by Adam Gopnik
James, C. L. R.: Beyond a Boundary, 150–51
James, Clive: Opal Sunset, 179–80
James, Henry, 4
James, William, 44
Jameson, Anna Brownell, 33–38, 138; on Goethe, 33–34; in Niagara Falls, 34–36, 37–38; on winter social activities, 36, 138; Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada, 33
Japan, winter in: as influence on Impressionists, 39–40
Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e), 39–40
Jarrell, Randall: “90 North,” 197–98
Jesus Christ: birthdate of, 94–95; in A Christmas Carol, 106; and mother-child story, 98, 99, 131–33; Nativity of, 94–95, 98, 99–101, 127, 131–33, 204; and sociology of Christmas, 125; and St. Nicholas, 114; as ultimate sibling, 125
Johnson, Samuel, 33, 82; “The Winter’s Walk,” 9–10, 11, 25, 26
Jordan, Michael, 163
Kalends, 95, 96
Kandinsky, Wassily, 43
Kane, E. K., 66–67, 67–68, 70–71, 73
Kent, Stephen and Rosaire, 158
Kingston (Ont.), 153, 154
Knebel, Karl Ludwig von, 20
Knight, Nancy, 49
Krieghoff, Cornelius, and paintings of, 37, 39, 211
Kruszelnicki, Karl, 49
Kurri, Jari, 164
acrosse, 155
Lafleur, Guy, 170–71
Lawrence, T. E., 71
Lemaire, Jacques, 169, 171
Lemieux, Mario, 172, 174
Lewis, C. S., 82
Lewis, John: “Skating in Central Park,” 135
Liberius, 94
loss of winter, 178–217; and alienation from nature, 194–99; cars and, 184–85; central heating and, 27–28, 183–84; and climate change, 182, 199–202; and loss of life’s pleasures, 178, 180, 183, 195, 208; and memories, 181–83, 202–8; Mitchell’s song about, 179, 180, 214, 216; in stress of summer, 179, 180–81; in underground city, 181–82, 186–94; and vernalization, 178–79; Villon’s poem on, 181, 206, 208, 211, 214. See also memories
luge, 141, 145, 146, 152
Macy’s (New York), 120
Mailer, Norman, 65
Marchand, Brad, 175
Marx, Karl, 102, 117
McGill University, 156; and origins of hockey, 154–56, 157, 158, 159, 161
McKennitt, Loreena, 93
memories, 181–83, 202–4; in winter, 204–6; of winter, 206–8; of winters in childhood, 1–2, 13, 134, 140–41, 156, 186–87, 204–5, 216–17; of winters lost, 179, 180, 181–83, 202–8, 214, 216. See also loss of winter
Mendelssohn, Felix, 30, 38
Mercator, Gerardus, 61, 62
meteorites of Greenland Inuit, as stolen by Peary, 76–77, 202–3
Miles, Clement, 121–22
Mill, John Stuart, 107–8, 109, 111
Milton, John: Paradise Lost, 8
Mitchell, Joni: “River,” 179, 180, 214, 216
Monet, Claude, 38, 40, 90, 211
Montagnards (Montreal hockey team), 159–61
Montesquieu, 17
Montreal, winter in, 1–2; and underground city, 182, 186–94. See also underground city (Montreal)
Montreal Canadiens, 152, 164, 172, 174, 186; establishment of, 161; and Lafleur’s famous goal, 170–71
Montreal Expos, 162–63
Montreal Forum, 186, 206
Montreal origins of hockey, 153–56, 172–73; Canadiens and, 161; Catholic Church and, 158; and early teams, 158–61; ethnic dynamics of, 156–62, 173, 176; and francophone community, 158–59; and Irish-French collaboration, 157–59; at McGill University, 154–56, 157, 158, 159, 161; and rugby, 155–56, 158, 161, 162, 173. See also specific teams
Montreal Shamrocks, 158, 159–60, 161
Müller, Wilhelm, 23
Museum of Natural History (New York), 76–77, 202–3
mythology of winter: Demeter and, 3, 5, 37, 202, 211; Saturn and, 95–98, 118
