Age of Iron Lesson Plan

What might Mrs. Curren mean when she writes, "To whom this writing then? The answer: to you but not to you; to me; to you in me"?

These lines are intentionally vague and so students may interpret them in a number of ways. However, it is important that they consider the significance of writing to someone who may never physically receive the letter. We know that Mrs. Curren is addressing, and even writing to, her daughter. But this line, like others, implies that this is not a letter that she plans to send, at least in the near future. In just the previous paragraph, she explains that her task is to "resist the craving to share [her] death," a goal immediately nullified if...