Summary

Chapter One of “December” is titled “Light.” It begins with a quote from a poem by John Donne, which author May suggests “is perhaps the perfect reading for the seasonally affected. A grief-stricken love song to a deceased lover, it rings with a kind of midwinter melancholy” (91). May then analyzes the poem for its considerations of emotional and literal darkness, for its offering of glimpses of optimism, and for its setting on the feast day of Saint Lucy. May then summarizes some of the origin stories of that particular saint, describing the different ways in which both her suffering and her transcendence have been portrayed over the years. As she contrasts details of Lucy’s suffering – including being tortured, stabbed, and burned – with details of her goodness – including generosity to prisoners – May concludes that ultimately, Lucy is “a figure-head for … the...