Nabokov, Vladimir, 207
naming, 5–6, 209–17; by polar explorers, 72–73, 213; by winter people, 212–17
Nansen, Fridtjof, 74
Napoleon Bonaparte/Napoleonic Wars: and British peace/prosperity, 26–28; and German nationalism 17–18; and Russian winter, 24–25
Nash, John, 166
Nast, Thomas, 114–16. See also Santa Claus
National, Le (Montreal hockey team), 159
National Geographic Society, 75
Nazi Germany, regime of, 110, 152
Nesterenko, Eric, 175
Netherlands: and legends of St. Nicholas, 114–15; and skating, 139; winter paintings of, 9
Neumann, John von, 166
New Jersey Devils, 169, 171
New Year’s Eve, 97, 131
New York Tribune, 120, 124
Niagara Falls, 34–36, 37–38
Niagara Peninsula, ice wine of, 178, 194
Nicholas, Saint, 114–15; as Kris Kringle, 114
Nobile, Umberto, 77
North: Harris-Jackson trip to, 43; literature of exile from, 179, 180–81, 214, 216; of many stories told together, 87–88
Northern Europe: and embrace of winter, 17–20, 22, 25–26, 42, 48, 204; and longing for South, 17, 18, 21, 24, 77
North Pole: as abstract point, 78–79; as blank/unknown space, 56, 61–62, 68–69, 74, 78, 91; British determination to find, 63–64; Christmas at, 92–93, 123; early ideas about, 56–62; German explorers and, 78, 92–93; Italian explorers and, 74, 77; Jarrell’s poem on, 197–98; as “paradise,” 56–58, 84; and Peary-Cook expedition rivalry, 53, 73, 75–76, 78; and Peary’s theft of meteorites, 76–77, 202–3; and Prometheus myth, 51–53, 58–59, 75, 81, 84; and search for Northwest Passage, 63–67; as setting of Frankenstein, 51–53, 59, 81; theosophical beliefs about, 43, 44
Northwest Passage, search for, 63–67; and Franklin expedition, 66–67; and idea of polar “paradise,” 56–68, 84; and Ross expedition, 64–65, 88; Scoresby’s warning about, 63–64
Novalis, 21
Oates, Lawrence “Titus,” 79–80, 84, 85
Ogilvy’s (Montreal), 119, 120, 130
Olmsted, Frederick Law, 147
Olympic Games, Winter, 151, 174; Crosby’s goal at, 171–72
Ophüls, Max: Letter from an Unknown Woman, 207
Origen, 96
Ottawa: Crystal Palace in, 184
Palais de Glace (Paris), 146, 184
Panek, Richard: The 4 Percent Universe, 194–95
Pax Angleterra, 26–28
Payer, Julius, 78
Peary, Robert, 55; and rivalry with Cook, 53, 73, 75–76, 78; and stolen meteorites, 76–77, 202–3
Pei, I. M., 188
Pepys, Samuel, 139
Peter Pan (Barrie), 84–85
Pissarro, Camille, 38, 40
Place Ville Marie (Montreal), 186, 188, 189
Poe, Edgar Allan, 85; The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, 59–60, 62, 74
poker: five-card draw, 167; Texas hold-’em, 167, 168, 169
polar bears, 200–1
polar exploration, 4, 51–91, 92, 135; absurdity/pointlessness of, 62–63, 66–67, 77, 78–79, 86–90, 92; British initiation of, 63–67; Chaplin’s send-up of, 4, 63, 89, 90; despite dangers/warnings, 62–65; funding/sponsorship of, 65, 69, 73, 75; in imperial/colonial context, 55–56, 61–65, 79–81; Inuit participation in, 56, 62, 68, 75–76, 214; Jarrell’s poem on, 197–98; and names of places/features, 72–73, 213; and national prestige, 65, 74, 77; Peary-Cook rivalry in, 53, 73, 75–76, 78; and Prometheus myth, 51–53, 58–60, 75, 81, 84; as race for glory, 73–74; Scott-Amundsen rivalry in, 53, 79; thefts made during, 76–77, 80, 86, 202–3; in time of war, 81, 83–84
