emigrée summary

• The speaker reminisces over her homeland which she was forced to flee to escape warfare and tyranny.

  • She recounts solely positive memories of her home and romanticises it through a conceit (extended metaphor) of warmth and sunlight.

  Yet, she explains she can never return.
• The speaker acknowledges her new city as threatening and unwelcoming, she seeks her past city as a solace to provide refuge from the adversity she now experiences.
• The speaker explains how she left her country when she was just a child, but the memory is still vivid.

  • She never saw any anguish within her city so her memory can never be tainted despite knowing the truth that her home is now rife with tyranny; it will always be associated with comfort for her.
• The speaker's positive description of the environment of her past city grows clearer over time.

  • She notes how the dialect of her home is an integral part of her identity.

  She refuses to stop speaking it despite being banned by repressive authorities.
• Despite being unable to return, the city is kept alive through her memories.

  • She feels either maternal or romantic care towards it.

  She compares it to life within her new city where she is unwelcomed, yet she wears her past proudly as she sees the comfort it represents.