The Frozen River

Martha delivers a stillborn child on New Year’s Day. The mother gives birth out of wedlock, leaves the child unnamed, and entrusts Martha to take care of the burial. Martha and Ephraim bury the baby, whom they secretly name Nathan, beneath a tree (the only place where the ground is not too frozen to dig a grave). Carrying out the burial stirs up Martha’s sadness over the loss of her own three daughters many years prior. Reviewing her journal, she remembers the four stillborn deliveries from the year, one of which was overseen by Dr. Page.

She also takes note of the illegitimate children born in the year, before turning to entries from the summer that commemorate the deaths of her own daughters, Martha, Triphene, and Dorothy, 20 years prior. The family registry has been updated to include all nine Ballard children, as well as their dates of birth and death. The pain of her daughters’ passing still feels fresh for Martha, and she resolves to cherish her time with her remaining children.

On a Sunday morning in January, Ellen Parker arrives at the mill and asks Martha to borrow a horse. Ellen does not want her husband to know that she is going to see Doctor, a Black woman who comes to town every so often and practices medicine covertly.