, 87; as ultimate journey/conquest, 53–56; written accounts of, 67, 80, 81, 84–86. See also North Pole; South Pole; specific explorers
polar explorers: bourgeois-comfort society of, 68–70, 83–84; bravery of, 82–87, 92, 215; Christmas of, 92–93, 123; food of, 64, 68, 70, 72, 74; as just like us, 82, 90–91; modern scorn/criticism of, 79–87, 88–89; sexuality of, 71–72; shipboard lifestyle of, 68–73; suffering of, 53, 55, 65, 67–68, 70, 79, 85, 86, 88. See also specific explorers
pond hockey, 134, 153, 175, 176, 177
Ponte, Vincent, 187, 188–90, 191, 192, 213
Prometheus, and polar exploration, 58–60, 75, 84; in Frankenstein, 51–53, 59, 81
Protestantism: and Christmas, 98–101, 114; in Switzerland, 29
Pushkin, Alexander, 203; on eroticism of winter, 25–26, 149; on sleighing, 26, 136; “Winter Morning,” 25–26; on winter social activities, 26, 36
Quebec, winter in, 32; in Krieghoff’s paintings, 37, 39. See also Montreal, winter in
Raab, Johann: Johann Goethe Ice-skating in Frankfurt, Germany, 143–44
radical winter. See polar exploration
Raeburn, Henry: portrait of skating minister by, 143
reason: and Enlightenment, 18; and French culture of luxury, 41–42; German/Northern European opposition to, 17–20, 41–42, 138, 204; Snow Queen’s Mirror of, 22
recreational winter. See winter sports and recreations entries
recuperative winter. See Christmas; renewal and reversal festivals
Reform Bill (England), 116
Reid, David Boswell, 28
remembering winter. See loss of winter; memories
renewal and reversal festivals, 97; Christmas as both, 97–98, 100–1, 112, 117, 127, 129, 130–31, 208; Halloween (reversal), 97, 130; New Year’s Eve (reversal), 97, 131; Thanksgiving (renewal), 97, 120, 130; winter solstice (reversal), 95–96, 97–98. See also Christmas; winter solstice festivals
Restad, Penne L.: Christmas in America, 107
Richler, Mordecai: Solomon Gursky Was Here, 90
Robertson, H. R., 27
Robitaille, Luc, 164
Roman Catholicism: and Christmas, 94–95, 98–99, 114, 120; and hockey, 158
Romanticism: of Bentley’s snowflake studies, 45–47, 48, 50; British, 10–15, 29–30, 47, 138; French, 38, 40–42; German, 4, 15–24, 33, 42, 138; of Harris’s iceberg paintings, 42–44, 45, 50; and Jameson’s Canadian experiences, 33–38; Japanese influence on, 39–40; Russian, 24–26, 38, 39, 138; of Switzerland, 28–31; Vivaldi as precursor of, 6–7, 9, 31, 53, 211
Romantic winter, 1–50, 52–53, 90, 92, 101, 135, 176, 177; Bishop’s epitaph for, 195–98; and Canadian experience, 33–38, 42–44; central heating and, 28, 183–84; vs. Enlightenment/reason, 17–20, 41–42, 138, 204; as erotic, 25–26, 41, 149; as exquisite/exotic, 38–42; fireside view of, 10–13, 213; as modern concept, 3–4, 10–50; music of, 6–7, 22–24, 30–31, 38, 39, 40; paintings of, 16–20, 29–30, 37, 38–44; poetry of, 10–13, 25–26, 41; as “scary,” 5, 15–20, 22–24, 26, 29, 31, 37, 42–45, 135; and “Snow Queen” fable, 22; as sublime, 13–15; as “sweet,” 5, 15, 19–20, 26–31, 37, 40, 42, 45–47, 135, 193–94; walking/wandering in, 9–10, 11, 13–14, 15, 23–24, 26; watching, 1–2, 5, 15, 23–24, 27, 28, 31, 53, 183–84, 194, 205, 214, 215, 216–17; whiteness of, 40–41
