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It is one thing, Helen, to slay Death,it is another thing to come backthrough the intricate windings of the Labyrinthbeloved Child, we are together,weary of War,only the Quest remains.
I am not, except in certain hours of writing and in certainhours of FORGETTING writing, ever free. Let me write,then let me FORGET my writing.
H.D.'s text Tribute to Freud (1974) has received a broad range of feminist readings that emphasize the distinctive and independent stance that the author establishes in response to Freud's phallic dominance (Duplessis & Friedman, 1981; Friedman, 1990; Tolpin, 1991; Taylor, 2001; Gonzalez, 2002). I propose to add to the rich literature written about this memoir by looking at H.D.'s search for the absent mother and for the maternal aspect of the feminine voice. I emphasize the voice of the daughter telling the story of maternal absence, and the distinct femininity that develops in these conditions. This search, as presented in H.D.'s memoir, is first and foremost a quest for language, dialect, and a poetic voice. Freud's voice in writing and in the analytic setting deeply influenced H.D.'s late poetics, yet she also sought the obscure language of the
unrepresented and unsymbolized. In my reading here of H.D.'s memoir, I suggest the creation of the feminine voice as a quest for scattered images, vague echoes, and questionable reminiscences. These subtle roots emphasize the profound challenge that is inherent in this process. The creation of the feminine voice inevitably involves a continuous questioning of the very existence of that voice, which can so easily be overheard, overlooked, or misinterpreted.