A Vermont Tale by Mark Helprin
"A Vermont Tale" by Mark Helprin is a poignant narrative that unfolds the journey of two children traveling by train to their grandparents' home during a snowy winter. The story begins with a child’s perspective, immersing readers in the enchanting landscape and the warmth of familial love. As the children settle in, their grandfather shares a fable about two arctic loons, which serves as a metaphor for relationships and fidelity. The tale takes a reflective turn, revealing themes of infidelity and the emotional complexities that arise within familial bonds. While initially presenting an idyllic setting and a loving atmosphere, the story concludes with a chilling realization about the grandmother's true emotions, suggesting underlying tensions in what appears to be a warm relationship. This dual narrative invites readers to contemplate the fragility of love and the lasting impacts of choices made within relationships, reinforcing that even in good-hearted individuals, mistakes can lead to profound consequences. The story serves both as a whimsical journey and a cautionary tale, exploring the nuances of human connection in a thoughtful and sensitive manner.
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A Vermont Tale by Mark Helprin
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1981 (collected in Ellis Island, and Other Stories, 1981)
Type of work: Short story
The Work
A simple and beautiful tale within a tale, “A Vermont Tale” starts with the journey of two young children on a train from the home where their parents are “having trouble” into the spectacular winter wonderland of their grandparents’ home. The early parts of the story are reminiscent of The Polar Express (1985) by Chris Van Allsberg, an author and illustrator with whom Helprin would later work.
The first half of the story is taken up by a child’s-eye view of the beautiful snow-covered farm, the cozy house, and the love shown the children by their grandparents. Then, one blizzard-bound night, the grandfather begins a story of two arctic loons that visit a pond on the farm. Loons are birds that mate for life, but the male of this pair forsakes his partner to spend time with another female from a visiting flock. The reader suspects that this is a story of the children’s parents’ relationship but soon discovers that it is the grandparents’ story instead: The female loon is said to have flown off to another pond far away, and the grandmother interjects “Baltimore.” After a description of very humanlike remorse and reconciliation, the birds are reunited and, it is assumed, live happily ever after. However, in the last line of the story, the boy sees that his grandmother’s eyes “though beautiful and blue, were as cold as ice.” This detail recasts the entire preceding story, the beauty of the winter, the idyllic peace of the farmhouse, and the grandparents’ apparently warm relationship in a much colder light.
This is a strong cautionary tale of infidelity and the permanent damage that it can do to a marriage. It is one of the few relationships in Helprin’s stories that is not loving and true, and even in this case, there is no evil or meanness implied but merely good people gone wrong.
Bibliography
Alexander, Paul. “Big Books, Tall Tales.” The New York Times Magazine 140 (April 28, 1991): 32.
Keneally, Thomas. “Of War and Memory.” Review of A Soldier of the Great War, by Mark Helprin. The New York Times Book Review, May 5, 1991, 1.
Lambert, Craig. “Literary Warrior.” Harvard Magazine (May/June, 2005): 38-43.
Linville, James. “Mark Helprin: The Art of Fiction CXXXII.” The Paris Review 35 (Spring, 1993): 160-199.
“Mark Helprin’s Next Ten Years (and Next Six Books) with HBJ.” Publishers Weekly 236 (June 9, 1989): 33-34.
Max, D. T. “His Horses Used to Fly.” The New York Times Book Review, November 7, 2004, p. 24
Meroney, John. “’Live’ with TAE: Mark Helprin.” The American Enterprise (July/August. 2001): 17-20.
Rubins, Josh. “Small Expectations.” Review of Winter’s Tale, by Mark Helprin. The New York Review of Books 30 (November 24, 1983): 40-41.
Solotarfoff, Ed. “A Soldier’s Tale.” Review of A Soldier of the Great War, by Mark Helprin. The Nation 252 (June 10, 1991): 776-781.