Romantic winter, symbols/metaphors of: falling snow, 15, 38, 40, 211; iceberg, 42–45, 48–49, 195–98; ice flowers, 20–21, 42, 45, 50, 132, 205; snowflake, 45–47, 48, 49–50, 213
Ronaldo, 165
Rose, Peter, 191
Ross, Sir John, 64–65, 88
Rossetti, Christina, 93
Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, 181
rugby, 150, 153, 163; and origins of hockey, 155–56, 158, 161, 162, 173
Ruskin, John, 29–30, 47
Russia, winter in, 29, 204: and defeat of Napoleon, 24–25; eroticism of, 25–26, 149; post-Napoleonic paeans to, 25–26; and Romanticism, 24–26, 38, 39, 138; and skiing, 136; and sleighing, 26, 136–38
Russian hockey, 163, 173, 215
Rutter, John: “Born in a Cradle So Bare,” 132–33
San Galli, Franz, 27, 55
Santa Claus, 57, 97, 118, 132; as ageless, 208; and birth process, 125, 132; and children, 115–16; Civil War depictions of, 115; as created by Nast, 114–16; and Saturn, 95; and St. Nicholas, 114–15; as twin of “Boss” Tweed, 116
Saturn, 95
Saturnalia, 95–96, 97–98, 118
Scandinavians: cosmopolitan cities of, 193–94; and polar exploration, 74, 75, 79; sensibility of, 16; winter skills/savvy of, 74, 79, 204
“scary” winter, 5, 26, 31, 135; combined with “sweet,” 15, 29, 37–38; in Friedrich’s paintings, 16–20; iceberg as symbol of, 42–45; in Schubert’s music, 22–24; and “Snow Queen” fable, 22, 31
Schubert, Franz, 16, 31, 203; “Frühlingstraum,” 23–24; Winterreise, 22–24, 48, 211
Scoresby (whaler), 63–64
Scott, Robert, 4, 43, 55, 63; and Barrie, 84–85; death of, 79, 84; diaries of, 81, 84–85; final expedition of, 67, 80–81, 85–86; modern scorn/criticism of, 79–87, 88; and rivalry with Amundsen, 53, 79
Scrooge, Ebenezer (A Christmas Carol), 105–13, 129, 132; epiphany/rebirth of, 109–11, 113, 118, 126; gift of turkey by, 106, 107, 108, 112, 116, 118, 129
Second World War, 87, 123–24, 126
Sedin, Daniel, 175
Seurat, Georges, 146
sexuality: of polar exploration, 71–72; of skating, 144–49; of “Snow Queen,” 22, 41, 205–6; as suppressed by solitary skaters, 142–44; team sports as alternative to, 149–53; of winter poetry, 25–26, 41, 149
Shackleton, Ernest, 55, 81, 82, 88, 213
Shakespeare, William, 30; “When icicles hang,” 9
Shaw, George Bernard, 85–86
Shelley, Mary, 85; Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus, 51–53, 59, 81; sled race in, 51, 52–53, 62, 73–74, 78, 91
Sherpas, 56, 75
Sisley, Alfred, 38, 40
skating: at Christmas, 103; English style of, 149–50; figure, 148, 149, 150; by Goethe, 21, 143–45, 148; and homosexuality, 148–49; paintings of, 142–44; remembrances of, 179, 180, 214, 216; sexuality of, 142–49; as solitary activity, 138–44, 152, 177; technological advances in, 145; in urban parks, 135, 139, 142, 146–47, 177, 208; waltzes for, 135; by Wordsworth, 139–41, 142, 144, 177, 194
skiing: cross-country, 2, 142; by Russian troops, 136; as Scandinavian tradition, 74, 79; as solitary activity, 141, 142, 152; in Switzerland, 145, 146
sledding, 136, 137–38, 152; and bobsledding, 145; as last memory in Citizen Kane, 207; and luge, 141, 145, 146, 152; on polar expeditions, 72, 74; and race to North Pole in Frankenstein, 51, 52–53, 62, 73–74, 78, 91; as Scandinavian tradition, 74; as solitary activity, 141, 152
sleighing: in Cowper’s poetry, 11, 26; Jameson on, 36, 138; in Krieghoff’s paintings, 37; in Pushkin’s poetry, 26, 136; by troika, 136–38
