Steven Nawas/“Fallen Annie”/Page 1
Fallen Annie
In "Annie John" by Jamaica Kincaid, the relationship between Annie and her mother
drives the plot as the novel's primary theme. Their relationship strongly resembles that of God
and Lucifer, with Lucifer being God's 'golden child,' who betrayed him, becoming the fallen
angel, and Annie being the same for her mother. In the passage in chapter six, between the
bottom of page 93 and the top of page 94, Annie is coming to terms with the fact that she is no
longer her mother's 'golden child,' but has tremendously changed and become a metaphorical
fallen angel. Annie's realization is shown first and foremost by the fact that she does not even
recognize her reflection in the store window. This is represented by the quote: "I saw myself
among all these things, but I didn't know that it was I, for I had got so strange." (Kincaid 94).
This quote explicitly states that Annie could not recognize herself due to her having gotten
strange, which could very well symbolize her ever-growing distance from her mother’s
personality. Annie does not take well to the appearance she is now facing. She lists her
imperfections and flaws, such as her large head and large eyes, skin resembling soot, long and
thin neck, and plaits sticking out in every direction. Annie then says, " Altogether, I looked old
and miserable." (94). This quote directly confirms that she is not happy with the reflection she
sees, signifying that she does not like the changes she has gone through. Also in this passage,
Annie directly compares herself with Lucifer, the fallen angel. She recalls seeing a painting
called The Young Lucifer. The painting depicts Satan in a situation similar to Annie's: being cast
out of paradise by a higher power and bound to eternal loneliness and isolation due to said
expulsion. In the painting, Lucifer is described to be surrounded by the color black. With this
detail, she connects herself to Lucifer by pointing out that her skin looks exceptionally blacker
than she had ever noticed. Another connection Annie draws between herself and Lucifer is
isolation and misery. She describes her appearance as old and miserable, while also describing
Satan as lonely and miserable. “ At heart, you could see, he was reallyonely and miserable at the
way things had turned out…” (95). This is especially true in Annie’s case since she has been
feeling isolated from her mother and miserable that she no longer has a strong relationship with
her. All in all, “Annie John” by Jamaica Kincaid is a story revolving around the deteriorating
relationship between a mother and her daughter with the daughter viewing herself to be Lucifer
being cast out from heaven. Throughout the story and in this passage especially, Annie is
realizing how different she has become and how far she has strayed from her mother.