Because Joyce’s narrator stays close to Mrs. Kearney’s perspective, the tone of “A Mother” matches hers throughout most of the story, moving from pragmatic to enraged. The pragmatic tone comes across in moments like the following, when Mrs. Kearney is reflecting on her relationship to her husband after he offers to attend the final concert with her:
She respected her husband in the same way as she respected the General Post Office, as something large, secure and fixed; and though she knew the small number of his talents she appreciated his abstract value as a male. She was glad that he had suggested coming with her.
Whereas some readers might expect a story’s tone to become romantic or tender when a protagonist is reflecting positively on a relationship with a partner, the tone here is practical and emotionally removed. Mrs. Kearney respects her husband “the same way as she respected the General Post Office” and appreciates “his abstract value as a male”—two passionless descriptions.
The pragmatic tone here (and for most of the story) communicates that Mrs. Kearney is not passionate about her husband nor the Nationalist movement—her primary motivation is supporting her daughter’s musical career. This is, on the one hand, practical (she spends much of the story negotiating her daughter’s payment of eight guineas) and, on the other hand, is clearly more emotional for her. It becomes clear as the tone of the story shifts from pragmatic to enraged (when she is refused payment) that the reason Mrs. Kearney is so invested in her daughter’s career is so that her daughter can gain financial independence and avoid the type of sexism she herself has faced.
