word “countenance” means to support something as possible. Therefore, the woman is accepting that this is the way it is and it is best that she does not get involved to protect her son. 

The author specifically creates this poem to rhyme, as if it was a song that could be danced to. This further reiterates the idea of a waltz. When one thinks of a waltz they do not think of something cruel or malicious, but I feel the narrator specifically makes this a waltz to help themselves. In order to cope with the idea that you are being abused, most find a way to justify the action or make it seem less terrible then it is. The narrator making this a waltz in a way to calm them and justifying the action of their father.  The child speaks of the situation as, “Such waltzing was not easy” (Roethke 90). The narrator knows that what is happening is not right, but in order to make it through and survive, they do not fight. The child using the word “Such” shows that this “waltzing” has happened before. Also with the words “not easy” it is understood that the child does not enjoy this waltzing at all. It is hard to do and to deal with on an everyday basis.  

The father in this poem clearly has no regard for the narrator’s wellbeing and has most likely been violent before. This point is clarified in the line, “The hand that held my wrist was battered on one knuckle” (Roethke). This battered hand shows that he has somehow injured someone or something before. The only way to batter your knuckle is by hitting someone or something. Clearly the father has been violent before and that he especially violent when he is drinking. He is gripping the narrator in a way that is by no means loving. If it was a loving gesture, he would be holding the narrators hand. He is grabbing the wrist which shows that the narrator does not want this to happen and that the father is being controlling. In the line, “You beat time on my head, with a palm caked hard by dirt” (Roethke 91) the use of the word “beat” is a sign of child abuse. Although there is a contradiction to my point. The quote “palm caked hard by dirt” points to the father being a working man. That he may work in construction or as a manual laborer. The working can explain the battered hand, therefore contradicting my point as being violent before. Despite the contradiction, Roethke still displays many examples to show child abuse with the help of alcoholism. 

Futhermore, My Papas Waltz by Theodore Roethke can be interpreted as a poem about child abuse and alcoholism. When first reading the poem one may conclude that this is a special moment between a father and a child. Although, through the use of specific word choice it is easily seen that this was a dangerous dance.
