Jane Rohrer

Interpretation of "Hotel" 

Part of being human is experiencing loss. Pain and emotional upheaval are brought to the surface when tragedy occurs. Jane Roher wrote "Hotel" and described her own journey with these feelings after she lost her husband. Using gentle imagery, Rohrer describes memories and loss, allowing her audience to glimpse the life she and her husband shared. 

Specific writing techniques are used to accomplish this successfully. The poem is in second person, creating an environment of exclusivity between Rohrer and the person she is addressing. The "you" is probably the poet's husband, because she wrote her first book of poetry after he died. The tone of the poem expresses no bitterness towards him, as might be the case if the person had left deliberately. Thirdly, she is clearly talking to a significant other rather than a friend, because she recalls going to a hotel with him. 

The poem tells of her life without him in the first stanza, discussing her liking for nights because they create a world where she and her husband can meet again. It moves on to memories of when they were together in the material world. The last stanza does its part to convey the meaning of the poem by concluding that the memories are all she has of the good times they shared. She longs for him to be with her again, but it's the hard times that haunt her. 

These themes are described in more specific detail throughout the poem. The first half of the poem takes place as Rohrer is writing the poem. The first stanza of "Hotel" immediately explains that her husband is gone. However, saying "yet I live with you" tells readers how much a part of her life he still is. The second stanza is filled with images. She speaks of a "three-dimensional chessboard that we move upon."  Metaphorically, she is speaking of the material world. By saying "we" she broadens her intended audience and includes readers in her world. Her description of bridging the dimensions of life with dreams makes it clear that she dreams about her husband, and by doing so brings him back to the living world for awhile. 

In the third through ninth stanzas, Rohrer describes a poignant memory of her husband where they met in a hotel and danced. The dance is one that they have never performed while alive, becaue they came from a Mennonite  church community who didn't dance. They were raised Mennonite, which means that they were raised to believe dancing was a sin. Therefore through the image of dancing, mischief and fun is created in the reader's mind. The description of hearing the lock click and not wanting to lose a moment creates concrete images in the reader's mind and suggests an tmosphere of passion. It is clear that this is a happy memory of the romance the speaker and her husband shared.

Rohrer condludes "Hotel" by returning to the moment. Ending the memory and entering again into reality, Rohrer describes living only with her husband's memories, regarding them as "perfection" but "insubstantial." As the line "memory of material mesmorizes" indicates, Rohrer longs for him to be in the material world again, but contiues to live haunted by the flawed days they shared together. One interpretation of the compelling image created by the word choice of "bodybody" is that she longs for his body to be material again. Placing two "body"s right next to each other then represents two bodies dancing, or just being together. 

The poem as a whole is a story of loss. It may seem as though it is a message to her husband, but why would she publish the poem if it was only intended for him? The answer to this question lies in the experience of reading the poem. It is like listening in on a conversation or looking through love letters, but it places the reader in the position of a bystander, or possible intruder, rather than participator. This leads me to believe that the purpose of this poem was not for the benefit of its readers. It is rather a tribute to the memories of her husband. But because loss is such an inevitable part of existence, she can share her experiences with the reader. "Hotel" successfully allows readers to relate to this loss, while retaining the privacy of Rohrer and her husband's intimacy.

Kelli Yoder