Pretty Ice by Mary Robison
"Pretty Ice" by Mary Robison is a narrative centered around Belle, a woman eagerly anticipating the arrival of her fiancé, Will, to her small Ohio hometown. Will, a plant taxonomist from Cambridge, is visiting after their courtship during their academic years. As Belle prepares for his arrival, she is preoccupied with thoughts about finances and the implications of their upcoming marriage, especially in light of Will’s recent professional setbacks. The story unfolds during a severe winter storm, highlighting Belle's complicated relationship with her family and her past, particularly her father's tragic death.
The journey to the train station reveals Belle's internal struggles, including her hesitation about the wedding and her mother's well-meaning but intrusive advice. The narrative weaves moments of nostalgia, such as memories of her parents and their dance studio, into the present dynamic as Belle grapples with her feelings for Will. The atmosphere is characterized by both the beauty of the snowy landscape and the weight of unresolved family trauma, culminating in Belle's bittersweet reflections as she contemplates her future with Will. The story captures themes of domestic realism, emotional complexity, and the interplay between personal history and contemporary relationships.
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Pretty Ice by Mary Robison
First published: 1977
Type of plot: Domestic realism
Time of work: The 1970's
Locale: Ohio
Principal Characters:
Belle , a woman in her mid-thirtiesHer mother Will , her fiancé
The Story
Belle is expecting the first visit from Will, her fiancé, to her small hometown in Ohio. He is coming from Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he has been conducting research in botany. They met there when he was attending Boston University and teaching undergraduates and she was working toward a doctorate in musicology. Their courtship took place during those years of study.
Belle stays up the whole night before Will arrives, working on figures in her checkbook, drinking coffee, pacing back and forth, and returning to her calculator. She takes pleasure in adding up numbers. At 6:15 in the morning, she is called away from her addition by her mother, who is waiting in the car to take Belle to the train station. Belle has never learned to drive a car.
There has been a lot of snow recently, and now an ice storm has coated the trees. Driving is somewhat hazardous, and Belle's mother drives carefully. On the way to the station, Belle mentions that Will, who is a plant taxonomist, recently was turned down for an important and lucrative grant because the committee decided that the research he had been conducting for the past seven years was irrelevant. Belle mentions that she thinks it might be a good idea to postpone the wedding until Will is financially more stable. Her mother advises her not to wait too long.
Along the route, they pass a fading billboard that advertises the dance studio that Belle's father and mother once ran. This reminds Belle of the flashy sports car that her father and mother once had, and of the pleasure she took when her father would take her for rides in it.
When they arrive at the train station, Belle notices that Will has put on weight and seems puffy. She lets him kiss her, and then Belle's mother kisses him. Will sits in the back seat, and Belle sits up front with her mother. The mother suggests that Will stay at her house in Belle's old room, but Belle quickly suggests they find a motel for him. She notes that there is really not room for him at her place, either, because she has her tax materials strewn all over. When Will suggests that the two of them go out for breakfast after he gets settled, Belle puts him off, again mentioning that she needs to clean up her tax materials.
As they leave the station, Belle's mother mentions that her husband's name also had been William, and that he had been quite handsome. Belle reveals that it had been in the dance studio, when she was twenty-one years old, that her father pointed a service revolver down his throat and took his life.
Even though she has taken this route many times, Belle's mother gets lost on the way home. Rather than becoming discouraged by this, she notes that the ice storm was beautiful. They are in no hurry to get Will to his motel, after all, so why not just wait a while and enjoy the beauty around them. Belle surprises herself by agreeing with her mother. She smiles at Will but thinks that it will be the last time that she does so.