Abhiroop Das
Helmed and co-written by Clint Bentley, Netflix’s ‘Train Dreams‘ captures the homeland’s zeitgeist at the turn of the 20th century as seen through the eyes of Robert Grainier. A logger and railroad worker by profession, Robert lays the literal foundation for modernity through his work in the Pacific Northwest, but that comes at a cost. Following a life-changing incident, he is thrust into the path of self-reflection and discovery, wherein he discovers his own reason for living and the spiritual meaning behind all of his actions. This historical drama movie, based on the eponymous novella by Denis Johnson, tracks a man’s journey from grief to recovery through his interactions with the world in all of its elemental forms. To that end, his dynamic with Red Dog stands in for a deeper meditation on friendship. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Red Likely Returns to the Forest With Her Litter
Following the disappearance of Gladys and Kate, Robert decides to set camp in the ashen remains of his house, hoping for their return. While that day never comes, his temporary shelter is instead greeted by a dog and her puppies, who appear quite wolfish. Although Robert is initially puzzled, he chooses to adopt all of them, naming the matriarch Red Dog. However, a few weeks later, Red Dog seemingly vanishes with her entire litter, in a manner that eerily mimics Gladys and Kate’s ambiguous fate. Although Robert never manages to locate his pets again, their absence from the narrative only adds to its symbolism, opening the room to various interpretations for their brief role in the movie. The fact that they briefly fill in the gap left behind by his family’s disappearance is key to understanding what they might stand for, and what their going away means.
Upon finding Red Dog and her puppies, Robert quickly takes on the mantle of bathing and feeding them, taking great care every step of the way. While conversing with his friend Bob, he even ponders the puppies’ wolfish characteristics and surmises that Red Dog might have mated with a wolf. However, Bob dismisses that idea by bringing up wolves’ complex reproductive processes, which further shrouds the puppies’ origins in mystery. As such, it is possible that the ambiguity is intentional on the creators’ end and meant to push the attention towards their symbolic purpose, which involves providing Robert with momentary comfort and companionship. As such, it is likely that their eventual disappearance is Red Dog deciding to make her way back to the forests, and the distant sounds of howling add credence to the idea. The timing is also important, as they disappear right when Robert finishes the construction of his new home, signaling that he is ready to live on his own once again.
Red Dog Connects Several Motifs of Train Dreams at Once
Throughout the movie, the motif of wolves and their puppies is brought up many times under different contexts, but ultimately they all seem to coalesce to make a larger thematic point. Early on, Gladys suggests that wolf litters are capable of surviving in the wild once their mother weans them, but the same cannot be said about humans. Although this initially appears to be a throwaway line, the later events of the movie serve as a recontextualisation. In a dream sequence, Robert imagines that Gladys died while escaping the fire, but Kate survived, and presumably ran away. With this, the arrival of the mysterious wolf girl later in the story gains a whole new layer, as Robert’s belief that her being his daughter coincides with the idea of wolf puppies living on their own. As such, it is possible that Robert’s illusory perspective is dependent on his distant memory of his wife, which combines with his newfound understanding of dogs and wolves.
Additionally, this detail is also connected to Red Dog and her litter, given that the girl also sports red hair and attire. Both of these threads come to create a symbolic link between the two, which further reinforces the idea of Red Dog standing in for Robert’s missing family. When Gladys and Robert first fall in love, they discuss her desire to have a pet dog, and while that never comes to fruition during their time together as a family, Robert’s decision to raise the pets might be his way of fulfilling that promise. With that, Red Dog’s disappearance can be interpreted as another push towards closure in his life, helping him let go of the past before it begins haunting him.
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