by Adam Gopnik
Ice Flowers in Window (photograph)
© Mauri Rautkari/plainpicture/Corbis
The Blue Rigi, J. M. W. Turner, 1842
© Tate, London, 2011
Bilking the Toll, Cornelius Krieghoff, 1860
© Musée McCord — McCord Museum, Montréal/Art Resource, NY
One Hundred Famous Views of Edo #99, Kinryūzan Temple, Asakusa, Utagawa Hiroshige, 1856–1858
Image provided courtesy Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Frank L. Babbot Fund
Icebergs, Davis Strait, Lawren Harris, 1930
Courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. H. Spencer Clark
Photo: McMichael Canadian Art Collection
Arctic Sketch IX, Lawren Harris, 1930
Courtesy of the family of Lawren S. Harris
Photo: Heffel Fine Art Auction House
A Dendrite Star, Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley, c. 1885–1931
© Smithsonian Institution Archives, Bentley Snowflake 591 [A Dendrite Star]. Record Unit 31, Box 12, Folder 17. Image #SIA2008-1395
Image of Santa Claus and St. Nicholas, Thomas Nast, 1865
Image provided courtesy HarpWeek
Christmas Eve ,Thomas Nast, 1862
Image provided courtesy HarpWeek
Santa Claus in Camp, Thomas Nast, 1862
Image provided courtesy HarpWeek
The Skater, Portrait of William Grant, Gilbert Stuart, 1782
Andrew W. Mellon Collection, Image courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
Revd Dr. Robert Walker (1755–1808) Skating on Duddingston Loch, Sir Henry Raeburn, c.1795
Image provided courtesy National Gallery of Scotland
Johann Goethe Ice-Skating in Frankfurt, Germany, J. I. Raab, c. 1850s
© Image provided courtesy of Art.com
Skating on the Ladies’ Skating-Pond in the Central Park, New York, Winslow Homer, 1860
Image provided courtesy Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Harvey Isbitts
Our National Winter Exercise — Skating, Winslow Homer, 1866
Image provided courtesy Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Harvey Isbitts
Cutting a Figure, Winslow Homer, 1871
Image provided courtesy Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Harvey Isbitts
The underground city of Montreal
© Ville de Montréal
POETRY EXCERPTS
Permission is gratefully acknowledged to reprint excerpts from the following:
(p. 72) “In Solitude,” from Approaching Ice, by Elizabeth Bradfield. Copyright © 2010 by Elizabeth Bradfield. Reprinted by permission of Persea Books, Inc., New York.
(p. 128) Copyright © 1947 "For The Time Being" by W. H. Auden. First appeared in For The Time Being, published by Random House. Reprinted by permission of Curtis Brown, Ltd.
(p. 195–6) “The Imaginary Iceberg,” from Elizabeth Bishop: The Complete Poems 1927–1979, by Elizabeth Bishop. Copyright © 1980 by Elizabeth Bishop. Used by permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
(p. 197) “90 North,” from The Complete Poems by Randall Jarrell. Copyright © 1969 by Randall Jarrell. Used by permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
INDEX
Adam, 6, 8. See also naming
Agassiz, Louis, 30
All Blacks (rugby team), 163
Alps, Swiss, 15, 28, 29, 31, 39, 145
Amundsen, Roald, 53, 74, 77, 79
Andersen, Hans Christian: “The Snow Queen,” 22, 24, 84, 205–6, 208. See also “Snow Queen”
auberges (Swiss mountain inns), 15, 28, 29, 31, 39, 145
Auden, W. H.: For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio, 127–29, 130, 131
Bach, Johann Sebastian, 87–88, 99
Barrie, J. M., 84–85
Barrow, John, 63–64
baseball, 150, 151, 157, 162–63, 168
basketball, 159, 163, 172; as open-information sport, 167–68
Baum, L. Frank, 120
A Beautiful Mind (film), 166
Beckett, Samuel, 66, 90
Bentley, Wilson “Snowflake,” 45–47, 48, 50, 212
Berlioz, Hector, 137–38
Bishop, Elizabeth: “The Imaginary Iceberg,” 195–98
Blake, William, 56
Blavatsky, Helena, 43
Bobrov, Vsevolod, 173, 175
Bowman, Scotty, 171
Bradfield, Elizabeth: “In Solitude,” 72
Bradford, William, 99–100
