Despite the poet's last words, critics believe the she is not as reconciled to her loss as she suggests. Her despair is manifest. Her home has been profoundly important to her, not only for the possessions it housed but because it was a symbol of her entire life with her husband and children. It was the seat of her role as a woman. Critic Kenneth A. Requa identifies the house as an "emblem" with which the poet has developed an emotional relationship; "the poet finds that the house-fire has emblematic significance: from it she can learn that only one home should have meaning for her – the heavenly mansion.