A young child trying to make sense of mortality. They view the funeral setting through a detached lens, reorganizing objects and identities into a surreal environment. Instead of expressing grief, they act as a camera, dispassionately recording the icy atmosphere and the adults' formal behaviors.

The speaker's small cousin who has died from an unspecified cause. His body rests in a freezing parlor, appearing entirely white and doll-like to the observing speaker. The physical reality of his death contrasts with the speaker's vision of him attempting a winter journey to a royal court.

The adult authority figure who dictates the funeral's physical setup. She places Arthur's body beneath royal portraits and commands the speaker to say goodbye. She follows a formal social script rather than offering warmth or emotional comfort to the child.

Arthur's father and the speaker's uncle. He introduces a sudden element of violence into the parlor's quiet atmosphere through his past action of hunting the waterbird. The speaker closely links his identity to his deceased son.

A stuffed waterbird with red eyes and a white breast. The speaker grants the bird human characteristics, perceiving it as an entity that keeps its own counsel. The bird visually mirrors the dead cousin through its stillness and white features.

The personification of winter weather, imagined by the speaker as a mortuary cosmetologist. He begins applying red strokes to the dead boy's hair but stops abruptly, leaving him permanently pale. He represents the freezing, unfeeling environment surrounding the funeral.

A British monarch whose portrait hangs on the parlor wall. He represents the distant hierarchy of the British Empire overseeing the Canadian household. The speaker imagines him warmly inviting the deceased cousin to his court.

A British monarch whose image decorates the cold parlor. Wrapped in warm ermine, she stands in sharp contrast to the freezing temperatures of the room and the lifelessness of the cousin's body.

Another member of the British monarchy whose picture watches over the funeral. He contributes to the formal, hierarchical atmosphere imposed on the mourning family.

A royal figure depicted in the family's colored reproductions. Like the other royals, she represents a distant world of warmth and privilege completely disconnected from the freezing reality of the Nova Scotia home.