Edward Hopper, Evening Wind, 1921

"He got out of bed and went to the window. It was black outside and he could see nothing, not even the rain. But he could hear it, cascading off the roof and into a puddle under the window. He could hear it all over the house. He rain his finger across the drool on the glass.

When he got back into bed, he moved close to her and put his hand on her hip. 'Hon, wake up,' he whispered. But she only shuddered and moved over farther to her own side. She kept on sleeping. 'Wake up,' he whispered. 'I hear something outside.'" - Raymond Carver, The Ducks

Clashing violently with the black walls of the room, the snow white portal to the outside holds no comfort or warmth in its depths. Only the elements and the howling winds, which thrust the curtains into the room with each gust, lay in wait outside the home. And caught in nature's crossfire the woman sits on all fours, vulnerable, naked and alone. She will find no comfort in the sheets that share the same snowy color as the wild unknown. There is no escape for her.

When I first saw this sketch I was reminded of Raymond Carver's short story "The Ducks," which explores the relationship of an unnamed man and woman through the death of the man's colleague and a night spent making love during a heavy rain storm. As in many Carver stories, the couple has a broken relationship, one lacking real love; instead their connection gets built upon lust and convenience. Though they are together, they are completely alone, just like the figure in Hopper's work. The woman seems to harbor genuine feelings for her lover, but he remains distant and cold to her, at least until a failed attempt at love making. Deep in the night he goes to the window and becomes frightened by what lays beyond, and finally turns to her for comfort, but finds that he cannot wake her up.

He has only himself.

Vulnerable....Naked....

Alone.