Britain: central heating in, 12, 27–28; and First World War, 81, 83–84, 86–87, 122–23; and origins/traditions of team sports, 153, 156, 162, 175; Pax Angleterra in, 26–28; and polar exploration, 63–67; Romanticism in, 10–15, 29–30, 47, 138; and Second World War, 87, 123–24, 126. See also England
Bruegel, Pieter (the Elder), 9
Burke, Edmund, 14
Burton, Richard, 71
Canada, winter in, 1–2, 31–38; and abrupt change of seasons, 36–37; and awareness of reality, 32–33, 37–38; forests of, 36; and Harris’s iceberg paintings, 4, 42–44, 45, 50, 195, 196; as “home,” 182–83; Jameson’s experiences in, 33–38, 138; Mitchell’s memories of, 179, 180, 214, 216; as “scary” and “sweet,” 37–38; as time of social activities, 36, 37, 138
Cantona, Eric, 165
Capra, Frank, 45; It’s a Wonderful Life, 126, 129
Carlyle, Thomas, 215; on A Christmas Carol, 108–12; Past and Present, 108–10
Carroll, Lewis: “The Hunting of the Snark,” 61–62, 78, 79, 91
central heating, 5, 20, 55, 64; in Britain, 12, 27–28; and Romantic winter, 28, 183–84
Central Park (New York), skating in, 135, 146–47, 208; and ladies’ pond, 147; in music/painting, 135, 146
Chabannes, F. W., 27
Chaplin, Charlie: The Gold Rush, 4, 63, 89, 90
Chelsea Blues, 163
Chéret, Jules, 146
Cherry-Garrard, Apsley, 80, 84; The Worst Journey in the World, 67, 80, 85–86
chess, 167
Christmas, 2, 92–133; and abundance, 106, 115–16, 123–27, 129–30; ambivalence toward, 127–32; baby as central to, 99–101, 131–33; as birthdate of Jesus, 94–95; and capitalism vs. charity, 103–4, 105–6, 116, 125–26, 127; and cards, 46, 118, 125, 213; as children’s holiday, 115–16, 130–33, 204; as commercial harvest time, 120; as “crisis of love,” 126–27; of department stores, 118–19, 120, 129–30; first scholarly history of, 121–22; and gift-giving, 96, 98, 115, 120, 124, 125, 127; indoor vs. outdoor, 117; and industrial era, 102, 105, 108–9, 116, 117–19; and light, 94, 96, 98, 101, 127, 129–30, 132; menus of, 121; misery/stress of, 124–27; and mother-child story, 98, 99, 131–33; music of, 93–94, 117–18, 131, 132–33, 215; and Nativity, 94–95, 98, 99–101, 127, 131–33, 204; as northern/Protestant in origin, 98–99; as official holiday, 118; of polar explorers, 92–93, 123; Protestantism/Puritanism and, 99–101, 114; Puritan poetry of, 100–1; as reversal/renewal festival, 97–98, 100–1, 112, 117, 120, 123, 127, 129, 130–31, 208; Roman Catholicism and, 94–95, 98–99, 114, 120; secularization of, 97, 101, 103, 106–7, 113–14, 122, 123, 125, 127, 131–33, 214; sociological study of, 123–27; and urban middle class, 117–22; and Victorian era, 101–3, 123, 124, 126; wartime truce of, 122–23; as white, 9; and winter solstice festivals, 94, 95–98, 118, 120, 214. See also A Christmas Carol (Dickens); Santa Claus
Christmas cards, 46, 118, 125, 213
A Christmas Carol (Dickens), 102–13, 120, 123, 126, 215; on capitalism vs. charity, 103–4, 105–6, 116; Carlyle on, 108–12; and Dickens’s later Christmas stories, 111–13; Dickens’s motives in writing, 103–5; family as central to, 112–13, 114, 116; Farjeon’s version of, 107, 113; Mill’s criticism of, 107–8, 109, 111; rebirth and reform in, 107, 111–13, 116; and Scrooge’s
epiphany/rebirth, 109–11, 113, 118, 126; and Scrooge’s gift of turkey, 106, 107, 108, 112, 116, 118, 129
Christmas carols, 93–94, 117–18, 131, 132–33, 215; publication of, 118
Christmas stories: by Dickens, 102–13, 126; by Trollope, 113. See also A Christmas Carol (Dickens)
cities, winter in: cars and, 184–85, 193; central heating and, 27–28, 183–84; and Christmas, 117–22; and hockey, 134, 153, 157–62, 163; in Scandinavia, 193–94; and skating, 135, 139, 142, 146–47, 177, 208; and sports, 134, 146, 153, 157–63, 176–77; underground, 181–82, 186–94
Civil War, U.S., 83, 115, 116, 146
climate change/global warming, 182, 199–202; and Inuit culture/way of life, 201, 202; and polar bears, 200–1; and “right to be cold,” 201; and spatial/polar winter, 200
coaches, famous, 168–69, 171
coal, 12, 27
Cole, Nat King: “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” 4
