After Making Love We Hear Footsteps Analysis

While the child lacks intimate interactions with his father in “Those Winter Sundays,” the speaker in Kinnell’s “After Making Love We Hear Footsteps,” conveys how comfortable his son, Fergus, is when interacting with him. The speaker begins by telling us about his son’s habit of waking up, not when loud sounds are produced, but when he hears the noises his parents make while making love. He describes that his son “will wrench himself awake / / and make for it on the run,” (8-9) in his haste to get to their bedroom. Fergus eagerly seeking out his father displays the affection he carries for his dad. When he makes it to his parent’s bedroom, he asks to join them in their snuggling, flops right down between them and “hugs [them]” (17). The effortless
way Fergus interacts with his parents and essentially his father is quite unlike what we see in “Those Winter Sundays.” He verbally communicates with them although he knows they will not object his request. Then, he goes ahead and comfortably snuggles with them. The speaker offers further insight on the way his son feels when he states that his face would be “gleaming with satisfaction at being this very child,” (18). Fergus communicates his feeling of pleasure with being with his parents and the father is able to pick up on it immediately. The emotional communication in this father and son relationship is shown through the child’s comfortable, clear cut actions and easy interaction with his parents.