Bitterblooms

Bitterblooms is a science-fiction novelette by George R. R. Martin, first published in the November 1977 issue of Cosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine. It takes place in the "Thousand Worlds" universe, and is set on an unknown planet during the Interregnum period. It is about a girl who gets lost is the woods in deep winter. She is rescued by a magical woman who takes her back to her spaceship.

Plot Summary
— WARNING: THIS SECTION CONTAINS SPOILERS — Shawn is a sixteen-year-old girl who has become lost in the woods during deep winter. She notes that this winter has lasted eight years so far. When her companion dies from wounds sustained in a vampire attack, Shawn has to fend for herself in the cold, not even daring to light a fire because it might draw more vampires. She’s in serious danger of starving, freezing, or being attacked when she comes upon the first flower, a tiny blue plant that shouldn’t exist in this weather. Then she finds the spaceship, covered in flowers, just before she’s attacked by a vampire.

Shawn is rescued by the owner of the spaceship, Morgan, who fights the vampire off and takes her inside to recover. Morgan tells Shawn that she came from the sky, that she is made of magic, and that she is related to a slew of mythological heroes, such as Stephen Cobalt Northstar and Kleronomas. But Shawn remembers a story from her childhood of an entire family who encountered Morgan and thought they were safe and warm and well-fed, but were found later frozen and starved to death, because fairy food is an illusion. Morgan convinces Shawn that the food and warmth aren’t illusions, then takes her on a whirlwind tour of the galaxy.

As far as Shawn knows, Morgan can change the time of day, the weather, and the time of year, besides taking her to other planets. All of these feats combine to keep her feeling awestruck, as well as disoriented and trapped. But Shawn isn’t allowed to leave the ship because, as she discovers when Morgan makes a mistake, they’ve never left the planet. The “window” is a viewing screen through which Morgan has shown Shawn the universe, but they haven’t moved. She leaves and goes back home, where her family tell her she’s been gone for a year.

As Shawn lives out the rest of her life, it becomes clear her time with Morgan has changed her; before, she was considered young and irresponsible, but she soon becomes one of the most respected and influential members of the family. But she wanders, travelling the planet to contribute to the family rather than staying put; she’s offered the role of Voice when she’s older, but refuses it. Finally, during a bad winter, she understands that she’s too old to contribute anymore and goes back to the ship. Morgan doesn’t open up for her, but she discovers that the ship itself is named the "Morgan Le Fay," registered to a planet called Avalon. — END OF SPOILERS —

Themes
Bitterblooms echoes a recurring theme of Martin's: the tension between reality and the imagination. As a girl, Shawn rejects Morgan's fantasy world, but as an old woman, even at the end of a rich life, she returns to the empty spaceship and regrets having abandoned it. She is ultimately disappointed with reality, and preferred the fantasy and the sense of wonder that Morgan's stories were able to inspire. The story suggests that knowledge can be dangerous--for example, knowledge of distant, fantastical worlds--because it may cause you to reject your own life and seek another, even if it is only a synthetic representation.

By blending elements of fantasy and science fiction, Martin demonstrates his contention that there is virtually no difference between the two genres. Like Shawn trying to comprehend the technology of ship displays and space travel, Bitterblooms illustrates how phenomena that we interpret as magic can simply be things we do not comprehend.

Author's Notes
Bitterblooms was one of the first things Martin wrote after moving to Dubuque, Iowa to work as a teacher. The winter there was even more brutal than the ones he had weathered in Chicago, which he claims inspired the story's chilly setting. Martin also claims that the story was inspired by a song, though he does not reveal which one.

Bitterblooms was featured in the last issue of Cosmos magazine.

Publication History
Bitterblooms was first published in the November 1977 issue of Cosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine.

It was included in Martin's short story collection Sandkings, published in 1981.

It was later included in his 2003 anthology Dreamsongs: A RRetrospective.

Adaptations
In 2007, Martin's short story anthology Dreamsongs was released in audiobook format. It included a recording of Bitterblooms read by Kim Mai Guest.

Reception
In 2020, the Vassals of Kingsgrave podcast released a review of Bitterblooms:

Connections to the "Thousand Worlds" Universe
Morgan displays images from several other planets to Shawn, including Old Poseidon, Rhiannon, ai-Emerel, High Kavalaan, and Jamison's World. Shawn's favourite world is Avalon (in the Jambles), and at the end of the story she discovers that Morgan's ship was registered there.

Morgan also references several historical figures, such as Lilith, Marcyan, Erika Stormjones, Lamiya-Bailis, Deirdre d'Allerane, Kleronomas, Stephen Colbalt Northstar, and Tomo and Walberg.

The "vampire" Shawn encounters in the woods may be one of the former Hrangan slaveraces left over from the Double War. In And Seven Times Never Kill Man!, Githyanki are referred to by humans as "vampires of the mind" or "soulsucks." Alternatively, the descriptions of the vampires resemble Dactyloids, which were savage winged creatures.

In The Way of Cross and Dragon, Martin introduces a religious order who, like Morgan, intentionally spreads beautiful lies in order to hide the depressing truths of the universe.

In The Stone City, Holt mentioned a number of winter flowers, including bitterblooms. He is a native of Ymir, the world where Morgan tells Shawn that bitterblooms originate. Both planets experience long winters.

Allusions to Other GRRM Works
The flowers in Bitterblooms resemble the winter roses featured in Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. Both flowers are blue and grow in cold climates. Also, in both stories the flowers are used by Martin to symbolise lost innocence.

Another possible allusion to A Song of Ice and Fire is the name of Shawn's home - "Carinhall" - which sounds very similar to "Harrenhal", an important castle in the Riverlands.

Shawn's planet, like the world in A Song of Ice and Fire, experiences harsh winters which can last for years.

Allusions to Other Media
The story contains several allusions to Athurian legend, including