The author outlines Aiken's tale of a twelve-year-old boy, Paul, who is entering a psychotic episode. He becomes lost in or enveloped by sensations of snow. The symptom begins on a day when he does not hear the postman's footsteps and loud knock. He presumes it is because there is snow outside. Slap points out that the psychosis is not explicitly presented, but rather is implied by the imagery of the story. She states that the description of the unseen postman symbolizes a witnessing of the primal scene. Similarly, she suggests that the screen of snow set up by Paul, his giggles and enjoyment of it, are all manifestations of his defensive reversal of his being shut out of his parents' intimacy. She makes some comparison with the tale, Oedipus at Colonus, part of which is actually included in Aiken's story.