In this way, the ending of the story is ultimately religious, in that it forgives the exiles of their sins in the same stroke as it eliminates them from the Earth, much like the religious cleansings of the Bible.
By the end of the story, this motif of purification has extended to include the exiles, as Mother Shipton becomes a martyr figure and the falling snow hides 'all human stain,' meaning the sin that, according to the citizens of Poker Flat, defined the exiles. The exile of Oakhurst and his companions itself connotes divine judgement in line with the various cleansings that punctuate the Bible, including the Plagues of Egypt and the Flood, the latter of which is connoted by the narrator's comparison of the falling snow to 'white-winged doves.' Throughout the story, the narrator uses language that seems to pass divine judgement on the exiles, Tom, and Piney for example, it describes Piney as 'the younger and purer,' and the Duchess as Piney's 'soiled sister.' However, Tom, 'the Innocent,' and his bride, Piney Woods, also initiate a round of religious hymn-singing once they have merged with the exiles, casting the entire group-including the supposedly sinful exiles-in a religious light. The story opens with John Oakhurst noticing the 'Sabbath lull in the air,' a phrase that instantly evokes Poker Flat's religious resonances. What is the story's ultimate treatment of religion?
