Carol Reid writes about...

Challenge 254

In Jean-Michel Calvez’ “Snow, Sweet Snow,” what does Davy’s and, presumably, Lyra’s experience represent? Is the story an existential irony on death? Does it symbolize adolescent wish-fullfilment and alienation? Something else, perhaps?

An interesting story! My French is not what it used to be, but I did try to read the original version.

I think that some parallels can be made here with the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Here the forbidden “fruit” comes in the guise of candy dropped from the vehicle of an unknown stranger, which brings about a tumultous change in the bodies of David and Lyra, perhaps symbolic of the death of childhood and the coming of sexual maturity. This is often a time of seperation and alienation from parents and the trappings of childhood as your question suggests.

I am wondering about the translation of the title and of the closing sentence. Not sure whether I have understood something there.

I think it’s perfectly okay to invoke a classical interpretation, Carol, and that Jean-Michel, too, would say it’s quite legitimate. His point is that curiosity can have some very bizarre and even dangerous consequences. That is certainly the case in the Adam and Eve story.

Jean-Michel says that the title “Snow, Sweet Snow” was suggested to him by the fixed expression “home, sweet home.”

As for the last sentence, I think he just did the best he could:

Par ailleurs — mais cela, il s’en doutait déjà un peu, vu la saison bien avancée — il n’y avait pas du tout de neige, bien entendu.

More or less literally it says:

Besides — but he was already expecting this since it was quite late in the season — there was not a trace of snow, of course.

You’re right: the two versions do differ somewhat. The sentence could also be translated as:

Besides -- and this came as no surprise to him, since it was quite late in the season -- there was obviously not a trace of snow.

Don