So the living and the dead are not really that different, and the snow is a reminder that everyone will end with the same fate. Some of the living, like Gabriel, have not really lived, and some of the dead, like Michael Furey, hold significance equal to that of the living, as in Gretta’s mind. This indiscriminate quality of snow, which is said to be falling all over Ireland, highlights the fact that mortality is universal, and also serves to unite the living and the dead. As we later learn, Gabriel feels (or learns himself) that it would be better to die young for passion, as Michael Furey, than to live a long empty life, as he is doing. This use of snow and cold in relation to Gabriel’s body accentuates his relationship with death. As Gabriel enters the house there is “a light fringe of snow” on his coat and galoshes. The fact that snow falls indiscriminately “on both the living and the dead” all over Dublin highlights the fact that many Dubliners are living meaningless lives and are essentially dead while alive. Throughout the text all manifestations of winter-cold, the color white, snow, and the season itself-usually represent mortality. Not only is he bummed that their perfect night didn't go quite as planned, he also feels disappointment and shame that 'he had never felt like' Michael Furey, feeling so intensely that he'd risk his life to show his love (The Dead.458).
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