Total Eclipse

In “Total Eclipse,” Annie Dillard describes the experience of witnessing a total solar eclipse for the first time. Her detailed description of the event and her perspective during her journey to the countryside to watch the eclipse lead to a multitude of reflections. The rare experience of the eclipse—she notes that the next total eclipse visible in Yakima Valley will be in 2086—impacts both Dillard’s perception of life and the individuals around her, catalyzing a change in how she views life.

In the essay’s opening line, Dillard establishes the motif of descent into the unknown as she and her husband travel through a makeshift tunnel carved through an avalanche: “It had been like dying, that sliding down the mountain pass” (14). The use of “sliding” suggests both a lack of control and an inability to return, foreshadowing the changes Dillard will undergo later in the narrative. She establishes a sense of foreboding when she wonders if the avalanche had victims: “Had the avalanche buried any cars that morning? We could not learn” (15). Imagery suggestive of tunnels, digging, and mines is also evident in the stuffy, “narrow” hotel lobby. It is within this lobby—which includes both a canary and a small pail and shovel—that she reads an article about the dangers of gold mines. The canary—a bird that has been used as a harbinger of dangers, such as carbon monoxide buildup, in mines—is alive, suggesting that she will survive her own descent.

Despite the persistent imagery of depth and descent, Dillard’s transformation takes place after climbing a hill. Her initial description of the landscape below—orchards, a “shining river,” and “fallow fields”—transforms into a narrative of astonishment and despair as the eclipse begins. Change takes place both literally and figuratively, as evidenced by the evolving palette of colors and shapes as the eclipse unfolds: “[T]he sky to the west deepened to indigo, a color never seen” (18). Shadows morph and stretch, becoming more pronounced, yet distorted. Her husband also distorts and fades, his “face looking like an early black-and-white film” (21), or “a dead artist’s version of life” (21).

As Dillard experiences different stages of questioning the meaning of her own life, she describes a detachment from reality: “We were the world’s dead people rotating and orbiting around and around, embedded in the planet’s crust, while the earth tolled down” (19). In this recollection, Dillard illustrates The Transformative Power of Nature, particularly the way it leads her to become figuratively detached from reality as the eclipse occurs. The landscape’s altered hue serves as a visual spectacle and an emotional indicator, evoking the collective awe of humanity in the face of nature. During that brief time, the world is both familiar and unfamiliar, demonstrating the inner turmoil she feels while witnessing the astronomical event.

The Contrast Between the Mundane and the Extraordinary is a recurring theme in Dillard’s essays. She constantly contrasts the seemingly mundane aspects of her journey—the driving, the hotel, the landscape, the interactions with others—with the monumental experience of the eclipse itself. Dillard describes the eclipse using imagery and introspection to depict the event as a force that disrupts the familiar flow of life and forces her to confront the vastness of the universe and the meaning behind human existence. Dillard articulates a multitude of emotions as the world becomes unknown to her, demonstrating how nature and the universe can change perception, challenge understanding, and prompt deep thinking. The notion that the total eclipse is a rare sight mostly known to people who long to watch one makes the essay and Dillard’s experience both relatable and mysterious, leading both author and reader to contemplate the limited duration of life and the interconnectedness of everyday events.

“Total Eclipse” explores Dillard’s frightened realization that the universe is indifferent to life on the surface of Earth and possesses its own laws. The eclipse is a metaphor throughout the essay, depicting The Transience of Human Existence compared to the expanse of the cosmos. Dillard’s prose depicts the eclipse as both a snuffer of the familiar and a glimpse into the universe’s vastness and indifference. Dillard’s reflections on the eclipse are intertwined with contemplation on the nature of time, memory, and perception. She employs the notion of time and the contrast between life before, during, and after the eclipse to illustrate the inner transformations induced by the astronomical phenomena.

She confronts the challenge of articulating an experience that transcends the use of words, and the inadequacy of human language in capturing moments of transcendent beauty or terror. Moments of clarity are juxtaposed with those that fade and blur over time in her musings. She weaves narrative, philosophy, and lyrical reflection, offering readers an exploration of the encounter with the eclipse.