Summary

Chapter One of “November” is titled “Metamorphosis.” Again in present-tense narration, May describes the different physical changes that she sees accompanying the arrival of winter – her cats change color, and her own body changes. She describes herself as being in less pain, able to go for the occasional walk and enjoy her solitude. On one such walk, she notes the changes in appearance of various birds. “Amid the transformation of winter,” she says, which she describes as “unwelcome,” she sees “an abundance of life” (67).

May then considers some mythological aspects of winter and the other seasons, referring specifically to a Celtic myth suggesting that winter is brought by, and embodied in, an old woman who is perhaps the older version of the young goddess who brings spring. She also considers the nature of leaves, describing how the colors they turn in the fall...