The Ice Man’s Past and Future

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

The Ice Man’s claim that ice preserves the past shapes his marriage, while his wife’s imagined future becomes trapped in an eternal winter.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Past Without a Past Past Without a Past from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". A Being Outside Time A strange kind of knowledge The Ice Man says he can see the narrator’s past but not her future.

Past Without a Past from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". A Being Outside Time A strange kind of knowledge The Ice Man says he can see the narrator’s past but not her future.

A Being Outside Time A strange kind of knowledge The Ice Man says he can see the narrator’s past but not her future. Ice, he explains, seals what has already happened. An unexplained exception He knows much about others but cannot name his own parents or origin. His lack of a personal past becomes the condition of their intimacy.

The Wife’s Isolation The Wife’s Isolation from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". A Household Without Community Outside rejection Her mother and sister oppose the marriage, and friends do not celebrate it.

The Wife’s Isolation from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". A Household Without Community Outside rejection Her mother and sister oppose the marriage, and friends do not celebrate it.

A Household Without Community Outside rejection Her mother and sister oppose the marriage, and friends do not celebrate it. The wife has no child and spends long stretches alone. Routine begins to suffocate Although she loves the Ice Man, repeated days turn her into a shadow within her own life. She asks for travel as a way to experience something new.

The South Pole Chosen The South Pole Chosen from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". The Destination Hardens A request becomes fixed The wife suggests the South Pole, expecting the Ice Man to welcome the cold.

The South Pole Chosen from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". The Destination Hardens A request becomes fixed The wife suggests the South Pole, expecting the Ice Man to welcome the cold.

The Destination Hardens A request becomes fixed The wife suggests the South Pole, expecting the Ice Man to welcome the cold. He accepts and buys tickets and warm clothing. Warning signs As the trip approaches, he grows colder and stops eating. The wife senses that the destination has awakened something in him.

No Way Back No Way Back from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". The World Changes Around Them A place that suits him The Ice Man learns the local language and becomes absorbed in the settlement.

No Way Back from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". The World Changes Around Them A place that suits him The Ice Man learns the local language and becomes absorbed in the settlement.

The World Changes Around Them A place that suits him The Ice Man learns the local language and becomes absorbed in the settlement. His wife feels abandoned and cannot communicate with the residents. Winter closes the route Planes stop arriving, the runway freezes, and the Ice Man says a long winter has begun. The journey becomes a permanent enclosure.

The Child of the Ice The Child of the Ice from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". A Family Preserved Pregnancy in the frozen world The wife realizes she is pregnant and believes the baby will be an Ice Man. She feels cold inside her womb.

The Child of the Ice from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". A Family Preserved Pregnancy in the frozen world The wife realizes she is pregnant and believes the baby will be an Ice Man. She feels cold inside her womb.

A Family Preserved Pregnancy in the frozen world The wife realizes she is pregnant and believes the baby will be an Ice Man. She feels cold inside her womb. Love without escape The Ice Man continues to love her, but his frozen words seem to recede into the past. Her tears freeze as the family’s future narrows to the ice around them.

During the first conversations at the ski resort

After the couple settle into married life

A few weeks before departure

After their arrival at the South Pole

Three months into the South Pole stay