In “The Aged Mother”, by Matsuo Basho, a son and his mother lived at the foot of the mountain but there was a leader that had sent out an order to put death to the elderly immediately. The mother was taken onto the mountain by her son, but she was worried about what would have happened to her son if he didn’t know the way more than what would’ve happened to her. Her son found out she was making sure that he could get home safely, so she took her home with him and told the leader of the incident, then he abolished the law. Even though he is following orders of putting death to the elderly, his mother still cared about him and his safety so she put branches on the ground so he can follow the safe path home. She didn’t care about what will happen to her, she cared about her son’s safety and. A mother’s love is very complicated because they will do anything for you even if something happens to themselves. In the story The Aged Mother, by Matsuo Basho, the author believes that love can empower someone to help their loved ones even though something bad could happen to themselves.

His mother keeps dropping branches to help him mark the way back home and tells him: “The mountain road is full of dangers. Look carefully and follow the path which holds the piles of twigs” (Basho 6). It supports the theme statement because it shows that his mother wants his journey back home to be a safe one. To keep him safe and know his way back home, she broke branches and dropped on the ground to guide her son home. The son found out his mother did all this for him, his heart softened, and he couldn’t let his mother die here.

As the story continues, it shows how his mother keeps helping him regardless of her safety. When the general sends out an order to make the rope of ashes, his mother tries to think of a way to make it to help his son even though it could mean that the general knows she is still alive and tells him: “Wait! I will think. I will think” (8). It shows that she wants to help her son, but she isn’t sure of how to make it, so she had to think of it for a day before she could help her son. It also shows that the mother wants her son to succeed, she supported him, and she helped if he needed it.

In conclusion, the author is trying to let the reader know that even if the outcome could be bad for the other person, love can empower them to help you.