Snow-Bound (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)

At a glance:

  • Author: John Greenleaf Whittier
  • First Published: 1866
  • Type of Work: Poetry
  • Type of Plot: Idyll
  • Time of Work: Early nineteenth century
  • Setting: Haverhill, Massachusetts
  • Genres: Poetry
  • Subjects: Blizzards
  • Locales: Haverhill, MA

Characters Discussed

The Poet, who remembers a great snowfall of his boyhood, with all its beauty and attendant pleasures.

Our Father, the poet’s father, a man of action. To the snow-bound group collected around the fire, he tells stories of adventures with Indians, of fishing trips, and of witches reputed to have inhabited the land long ago.

Our Mother, who, while turning her wheel, tells of Indian raids, of her happy girlhood, and of stories read in books by famous and revered Quakers.

Our Uncle, who is innocent of books. He shares his knowledge of nature: moons and tides, weather signs, and birds and beasts.

Our Dear Aunt, a selfless unmarried woman of simple faith.

The Elder Sister, who is impulsive, generous, truthful, and sternly just.

The Youngest Sister, the dearest, a sweet and loving girl.

Brother, the only one of the happy group, besides the poet, now living.

The Schoolmaster, a boarder in the Whittier home. A poor man’s son, he learned independence as a boy. Seemingly carefree and boyish, he is an earnest shaper of youthful minds. The cause of freedom should have many young apostles like him.

Another Guest (Harriet Livermore), a strange, half-feared, half-welcome woman, violent of temper, eccentric, cultured, and intense. Later, she will go to Europe and the Near East, prophesying the imminent second coming of Christ.

Bibliography:

Kribbs, Jayne K., comp. Critical Essays on John Greenleaf Whittier. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1980. Includes early reviews and structuralist criticism. Discusses John Greenleaf Whittier’s Quaker principles. Snow-Bound is addressed in an early review and in an essay on imagistic and structural unity.

Leary, Lewis. John Greenleaf Whittier. New York: Twayne, 1961. Summarizes earlier views of Snow-Bound and offers lucid paraphrase of each part.

Pickard, John B. John Greenleaf Whittier: An Introduction and Interpretation. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1961. Focuses on the image of fire. Snow-Bound is discussed extensively in the chapter on genre poetry.

Pickard, John B. Memorabilia of John Greenleaf Whittier. Hartford, Conn.: The Emerson Society, 1968. Collects unpublished papers on Whittier and includes an extensive collection of photographs of the poet. Contains one essay on Snow-Bound.

Wagenknecht, Edward. John Greenleaf Whittier: A Portrait in Paradox. New York: Oxford University Press, 1967. Considers Whittier in light of his philosophy, especially his Quaker principles of pacifism and enlightenment. Considers Snow-Bound in relation to these themes.