Summary
The City: Part 1Smilla’s Sense of Snow begins in Copenhagen, Denmark, which is the "city" mentioned in the section title. The first chapter is brief, setting the scene in a cemetery for Greenlanders during the funeral of Isaiah, a young Inuit boy who died after falling from a warehouse roof. This chapter introduces the reader to the narrator, Smilla, as well as Isaiah’s mother, Juliane, and a mechanic later identified as Peter Føjl. Despite its brevity, the chapter ends with a crucial realization for Smilla: “All along I must have had a comprehensive pact with Isaiah not to leave him in the lurch, never, not even now.”
The following chapters delve into a series of flashbacks. In the initial flashback, Smilla recalls returning late one December afternoon to the White Palace, the apartment complex where she, Isaiah, Juliane, and Føjl reside, only to find Isaiah dead on the ground, surrounded by police. Føjl, who discovered Isaiah first, is present and visibly upset. Although the police label Isaiah’s fall as accidental, Smilla suspects foul play for two key reasons: Isaiah had a fear of heights and would never have gone on the roof unless he was fleeing someone, and when Smilla examines the footprints in the snow, she concludes that he jumped off the roof, rather than fell, likely to escape something or someone that terrified him.
Another series of flashbacks reveals how Smilla met Isaiah about a year and a half earlier and how their affection for each other grew. Isaiah often sought refuge with both Smilla and Føjl when Juliane was too inebriated to care for him. Through these flashbacks, readers gain insight into the deep connection between Smilla and the boy, as well as her relentless drive to uncover the truth behind his death.
As this opening section unfolds, Smilla begins her investigation into Isaiah’s death, speaking with the police, an investigator named Ravn, Jeanne Pierre Lagermann, the forensic expert who first examined Isaiah’s body, and Johannes Loyen, the influential director of the Institute for Arctic Medicine. These discussions only fuel Smilla’s doubts about the circumstances of the boy’s death. While going through Juliane’s documents, she uncovers a connection between Isaiah and the Cryolite Corporation of Denmark, a company involved in mining and exploration in Greenland. Isaiah’s father died during a Cryolite Corporation expedition to Greenland, and the company provided Juliane with a widow’s pension.
In the opening section of the novel, we are introduced to Peter Moritz Jaspersen, Smilla’s father, a prosperous anesthesiologist and avid golfer. Smilla and Moritz have a turbulent relationship; nevertheless, Moritz provides Smilla with financial support and gathers information she requests about Loyen, Tørk, and the Cryolite Corporation. This interaction with Moritz prompts Smilla to reminisce about her childhood in Greenland and her mother, Ane, a hunter who has since passed away.
Readers learn that Smilla is a skilled glaciologist, possessing an exceptional ability to interpret ice and snow better than almost anyone else worldwide. Despite not completing any advanced degrees, she has published work on the topic and is recognized as a leading expert in the field. She also has an extraordinary talent for navigating through the challenging conditions of the Arctic.
Another key development in the initial chapters is the evolving relationship between Smilla and Føjl. Although they don't fully trust each other, they embark on an affair, leading Smilla to develop feelings for Føjl.
The City: Part 2
In the second part, tension escalates as Smilla pursues leads related to Loyen; David Ving, an accountant and lawyer who appears to be threatening Juliane; and Andreas Fine Licht, an authority...
(This entire section contains 1334 words.)
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on Eskimo culture and language. All three seem linked to a mysterious 1966 expedition to Greenland, which ended in explosions that killed eight people, and a subsequent 1991 expedition resulting in Isaiah’s father’s death. Furthermore, they appear connected to another upcoming expedition. Føjl discovers that Ving collected Isaiah monthly for hospital examinations. Smilla uncovers the name Tørk Hiijd. She approaches Licht to have a tape found in Isaiah’s hiding spot translated. Licht resides on a boat housing The Arctic Museum. Smilla leaves the tape with Licht but returns when he urgently calls her. She finds Licht murdered just before the boat explodes, and someone attempts to kill her. Smilla narrowly escapes with her life.
The City: Part 3
In the concluding segment of the novel's first section, more pieces of the
puzzle start coming together. Smilla links Loyen to a conference on
“Neocatastrophism.” Moritz explains to her that neocatastrophism involves a
scientific discussion about how significant natural disasters have influenced
the Earth's evolution. Furthermore, she uncovers that during Greenland
expeditions, the divers didn't succumb to botulism as the Cryolite Corporation
claimed. Instead, they died from a worm located in the water around a
meteorite, a worm typically found only in tropical regions and not usually
fatal to its host. Additionally, with assistance from Føjl’s friend, Birgo
Lander, she identifies the ship being prepared for the next covert expedition
to Greenland. Lander introduces her to the ship's captain and arranges for her
to join the journey as a stewardess. She narrowly escapes being captured by the
police at her father's house, but he aids her escape and takes her to Lander,
who then escorts her to the ship, the Kronos.
The Sea: Part 1
The entire action in the novel's second section unfolds on the ship. Smilla
encounters various dangerous individuals, including Jakkelsen, the captain’s
brother, who is also addicted to heroin, and Verlaine, the first mate from an
unspecified tropical area. She also discovers three enigmatic passengers
onboard who are overseeing the mission, much to Captain Lukas’s discontent.
While on the ship, Smilla continues her investigation, often risking her
safety. She soon discovers that Tørk is one of the secret passengers. The
journey becomes increasingly perilous as she learns that Verlaine is using the
Kronos to smuggle drugs. Smilla attempts to disembark when the ship
stops for refueling and supplies but is thwarted when she finds Jakkelson dead
on the station platform. To her shock, she observes a new passenger boarding,
who turns out to be Føjl. Although unsure of his allegiance, Smilla returns to
the ship because, as she puts it, “One of the few people who make life worth
living is on board the Kronos.”
However, Smilla's trust is misplaced. Føjl hands her over to Tørk, who claims she is under arrest and instructs Verlaine to lock her in her cabin. As this section concludes, Smilla reveals she knows she’s not under arrest but is facing imminent death: “Verlaine is the one who locks the door. . . . His silence has an honesty to it. It tells me this isn’t a cell and I haven’t been arrested. This is the beginning of the end, which will occur soon.”
The Ice
The final section is the briefest in the book and unfolds at Isla Gela Alta,
where a hidden cavern houses the enigmatic meteorite. Smilla has discovered
that Føjl plans to dive into the lake to start the process of extracting the
meteorite. She also realizes that he will perish if he attempts this. Smilla
escapes from the ship and rushes to the work site, where Tørk greets her,
seemingly expecting her arrival. The conclusion is swift: as Verlaine is about
to kill Smilla, Lukas shoots him with a harpoon. Smilla finally learns that
Tørk was the person on the roof when Isaiah died, and he chased Isaiah to
retrieve the tape. Lukas targets Tørk with the harpoon, but Tørk retaliates by
severing his arm. Føjl turns against Tørk, but Tørk knocks him down. Tørk then
makes a run for the ship. The story concludes with Smilla pursuing Tørk,
driving him onto increasingly fragile ice. Smilla's final words in the book
are: “There will be no resolution.”