WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO LULU BY CHARLES CAUSLEY

The Poem
What has happened to Lulu, mother?
What has happened to Lu?
There's nothing in her bed but an old rag-doll
And by its side a shoe.
Why is her window wide, mother,
The curtain flapping free,
And only a circle on the dusty shelf
Where her money-box used to be?
Why do you turn your head, mother,
And why do tear drops fall?
And why do you crumple that note on the fire
And say it is nothing at all?
I woke to voices late last night,
I heard an engine roar.
Why do you tell me the things I heard
Were a dream and nothing more?
I heard somebody cry, mother,
In anger or in pain,
But now I ask you why, mother,
You say it was a gust of rain.
Why do you wander about as though
You don't know what to do?
What has happened to Lulu, mother?
What has happened to Lu?

MEANING
Stanza 1
The persona is questioning her mother about the mysterious and sudden disappearance of Lulu.
An old rag doll and a shoe was left behind
Stanza 2
The persona saw that the windows are wide opened and the curtains are "flapping free" in the
wind. The persona also notice her money-box on the dusty shelf is gone
Stanza 3
The persona asks the mother why she is hiding her tears. The mother crumples up a note (most
probably from Lulu) and throws it into the fire. Mother then tells her child that it is nothing at all. The
persona does not believe her
Stanza 4
The persona tells that she was awakened by "voices late last night" and heard the sounds of an
"engine roar", probably a car starting up and being driven away. The mother lies that the child was only
dreaming.
Stanza 5
The persona insists that she had heard someone cry "in anger or in pain". The mother says it
was just "a gust of rain".
Stanza 6

Puzzled about the mother's distraught behavior, the narrator wants to know why the mother
is pacing about, uncertain what to do. The use of "Lu" is an affectionate shortened form of "Lulu

Setting
Place
Probably in England as the word "money-box" is a typical British word.

Lulu's room

The fireplace
Time

In the past
Themes
1. The end of childhood and the loss of innocence

Lulu is probably a young teenager.

She ran away based on the note that her mother crumpled.

She took her savings "money-box" to start a new life with a man who drove her off in a
"engine roar".

She left her childhood behind.

2. Parent-child relationship

The mother and Lulu relationship could have been a tense and strained one.

Lulu is a rebellious teenager.

She dislikes her mother's restrictions on her freedom and emerging interest in the opposite
sex.

She keeps secrets from her mother.

The mother and narrator relationship is less dramatic.

The narrator is obedient and respectful to the mother.

The narrator loves the mother very much and observe her pain and distress.
3. Grief and love

The mother is grieving over the loss of her child, Lulu.

The mother clearly loves Lulu.

The narrator loves the sister as she called her by pet name "Lu".

The narrator is worried about the sudden disappearance of the elder sister