ENGL 4310

I woke up the other night at about three thirty, my thoughts instantly went to Pale Horse, Pale Rider. I laid awake thinking about the dreams that haunt Miranda. These dreams seem much more than just fever dreams. The visions and images are biblical, prophetic almost. The pale rider of death visits her dreams, warns her of things to come. Yes, Adam's chances of surviving the war are scare to none, but the visions are undeniable. Death is ever present in their relationship. Miranda is preoccupied with buying or not buying bonds, with the headaches that plague her, yet death is her constant companion here. The pale rider is depicted at first as a stranger, unfamiliar. The rider invades her visions and her sense of reality. As the dreams come more and more explicate and intense, Miranda becomes more familiar with the haunt. It is not unlike the stranger coming to town in many of the other stories we have studied. The rider comes with a strong message of death. She becomes a vessel of revelation, even in the highest of her fever dreams. Yes, the things she speaks are uncontrollable, and seem to be filled with ideas that are not hers. But there is a... I want to say tent revival, quality to them.

It was also interesting to note the mind/ body complex of this story. Miranda feels alienated from her body, it becomes unfamiliar, a stranger. "The body is a curious monster, no place to live in, how could anyone feel at home there?" (Porter 313). The body and mind are disconnected and aware of one another, but only through her illness.