A mortgage is a loan that uses property as collateral. While never stated explicitly, the family has taken out a mortgage on their property—which is likely a farm based on the fact they live in a “big white farmhouse” (Line 21)—to give the young woman a “fashionable” (Line 28), that is, expensive, wedding. However, the father has an alcohol use disorder and isolates himself on the third floor of the house: “He never came down. They brought everything up to him” (Line 22). His sons do not work. Therefore, it appears the family is not receiving any income, and the “mortgage [is] foreclosed” (Line 31). This means that the property is repossessed to pay off the loan, which in turn leaves the family destitute. The mortgage is a symbol of the family’s waning fortunes and their destitution.

When the young woman is married, the speaker says, “the old man came down wearing / An old tail coat, the pleated shirt yellowing” (Lines 25-26). The wedding appears to be a lavish affair, complete with “[e]ngraved invitations” (Line 28), but the father of the bride is wearing old clothes that are also discolored. This indicates both the family’s former good fortunes and present bad fortunes.