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 13–15, 65, 195, 204
The Communist Manifesto (Marx–Engels), 102, 117
Cook, Frederick, 53, 73, 75–76, 78
Cornell, Joseph, 46
Coubertin, Pierre de, 151
counter-Enlightenment, 17, 20, 138, 204
Cowper, William, 10, 195; “The Winter Evening,” 10–13, 26, 213
Cranston, Toller, 139, 148
Crashaw, Richard, 100; “Hymn of the Nativity,” 100–1
Creighton, John George Alwyn, 154–55
cricket, 150, 151, 153
Crosby, Sidney, 165, 171–72
Cruyff, Johan, 165
Dallas, underground city in, 192
Darwin, Charles, 27, 30
Debussy, Claude, 90; “The Snow is Falling,” 40
Demeter, 3, 5, 37, 202, 211
Dewey, John, 44
Dickens, Charles, 4, 66; A Christmas Carol, 102–13, 120, 123, 126, 215; Martin Chuzzlewit, 104, 120; Pickwick Papers, 103, 104; Sketches by Boz, 103
Diski, Jenny: Skating to Antarctica, 198
Dryden, Ken, 174
effets de neige, in Impressionist paintings, 15, 38, 40, 211; as Japanese-inspired, 39–40
eisblumen. See ice flowers
emperor penguin egg, as stolen on South Pole expedition, 80, 86
Engels, Friedrich, 102, 117
England: central heating in, 12, 27–28; little ice age in, 139; and modern Christmas, 101–3; Pax Angleterra in, 26–28; and polar exploration, 81, 84, 86–87; Romanticism in, 10–15, 29–30, 47, 138; skating in, 139–41; skating style of, 149–50. See also Britain
English Canadians, and origins of hockey, 153–58, 159, 161, 173
Enlightenment, 17–18; in France, 17–20, 41–42, 138, 204; German/Northern European opposition to, 17–20, 138, 204. See also reason
Epiphany (Twelfth Night), 95, 130
Epstein, Nikolay, 173
Erving, Julius, 163
Esposito, Tony, 171
Evelyn, John, 139
Everest, Mount, 56, 79
exile, literature of: from North, 179, 180–81, 214, 216; from South, 179–80
Farber, Michael, 171
Farjeon, Benjamin, 107, 113
Fechner, Gustav, 45
Feilden, Henry, 69–70
Ferguson, John, 175
festivals and holidays. See Christmas; renewal and reversal festivals; winter solstice festivals
figure skating, 148, 149, 150
First World War, 152; Christmas truce of, 122–23; mass slaughter of, 84, 86–87, 123; polar exploration and, 81, 83–84, 86–87
Fitzgerald, F. Scott: The Great Gatsby, 206–7
Flaherty, Robert: Nanook of the North, 88
football (U.S.), 163, 168
football, association. See soccer
France: culture of luxury in, 41–42; and Enlightenment/reason, 17–20, 41–42, 138, 204; and German nationalism, 17–18, 20, 24; Romanticism in, 38, 40–42; and Russian winter, 24–25; soccer and rugby teams of, 163; Third Republic in, 116–17
France, winter in: Impressionist paintings of, 15, 38, 40, 211; in symbolist poetry, 41
Frankenstein, Victor (Frankenstein): monster of, 51–53; and Prometheus myth, 51–53, 59, 81; and sled race to North Pole, 51, 52–53, 62, 73–74, 78, 91
Franklin, Sir John, 55, 88, 89; search for, 66–67
Frazer, J. G.: The Golden Bough, 96
French, Gen. John, 84
French Canadians, and origins of hockey, 153, 156–61, 173
Freud, Sigmund, 44–45, 125, 149
Friedrich, Caspar David, 16–20, 23, 24, 27, 36, 40, 42, 195, 203; and death of brother, 16; and German nationalism, 17–18; and resistance to Enlightenment, 18–19; and winter forms, 16–17, 18–20, 64–65; and winter as religious experience, 17, 19, 32
Friedrich, Caspar David, works by: The Chasseur in the Forest, 18, 214–15; Monastery Graveyard in the Snow, 16–17; The Sea of Ice, 19
frost flowers, on windows. See ice flowers
Frye, Northrop, ix, 31
game theory, 166–73; and coaches’ strategies, 168–69, 171; and open vs. closed information, 167–73; and planning behind plays/goals, 170–73; and shootout strategies, 169–70; and “trap,” 169, 171, 173
Gardner, Howard, 164
German Romanticism, 4, 15–24, 33, 42, 138. see also Friedrich, Caspar David; Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von; Schubert, Franz
Germany: polar exploration by, 78, 92–93; under Nazi regime, 110, 152
