In its essence, A Dream in Polar Fog is a rejection of attempts to define a single dominant way of life as the ideal society. It introduces the idea that there are other equally, if not more legitimate, ways to live life than the hegemony of Western civilization. It takes John, a Western man, and immerses him in a culture alien to him, a culture with values antithetical to his own. And yet, he finds meaning in this way of life and ends up eschewing the status quo of his former home. This idea, that there are other successful cultures and societies is exceptionally dangerous to the legitimacy of Western governments. If people realized that there were legitimate alternatives, perhaps there would be a revolution or at least a radical change in those societies.

Two specific examples of this occur in the final pages of the novel. First is the news of the Russian Revolution and the reign of the Bolsheviks reaching John’s ears. Carpenter is the one to inform John of the change, and when he asks John why he doesn’t leave after the Bolshevik’s have taken power, John responds that he is comforted by the fact that all of the people in Chukotka have forgotten that he doesn’t have hands and is crippled: “I feel like a full-fledged, valuable person. Valuable to my family, to my friends, to the little community that peoples Enmyn. Here, I’m a human being – do you understand? – a human being! I have no fear of the Bolshevik’s coming. Naturally, I find their doctrine alarming, their denial of any kind of personal property. But, just think Mr. Carpenter, what property do I have? And meanwhile, those among whom we live are, with rare exception, a trusting folk.” Here John is saying that even though the Chukchi way of life could be described as primitive compared to Western society, they have actually progressed past a lot the ailments that plague the more ‘advanced’ society. The themes of trust, acceptance, and human brotherhood can be found in John’s description of his community. And this is why Carpenter wants John to leave so badly. It is because John, a white man, living happily in a settlement like the one in which he does, is a crack in the foundation of Western ideals. If him living a content life means that the Western way of living can have legitimate alternatives, Carpenter’s life (and the system by which he has made himself wealthy) is delegitimized. This conflict between the two characters is an interesting parallel to the formation of the Soviet Union happening around them, as the Soviet Union was the first true superpower in the twentieth century to challenge the top-down, capitalist power structures of the world.

This interaction is similar to John’s final interaction with his mother. As she leaves, saying goodbye to him for the final time, and after seeing him fully immerse himself in the Chukchi life, she says, heartbreakingly: “Oh, John! My boy! It would have been easier for me see you dead than like this!” This extreme statement shows exactly how much John’s mother’s reality hinges on her idea of supremacy over the ‘savages’. Her whole society hinges on the supremacy of whiteness, and her status as a wealthy landowner in Canada hinges on values of greed and competition that would be alien to the Chukchi. And, so desperate to keep her place in that society, she would rather see her son dead, than see him live a life that threatens the status quo.