In her poem “Pathetic Fallacy," Mary Karr evokes an ambivalent tone through her use of mystical imagery, and words that reveal frustration with her mother's idiosyncrasies. By juxtaposing tones of love and confusion, Karr reveals conflicting emotions about a now cherished relationship.
Karr uses imagery that describes the struggles she faced as a child and the impact on her now as an adult. Her first striking image is of her remembering her mother “when it became impossible [for the two] to speak” (1). She “sometimes held the uncradled phone” (3) trying to find a way to reach her mother. “Pathetic Fallacy” expounds on the feelings Karr has toward the bizarre idea that she can reconnect with her mom on the phone “as if embedded in it / were