When Iona tries to tell of his sons death, he is unable to say what he really feels. “Iona looks at his fare and moves his lips . . . Apparently he means to say something, but nothing comes out but a sniff.”(31) He tries again, and is able to say, in a detached tone, “My son . . . , er . . . my son died this week, sir.”(31) The fare is an “officer in a military overcoat.” (31) After this brief conversation Iona sits in solitude, alone with his thoughts. “Again the wet snow paints him and his horse white. One hour passes, and then another . . . “(31) Iona wants to forget about his sons death, “but to think of him and picture him is insufferable anguish . . . “(34)
In the end of this story Iona is left speaking with his horse. “Now, suppose you had a little colt, and you were own mother to that little colt . . . And all at once that same little colt went and died . . . You’d be sorry, wouldn’t you? . ..”(34) His horse listens as all good horses do. “The little mare munches, listens, and breaths on her master’s hands.”(34) Iona is now content on telling his story to the horse. “Iona is carried away and tells her all about it.”(34)
Feelings and emotions overwhelm us when we manage with the death of a loved-one. Guilt, blame, and denial are all part of the experiences we go through in mourning the passing death. A large amount of what we experience is directly related to the environment that we are in when the death occurs. Iona had an especially tough time with this experience in the setting that he was placed in. A perfect situation for Iona would have been a week off from work, and surrounded by close friends and family.