Emperor of the Air by Ethan Canin
"Emperor of the Air" by Ethan Canin is a reflective narrative centered around a 69-year-old high school biology and astronomy teacher grappling with his health and memories. The unnamed narrator, recently recovering from a heart attack, finds himself in conflict with his neighbor, Mr. Pike, over an ancient elm tree on his property that Pike insists must be cut down due to an insect infestation. This tree holds significant sentimental value for the narrator, who recalls its importance throughout his life, including a pivotal moment in childhood when he found a profound perspective while perched in its branches during a neighborhood crisis.
As the story unfolds, the narrator's internal struggle is mirrored by his decision-making about the elm tree's fate, leading him to contemplate drastic measures against Pike. However, after witnessing a tender moment between Pike and his son, he experiences a shift in perspective, choosing instead to cherish the beauty of the stars above and the connections between parents and children. The narrative weaves themes of nostalgia, the fragility of life, and the deep connections to nature and family, ultimately highlighting the narrator's journey towards hope and appreciation.
Emperor of the Air by Ethan Canin
First published: 1984
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: The 1970's to 1980's
Locale: A small town in California
Principal Characters:
The unnamed narrator , a sixty-nine-year-old high school science teacherMr. Pike , his next-door neighborKurt , Mr. Pike's son
The Story
The unnamed narrator announces that he is sixty-nine years old, a high school biology and astronomy teacher, married with no children, and a recent heart attack victim. Vera, his energetic wife, is off on one of her frequent walking trips. Although the narrator and Vera have traveled widely throughout their lives, his failing health has prevented him from any serious strenuous activity. He must keep with him at all times a small vial of nitroglycerine pills in case his chest begins to tighten.
The narrator's next-door neighbor, Mr. Pike, comes to his house to inform him that the giant, 250-year-old elm tree on the narrator's land is infested with insects, a fact that the narrator already knows. Pike insists that the tree must be cut down to protect the three young elm trees that grow in his front yard. A week later, Pike reappears, this time with a chainsaw in hand, arguing that his elms are young and he cannot let them become infested. The narrator replies that his tree is more than two hundred years old.
The narrator calls a man at a tree nursery who tells him that the insects do not necessarily mean that the ancient tree will die or that it is dying, although it could die if it is not strong. There is hope. After several confrontations with Pike, who suggests that they plant another tree in its place, the narrator reminds him that he had lived in this house all of his life, and the tree was ancient when he climbed it as a boy. Later, the narrator meditates on certain experiences in his life that had always deeply moved him: crossing the Mississippi River as a child, listening to Ludwig van Beethoven quartets at a concert and, most of all, looking up at the stars at night.
After a successful attempt to stop the relentless line of insects, the narrator finds himself descending into his youthful memories and the key role that this magnificent elm tree played in his life. He recalls the time when his neighborhood had been threatened by a fire that raged through the town. His father took charge of their neighborhood and helped everyone move out. The young narrator climbed up into the highest part of the elm tree—the most dangerous act of his life—and there gained a visual and spiritual perspective that he had never experienced before: He beheld nature in one of its most sublime moments.
The narrator returns to a problematic present when he discovers that the insects have returned. Pike's renewed threat forces him into taking drastic steps to preserve the tree. He decides to transfer some of the insects from his tree to the three elms in Pike's front yard, reasoning that if his neighbor's trees were infested, they would probably still live, and then Pike would no longer want to chop down his old tree.
The aging high school teacher prepares for a night attack on Pike's domain. He blackens his face with shoe polish, dresses in dark clothes, and begins his dangerous journey. On his way to Pike's yard, he crawls across the bomb shelter that Pike built. Finding the hatch unlocked, he descends into its womblike interior. There he muses over Pike's character and about how fearful he must be in wanting to destroy the ancient elm and in building a bomb shelter.
As the narrator emerges from the shelter, Pike and his son, Kurt, come out of the house and into the beautiful summer night. The narrator sees them both pointing at the sky. Flashbacks of his own father teaching him the mythic names behind the magnificent stellar constellations converge with images of himself as an astronomy teacher giving his suddenly interested students the same information. What he hears, though, stuns him. Pike is telling Kurt about the stars, but he does not know the proper names; he is making up his own mythic version. "These," he said, "these are the Mermaid's Tail, and south you can see the three peaks of Mount Olympus, and then the sword that belongs to the Emperor of the Air." The narrator realizes that Pike has actually described the bright tail of Cygnus and the neck of Pegasus. The narrator then observes father and son go back into the house to watch television. Observing the paternal affection that Pike shows Kurt deeply moves the narrator. "Every so often when they laughed at something on the screen, he moved his hand up and tousled Kurt's hair, and the sight of this suddenly made me feel the way I do on the bridge across the Mississippi River."
That gesture of love restores the narrator's hope, so he decides not to infest Pike's trees with insects. Instead he sits up all night staring into the glorious stellar constellations with awe and gratitude. When the paperboy appears at dawn, the narrator asks him to do something for him. When the curious boy asks what, he asks him to put down his bicycle and look up at the stars.
Sources for Further Study
Chicago Tribune. March 10, 1988, V, p. 3.
The Christian Science Monitor. March 16, 1988, p. 20.
Kirkus Reviews. LV, December 15, 1987, p. 1688.
Library Journal. CXIII, February 1, 1988, p. 75.
Los Angeles Times. February 3, 1988, V, p. 6.
The New Leader. LXXI, March 21, 1988, p. 21.
New York. XXI, January 25, 1988, p. 53.
The New York Times Book Review. XCIII, February 14, 1988, p. 7.
People Weekly. XXIX, February 1, 1988, p. 13.
Publishers Weekly. CCXXXII, December 25, 1987, p. 61.
Short Story Review. V, Summer, 1988, p. 12.
The Wall Street Journal. February 16, 1988, p. 34.
The Washington Post. January 20, 1988, p. C2.