Germany, winter in, 17, 25, 29; and counter-Enlightenment/opposition to reason, 17–20, 41–42, 138, 204; on either side of window, 20–24, 27; forests of, 16–17, 18, 28, 36; and imagination, 18–20, 23–24, 204; and longing for Italy/South, 17, 18, 21, 24, 77; and nationalism, 17–18, 20, 24; as sign of God’s purpose, 20–24
Gigi (film), 184
Gilbert, Gilles, 170–71
glaciers, 19, 29, 30, 31, 32, 42, 48, 101, 214
Glickman, Susan, 32
global warming/climate change, 182, 199–202
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von: Eckermann’s Conversations with, 33; and German longing for Italy, 18, 21; and ice-flower debate, 20, 21, 132, 205; Jameson on, 33–34; as skater, 21, 143–45, 148
Goffman, Erving, 119
Gogol, Nikolai: Dead Souls, 136–37
Gosnell, Jack, 188
Gothic architecture/landscapes, 4, 23; in Friedrich’s paintings, 16–17, 19
Gould, Glenn: The Idea of North, 87–88
Gourmont, Remy de: Simone, 41
Grant, Sir William, 142–43
Gretzky, Wayne, 164–65, 172
Group of Seven, 42
Haig, Gen. Douglas, 84
Haines, Jackson, 150
Halloween, 97, 130
Hanukkah, 94, 95
Harper’s Magazine, 44
Harper’s Weekly, 115, 147
Harris, Lawren, 42–43; Arctic Sketch IX, 43–44; iceberg paintings of, 4, 42–44, 45, 50, 195, 196; Icebergs: Davis Strait, 43–44
Hayes, Isaac Israel, 66, 70
heating: central, 5, 12, 20, 27–28, 55, 64, 183–84; coal, 12; wood, 12–13
Hemingway, Ernest, 146, 152
Hensel, Fanny (née Mendelssohn), 38, 40, 214; The Year, 30–31
Henson, Matthew, 75
Herbert, George, 100
Herrick, Robert, 100
Hervey, Thomas K.: The Book of Christmas, 102–3
Hillary, Sir Edmund, 56, 75
hoarfrost. See ice flowers
hockey, 134, 136, 146, 153–77; as city sport, 134, 153, 157–62, 163; as clan sport, 156–62, 163, 173–76, 177; as craft sport, 163–76; and evolution of team sports, 150–5
3; from fan’s point of view, 163–66, 172–74; fast-paced/pass-oriented, 159, 161, 215; and field hockey, 153, 154–55; and game theory, 166–73; icing rules in, 213; Montreal origins of, 153–62, 172–73, 176; Olympic, 171–72, 174; and open vs. closed information, 167–73; as played on ponds, 134, 153, 175, 176, 177; rugby origins of, 155–56, 158, 161, 162, 173; Russian, 163, 173, 215; as “self-policing,” 156, 162, 175; shootouts in, 169–70; and soccer, 154–55, 162, 173; spatial intelligence/situational awareness in, 164–66, 172; violence in, 83, 162, 174–76, 215; as warfare, 152–53, 159. See also game theory; Montreal origins of hockey; team sports
holidays and festivals. See Christmas; renewal and reversal festivals; winter solstice festivals
Holst, Gustav: “In the Bleak Midwinter,” 93
Homer, Winslow, 135, 146
Houses of Parliament (U.K.), central heating of, 28
Hurtubise, Louis, 160
Hyperborea, “lost continent” of, 43, 44
ice: as destroyer/graveyard of ships, 19, 44, 49; disappearance of, from North Pole, 200; as flowing south from North Pole, 56–57. See also iceberg; ice flowers
ice ages, 8, 54: great, 8; little, 8–10, 139, 181
iceberg: Bishop’s paean to, 195–98; Harris’s paintings of, 4, 42–44, 45, 50, 195, 196; and human mind, 44–45, 47, 49, 196; as stiletto-bearing destroyer, 44, 48–49; as symbol of “scary” winter, 42–45; and Titanic, 19, 44, 49
ice flowers (frost patterns on windows), 20–21, 42, 45, 50; Goethe on, 20, 21, 132, 205; in “The Snow Queen,” 22, 84, 205–6, 208; in Winterreise, 22–24
ice wine, 178, 194
Impressionist paintings, French: Japanese influence on, 39–40; and love of white, 40–41; snow in, 15, 38, 40, 211
Industrial Revolution, 3, 27; and mass poverty, 102, 105, 108–9, 116, 117; phases of, 117; and polar exploration, 64; and rise of middle class, 117–19
Inuit: and climate change, 201, 202; as having many words for “snow,” 211–12; meteorites stolen from, 76–77, 202–3; in Nanook of the North, 88; on polar expeditions, 56, 62, 68, 75–76, 214; in Richler’s fiction, 90
Irish Canadians, and origins of hockey, 153, 157–59, 160, 173
Irving, Washington, 114
Italy: and expeditions to North Pole, 74, 77; German longing for, 17, 18, 21, 24, 77
Jackson, A. Y., 43
Jackson, Phil, 168
Jacobs, Jane, 187