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The Fire and the Cold

            
             An Analysis of "The Painted Door" by Sinclair Ross.
             In the short story "The Painted Door" by Sinclair Ross he uses cold and fire to reflect Ann's changing emotions about her relationship with her husband John. In the beginning Ann fears the cold and seeks comfort from the from the fire. At the end of the story the fire becomes evil and she seeks the cold. .
             As John prepares to leave to go to his fathers Ann looks outside at the snow covered prairie land and the presence of there farm steads in the snow do not comfort her but it makes her feel more isolated. The fire provides Ann with the comfort she needs from the sense of isolation the cold brings and makes her feel secure and safe. After being home alone for a while the silence becomes to much for her but the fire helps her cope. "It was the silence again, aggressive, hovering. The fire split and crackled at it.". The fire is Ann's companion while John is away. Anytime Ann feels lonely or sad she goes toward the fire and she feels some relief. .
             Throughout the story Sinclair uses snake imagery in his description of the cold. "Across the drifts sped swift and snake like tongues of snow." The snake is representing the evil that the snow brings upon Ann. Sinclair Ross makes it sound like the snow is closing in on Ann by slithering its way closer and closer towards her house. Later in the story, the cold and the fire switch rolls and the fire becomes evil. This happens after Ann's affair with Steven she feels guilty and distressed about what she had done and the fire becomes the snake. "The whips of light still flickered and coiled, but now suddenly they were the swift little snakes that this afternoon she had watched twist and shiver across the snow." The snake is now evil because Ann was worried about John but Steven kept telling her that he would not try to come home in the blizzard. Steven would bring Ann towards the fire to comfort her and make her feel safe in his arms.


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