28 pages • 56 minutes read
Alice MunroThe Bear Came over the Mountain
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1999A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Flowers
Flowers are an ironic symbol in the text. When Grant brings Fiona a bouquet—a traditionally romantic gesture and something he admits he’s never done before—he feels cartoonish. Rather than accepting the flowers warmly, Fiona doesn’t remember him, and Grant discovers that she’s in a budding relationship with Aubrey. The romantic gesture is interrupted by the truth of the situation. They do not help Fiona remember who Grant is, nor do they encourage her to feel any amount of love. The flowers are a symbol of love and romance set in a situation where their effect is dulled or nonexistent, adding to the irony that the story conveys about conventional romance and love.
It is significant that the nurse refers to the flowers Grant is carrying as “Narcissus,” another name for daffodils. This is an allusion to the Greek myth of Narcissus. In the myth, a hunter known for his handsome appearance rejects all of his love interests, instead falling deeply in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. While there are several versions of the tale, many end with Narcissus dying in despair, leaving a crop of the flowers that now bear his name where his body fell. Through these flowers, Munro is drawing an intentional connection between Grant’s character and that of the vain, self-obsessed Narcissus.
Memories
Memories are a consistent motif in the narrative. While Grant fixates on his memories, particularly those related to infidelity, Fiona struggles to hold on to hers as her Alzheimer’s disease progresses. Memories reflect love and infidelity at the same time for Grant. He consistently pushes for Fiona to remember him, expressing shock that she does not remember they lived in her parents’ farmhouse and being upset that he becomes a “persistent visitor” to her while she spends her days flirting with Aubrey. Memories relate to when Fiona had “the spark of life” that led to him accepting her marriage proposal (286), and when Fiona was “sweet and ironic” (287). To share memories is to renew love in Grant’s eyes, and Fiona not remembering these key details shows the progression of her Alzheimer’s and the digression of their love. At the same time, Grant’s memories also bring forth his infidelities. Grant’s memories expose that a female student wrote “RAT'' on his door, almost revealing his cheating. His emotional attachment to his memories, to Fiona’s memories, and to others’ memories of him shape the narrative. Through memories the narrative demonstrates the emotional attachment memories have and their impact on interpersonal connections.
Meadowlake
Meadowlake is a symbolic place in “The Bear Came Over the Mountain” because it symbolizes the biggest change that all the key characters must face. For Grant, it symbolizes the place where his wife must be committed, and where his marriage is being tested by things outside of his control for the first time. For Fiona, it represents the truth about her health condition. For Aubrey, Meadowlake is a place he was never meant to be, but also a place where he found real companionship with Fiona. For Marian, Meadowlake symbolizes freedom and a rare and temporary taste of luxury, since she was free to travel while Aubrey stayed there, though Meadowlake’s expense is out of reach for her financially. Meadowlake forces the characters to confront parts of themselves they would not have had to confront if not for Meadowlake’s necessary place in their lives.
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By Alice Munro
