My interpretation of, “My Papa’s Waltz”, by Theodore Roethke, is that the father is an abusive alcoholic who beats both his son and wife.  From the text, it is clear that the father’s waltz was not lighthearted and loving like it should have been, however was reckless and brought fear to the young child.  In this poem, both the mother and young boy are afraid to stand up to the father because of his aggressive alcoholism, and similarly to an abusive relationship, at the end of the day they still cling on to him. 

The first example that clearly makes me think that the father is abusive is from the quote, “We romped until the pans/ Slid from the kitchen shelf.”  First off, when I think of two people doing the waltz, even if a young boy is involved, I envision two people standing up straight with their shoulders back and their heads held high, taking careful steps and ensuring that they do not trip.  In summary, there is a proper aspect to the way I envision a waltz.  However, in the poem, when the boy describes him and his father were roughly bumping into the shelves while dancing, it is the opposite of the typical waltz.  The father does not care if he is pushing his child around or crashing into the objects around them.  Furthermore, another line that stood out to me was, “The hand that held my wrist/ Was battered on one knuckle.”  Battered knuckles signify that the father was in a fight or got injured badly somehow.  In summary, if the father does not care about roughhousing with his young child and, in addition, gets in fights and injures himself, it would make perfect sense to conclude that he abuses his son. 

As I mentioned earlier, this poem reminded me of what an abusive relationship looks like.  Thankfully, I have never been trapped in such an unhealthy type of relationship, but from learning about them in school and from seeing what they look like in movies, I know the clear signs of what an abusive relationship looks like - and there are clear signs of it in this poem.  From previous examples, it is clear that the father is very rough with his child, and in addition due to his knuckles, it is clear that he has gotten in a fight before too.  However, the part that reminded me most of an abusive relationship was when the author described how, even after all of the roughhousing and reckless “waltzing,” the mother never did anything to stop her husband, and the child, although clearly uncomfortable, throughout the poem, was still clinging onto his father at the end.  The young boy, in the poem, describes looking over to his mother and seeing, “My mother’s countenance/ Could not unfrown itself.”  Reading this saddened me because I felt how upset the mother must have been - witnessing her drunk husband exposing his alcoholic behavior around their child.  I interpreted this part of the text as that she could not even interfere to stop her husband because he gets violent when he is drunk (as shown by his actions and his battered knuckles), therefore all she can do is watch it, terrified, and frown.  In addition, at the end of the poem the boy states that he was, “Still clinging to your shirt,” which is another huge sign of an abusive relationship.  In this situation, I can conclude that the father beats his wife and son, however the son still has a loving connection towards him and still looks up to him, like most sons do to their fathers.  So even when the father is drunk or abusive, and while the dance is even hurting the boy, as shown when stated, “My right ear scraped a buckle,” and also scares the young boy, he still clings on, because he loves him.  This clearly shows why it is so hard to get out of an abusive relationship.  From an outside perspective, it looks easy, however on the inside, even though there might be violence involved, they still love the abuser and depend on them, as the little boy expresses by clinging onto his father. 

Although it is already established that the father is an abuser, he is clearly also an alcoholic.  When a person is an alcoholic, it takes over their entire life - their body, their personality, the way they interact with people, etc.. The father shows signs of alcoholism from when the text states, “The whiskey on your breath/ Could make a small boy dizzy,” signifying that this man does not drink a safe amount on occasions, however he is coming home most nights heavily intoxicated.  In addition, during the dance, it states, “At every step you missed,” which shows that he was unable to walk straight.  Clearly, he is an alcoholic, which probably means he has underlying issues that he tries to cover up with alcohol.  Furthermore, when he gets drunk he takes it out on his family.  Although this is sad, the alcoholism and abuse tie together; and both are a result of underlying issues the father should deal with.

In summary, my interpretation of, “My Papa’s Waltz”, is that the father is an abusive alcoholic who beats both his son and wife.  There are countless examples from the poem that show this, including the rough manner in which the father and the son dance and the father’s battered knuckles.  In addition, there are clear signs of an abusive relationship from the way the mother is watching the dance and how the son clings onto his father at the end of it.  Overall, the father is also clearly an alcoholic who has many personal issues, which explains why he feels the need to take it out on his family.  From the text, it is clear that the father’s waltz was not lighthearted and loving like it should have been, however was reckless and brought fear to the young child.
