Winter, 1939 Summary and Analysis

1. Anais Nin describes her sad departure from Paris for New York as World War II encircles France. She describes her feelings of anguish as every fiber of her being that connects her to Paris and to her friends and loved ones is severed. By the time her seaplane is airborne though, she describes a feeling of freedom and peace among the clouds, looking down on the struggles on Earth. After a refueling stop in the Azores, the seaplane once again takes off with great difficulty, loaded with refugees and fuel. Nin takes some comfort from the seemingly eternal stars and moon in the night sky. She rereads some letters from friends. In a letter from the novelist Lawrence Durrel, he describes writer Henry Miller as "pitched in too high a key, a little hysterical," and says: "There is something deeply wrong...