The motif of the “chill” is perhaps the most ironic element of this story. We first see the occurrence of this motif in regards to the letter Asbury writes to his mother, “He felt that even if she didn’t understand at once, the letter would leave her with an enduring chill and perhaps in time lead her to see herself as she was” (365). This desire of Asbury, for his mother to see herself as she is, parallels the rest of the story. When Asbury is told that he has Undulant Fever and is not, in fact, dying, he is resigned to a similar fate and is forced to see himself as he is (demonstrated by looking at his own reflection in the mirror).
Throughout the story, we see more irony in the ways Asbury ultimately defeats himself, although he is attempting to defeat his mother. Rather than causing her any pain, all of his efforts fail and are reflected onto him. The most obvious example of this reflection of his efforts is in his forbidden drinking of the warm milk. Against his initial thought, neither Randall nor Marshall drink the milk and consequently, Asbury is the only one who falls ill because he drank unpasteurized milk.
Another example of irony is that of death and the letter to his mother. Asbury wishes for the letter to be read after his death, making it that much more painful for his mother. However, thinking he is going to die, Asbury prematurely gives his mother the key to the desk where the letter lies. (We can assume she read it before his death). The next example of irony is that Asbury desperately wishes to be an artist, but he is not gifted in that field. Asbury is convinced that his god, Art, is bringing him death, but that proves to be untrue as well.
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I do not believe that Asbury's mother read the letter that he wrote. Here is the passage:
"He took the key out of his pajama pocket and handed it to her and mumbled that there was a letter in the desk to be opened he was gone, but she did not seem to understand. She put the key down on the bedside table and left it there and he returned to his dream..." (380).
In the passage, Asbury is noticeably disoriented because of having just woken up. When he looks up to talk to his mother, her face seems distant, “very small, at the end of a well of darkness” (380). It is as if he is receding from the world and not seeing things clearly. This is also at a stage when he is going in and out sleep. This is why I think that his mother did not understand what he was asking of her and put the key down on the table.
When Asbury returns the key to his pocket after discovering that he is not going to die, the key is still lying on the bedside table. Also, even if the mother had understood what he meant, I do not think she would want to read the letter until he was actually dead. She avoided the reality of his sickness and then his death, so I do not think she would want to face a death letter until this reality was accepted.
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