The River-Merchant's Wife: A Letter Memory and The Past Quotes

This memory is pretty darn vague despite all its details. It reminds us of those memories of early childhood where one can't remember a lot of context but the details remain vivid. This is a lot like poetry itself, in that you get a bunch of details but still have to use your imagination to fill in other gaps.

Don't be so sure that you can rely on the speaker to be totally honest. She might not have laughed because she was angry, afraid, or depressed. We're not totally sure.

The wife is using strong and dramatic language (that tends to be associated with pleasant memories) in order make the husband feel the same loss and loneliness that she does.