Winter

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