Coming to terms with the past in “Little Green”, Joni Mitchell combines cyclical personification, inclusive point of view, and dueling characterization in order to realize that “winters cannot fade” the pain of sacrifice.

            Through the personification of winter and spring, the “sorrow” Joni feels is made eternal, as the cycle of seasons never truly ends. Hope, for redemption and for her daughter’s success, is identified “when the spring is born”. Though because winter arrives, that hope does not last; the season of death destroys it. The only thing that “winters cannot fade” is the enduring love of a mother, and the agony one feels at the loss of a child. The use of local color seen by personifying the “Northern lights” both establishes the setting in the cold confines of Canada and deems the child, Little Green, beautiful. Although winter, spring, and the “nights when the Northern lights perform” all end, each is recurring and through that, infinite.

            The point of view presented throughout the song is significant in expressing the ache felt at parting with a love one through establishing empathy. By removing herself from the song, Mitchell involved the listener in both the tale, and the emotion: “you’re sad and you’re sorry, but you’re not ashamed”. The song is made more relatable as “you” tag along for the bittersweet decision to put her child up for adoption. The heartbreak felt is not “lost to you” because the fault is placed on the listener rather than Joni herself. The song allows Joni Mitchell to retell the personal story of a “child with a child” without revealing too much, but still making note that “sometimes” grief is still felt.

            Conflict of characterization is clear both between the characters, and within the mother’s character alone. The song conveys the fate of “the children” who had, by chance, become young parents. The child’s mother takes responsibility through the act of “choosing her a name”. The girl is “not ashamed” of having a child so young, but is “sad” and “sorry” that she cannot care for her baby the way she needs to. Though initially confused and “weary of” lying to her parents, the young mother again shows responsibility and maturity by making the decision to “sign all the papers” in order to allow her child “a happy ending”. Ultimately, the mother is hopeful for her daughter’s life and the woman she may become. The characterization of the mother is further established, albeit indirectly, through the description of the father as a "non-conformer", actively working to depict the girl as more reliable and loyal than he is. Although the girl is young, and somewhat lost, it is evident she still feels the hurt of having to give up her child.

            Mitchell reveals her tale as a young mother but separates herself from the speaker so that the song becomes more easily adapted to the audience. Through the polarization of personification, point of view, and characterization, the pain of sacrifice becomes blatant and readily empathized with. Whether it is the sacrifice of a mother’s child, or something much simpler, the concept is one which is universally applicable.