18 pages • 36 minutes read
Elizabeth BishopFirst Death in Nova Scotia
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1965A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Jack Frost Symbolizes a Mortuary Cosmetologist
Jack Frost heightens the sense of defamiliarization and eeriness. He represents a mortuary cosmetologist because he puts makeup on Arthur. The speaker sees Jack Frost starting to “paint him” (Line 34), but then, without an explanation, he stops and exits the scene. The “paint” is makeup. Frost’s occupation as a mortuary cosmetologist undercuts Frost’s typical place in culture and makes him a working-class person. Turning Frost into a makeup artist for the dead reinforces the lack of emotion at funerals and surrounding death. Frost connects to harsh winter weather; he’s not there to bring warmth.
Frost does have the capacity for feeling, as he begins to paint “a few red strokes” (Line 38) on Arthur’s hair. The presence of color among the “all white” (Line 32) body suggests that Frost isn’t exclusively an agent of monolithic gloom. However, Frost’s quick departure indicates that any warmth he may have isn’t sustainable. Realizing that he’s betraying his bleak values, Frost leaves before he does any further damage to his reputation.
The Royal Chromographs Symbolize Hierarchy
The poem mentions four British royals: Edward, Prince of Wales; Princess Alexandra; King George; and Queen Mary. The speaker’s mother puts Arthur “beneath the chromographs” (Line 3), turning the royals into symbols of hierarchy. They are above Arthur, and their power over him is explicit. At the upper levels of prestige, the royals watch over the scene. They are not physically present and don’t need to be. Their power and fame make people covet their images. The speaker’s family subscribes to the royals’ authority by having colored reproductions (“chromographs”) of them at the funeral.
The speaker emphasizes the unequal power dynamics through color. While the speaker’s house is “cold, cold” (Line 1), the royals are “warm in red and ermine” (Line 42). The royals have the resources to combat frosty environments. At the same time, the royals aren’t cruel. The speaker imagines them as “gracious” (Line 41), inviting Arthur to their estates. Since Arthur lacks the sumptuously warm clothes owned by the royals, the speaker isn’t sure how Arthur can get to them with the “roads deep in snow” (Line 50). Arguably, the royals possess the resources to help Arthur. Since they offer no assistance, the speaker subverts the royals’ magnanimity.
Interdependence
The speaker plays on Canada’s patriotic song “Maple Leaf Forever” when they note that Jack Frost “always paint[s] / the Maple Leaf (Forever)” (Lines 35-36). Alexander Muir wrote the patriotic song in 1867 when the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick colonies joined the province of Canada and became a federal union.
The line connects Canada’s history to Innocence and Defamiliarization. The realignment marked the death of separate colonies and provinces and the creation of a new geopolitical entity. The speaker creates strange connections through her cousin, the loon, and the royals. The formation of Canada brings together disparate parts.
As Canada remains part of the British Commonwealth, Britain continues to haunt it (however innocuously). The ghostlike presence of the royals serves as a reminder of the nominal arrangement. Though the speaker and their family are in a separate, self-governing country, they can’t decouple themselves from Britain: They remain connected. The speaker’s imagination activates their dormant power when Arthur invites them to their “court” (Line 46).
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