Answers?

When I read a poem, story or novel, I do wonder what the author’s intention may have been, but I also have my own thoughts and reactions.

Last blog, I challenged readers to look for clues in one of my stories, that might reveal reasons for why the narrator saw what she did. These are possible answers.

The narrator in ‘Cold and Clear’ is pregnant and alone during a blizzard. Pregnancy and anxiety may lead to hallucinations, especially when drifting off to sleep.

Early on in the story we read, “I ate my supper some time ago – the last of the rye bread (somewhat stale) with homemade jam.” Rye grain can be subject to an ergot fungus, and consuming bread made from such grain can cause various symptoms, including hallucinations.

Exposure to sunlight can cause a variety of skin conditions. Later in the story we read of William’s aunt, “her face puffy and reddened.” As well, there are conditions that cause excessive hair growth (e.g. Werewolf Syndrome).

Frégoli Syndrome is a condition where a person believes that people he or she knows have taken on different appearances.

On the other hand, you can read the story more straightforwardly, as that of a woman who discovers something extraordinary and possibly dangerous about her husband, and after thinking of various things she might do, reaches a decision.