snow, 215–17; in French Impressionist paintings, 15, 38, 40, 211; Inuit words for, 211–12; “of yesteryear,” 181, 206, 208, 211. See also snowflake
snowflake: Bentley’s study/photography of, 45–47, 48, 50, 212; and human soul, 22, 23, 47, 90; individuality of, 45–47, 48, 49–50, 213; intricate pattern of, 22, 30, 46–47, 205; Ruskin on, 30, 47; in “The Snow Queen,” 22, 84, 205–6, 208; as symbol of “sweet” winter, 45–47, 48, 50; in Winterreise, 23–24
snowman, building of, 204–5
“Snow Queen”: of Andersen fable, 22, 24, 84, 205–6, 208; as deadly fate of polar explorers, 60; and Mirror of Reason, 22; as winter femme fatale, 41
soccer: in Britain, 150, 151, 153, 163; and Christmas battlefield truce, 122; cult of violence in, 176; goals in, 172; and hockey, 154–55, 162, 173;
penalty shots in, 169–70; slow pace of, 165; in Soviet system, 173
Somers, Harry: North Country, 53–54, 87
South: literature of exile from, 179–80; as place without winter, 215
Southern Europe: Northern longing for, 17, 18, 21, 24, 77
South Pole, 7, 83; Amundsen expeditions to, 53, 74, 77, 79; base station at, 194–95; as blank/unknown space, 61–62; Diski’s journey to, 198; as Promethean, 59–60; Pym’s journey to, 59–60, 62, 74; Scott expeditions to, 4, 43, 53, 55, 63, 67, 79–87, 88; Shackleton expedition to, 55, 81, 82, 88, 213; and stolen penguin egg, 80, 86
sports: as city phenomena, 134, 146, 153, 157–63, 176–77; ethnic dynamics of, 156–62, 173, 176; famous coaches of, 168, 169, 171; from fan’s point of view, 162–66, 172–74; and game theory, 166–73; memories in, 204; and militarism, 151, 152; Nordic tradition of, 151, 152; as solitary activities, 138–44, 152, 177; spectator, 150, 151; team, 150–53; of Winter Olympics, 151, 171–72, 174. See also game theory; hockey; team sports; winter sports and recreations entries
St. James’s Park (London), skating in, 139, 142
Stanley, Lord, 155
Starbucks, 47, 50
Stevens, Wallace, 209; “The Snow Man,” 3
Struzik, Edward: The Big Thaw, 199–200
Stuart, Gilbert: The Skater, 142–43
sublime, 13–15; Burke on, 14; of Christmas poetry, 101; of Harris’s icebergs, 43–44; of Niagara Falls, 35, 38; “sweet” and “scary” combined in, 15, 29, 37–38, 135; and winter landscape, 13–15, 29, 39, 40, 135, 145
suffering, on polar expeditions, 53, 55, 65, 67–68, 70, 79, 85, 86, 88
summer, 2–3, 4, 99, 182, 204, 211; in cities, 192–93, 194; and climate change, 200; difficulties of travel in, 26, 192–93, 194; and disillusionment, 207; and Enlightenment/reason, 18, 19, 138; as indistinguishable/unchanging, 206, 208; and loss of winter, 179, 180–81; sports in, 141; sweetness of, and winter stress, 178–79
“sweet” winter, 5, 19–20, 40, 42, 135; as caused by stress, 193–94; combined with “scary,” 15, 29, 37–38; of post-Napoleonic Britain, 26–28; snowflake as symbol of, 45–47, 48, 50; of Switzerland, 15, 28–31, 37
Switzerland, 28–31; Alps/auberges of, 15, 28, 29, 31, 39, 145; English visitors to, 29–30, 145–46; as Frankenstein’s home, 52; glaciers of, 30; Protestant–Catholic dynamics of, 29; Romanticism in, 28–31; “scary” and “sweet” winters combined in, 15, 29, 37; Turner and Ruskin in, 29–30
