I'm surprised no one has brought up cancer. I've always seen it as the story of someone who is trying to move on from the death of a loved one. Remission, first of all, is the period a person goes through when their cancer is going away. They're not quite cured-it could still come back-but they don't quite have it. "Without Remission" implies that the person will not be recovering. "When the hairline breaks" always reminded me of chemotherapy and the fact that it is common to lose your hair while going through it.
This is all speculative, but based on some of Stevens' other work it seems relatively plausible.
I'm surprised no one has brought up cancer. I've always seen it as the story of someone who is trying to move on from the death of a loved one. Remission, first of all, is the period a person goes through when their cancer is going away. They're not quite cured-it could still come back-but they don't quite have it. "Without Remission" implies that the person will not be recovering. "When the hairline breaks" always reminded me of chemotherapy and the fact that it is common to lose your hair while going through it.
This is all speculative, but based on some of Stevens' other work it seems relatively plausible.