At the Back of the North Wind

The North Wind is the novel’s most complex character. She variously appears as a beautiful woman, a young girl, a minuscule creature, and a series of animals, among other things. She most often appears to Diamond as a tall, beautiful woman who cradles him in her arms and carries him across the country on their adventures. She assures Diamond multiple times that, although she may have different appearances and different names, he must always recognize her for who she is. She is a being who is capable of both deep kindness and harsh retribution. She is compelled to perform acts of charity and of service, attempting to teach those who commit wrongdoings a lesson.

Who or what the North Wind is becomes one of the central questions of the novel. In the first few sections, her amorphous shape and her nighttime appearances confirm her to be a supernatural force. Her behaviors and her treatment of Diamond make her seem like some sort of a guide, helping him move beyond childhood. However, when Diamond visits the country at her back, it becomes evident that she is something else.

When the narrator discovers that Diamond has died, he refers to this as “go[ing] to the back of the north wind” (222). This implies that the North Wind is a herald of death and the country at her back the afterlife. The North Wind hints at this when she tells Diamond, “You’ve never seen it yet […] The real country at my real back is ever so much more beautiful than that. You shall see it one day—perhaps before very long” (211-12). Paired with Diamond’s sickliness during her first visit, this clarifies the North Wind’s true position in the world. Rather than a spiritual guide or manifestation of Diamond’s imagination, she is a harbinger of death. Her portrayal is not one of maliciousness but inevitability, and her gentleness shows a unique interpretation of something that is so often a tragedy.

Mother is a kind, busy housewife doing her best to manage a life that is far from easy. She is loving, as is evidenced by the gentleness with which she handles Diamond and the attentiveness she shows her husband. Her frugality is appropriate to their status in life; she saves money for shoes and to ensure that her family is fed. Her motherly concern causes her to be ever aware of Diamond. She “watched him very carefully—going into the loft several times a night—as often, in fact, as she woke” (14). At any hint of paleness or quietness she asks Diamond if he is well, sending him to bed and observing him. Diamond clearly respects his mother, as he references his mother’s rules and knowledge throughout the novel, following her guidance and repeating her words.

Diamond’s mother often carries the weight of the family on her shoulders. When Diamond’s father becomes ill, she keeps the troubles of their finances to herself, and it is only when Diamond is able to bring home money that she relaxes. Though she is often worried about the health, wellness, and financial stability of the family, her good heart consistently shines through in her dealings with others. For example, when her husband comes home and explains that Mr. Raymond has asked them to foster Nanny in exchange for use of his horse, Diamond’s mother tells him, “You must think what an advantage it would be to the poor girl that hasn’t got a home to go to” (166). Her desire to do right by others is a characteristic she has passed on to Diamond, having shown him that kindness is one of the most important traits a person can have.

Father, or Joseph, is a working-class man trying to financially support his family. Father believes in fairness, attempting to do right by others and expecting others to do right by him as a result. He has a large heart and intense sense of loyalty, as evidenced by his response when he finds Old Diamond for sale after the Colemans have let him go:

But the coachman had a lump in his throat and tears in his eyes. For the old horse […] laid his big head on his master's breast. This settled the matter. The coachman's arms were round the horse's neck in a moment, and he fairly broke down and cried (81-82).

This sense of loyalty extends so far that Joseph names his son after his favorite horse and does not question purchasing that horse much later, even though he and his family have fallen on hard times.

Diamond’s father expresses love in a different way than his mother. While he cares for his son and is concerned for his well-being, Joseph also teaches Diamond practical skills. He shows Diamond how to ride a horse at a young age and later how to drive a cab. His desire to make Diamond self-sufficient ultimately pays off when Diamond earns money for the family during Joseph’s sickness. His illness is of note because it is caused by his efforts to stay out later and earn more money for his family.

Joseph enjoys the regard of his peers, his employers, and even the supernatural being that dominates much of his son’s life. The North Wind notes, “We call your father a gentleman in our house […] every man ought to be a gentleman, and your father is one” (15-16). In the Victorian era, “gentleman” often described a man born into the middle or upper classes. The fact that the North Wind applies this term to Joseph implies that he has a moral standing independent of his job as a coachman.