THE GOOD DEATH AND THE MODERN NOVEL

Authors

  • Kate Durie Open University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.v4i1.16

Keywords:

Death, fiction, anxieties, preparedness, language, stories

Abstract

This paper reflects whether contemporary fiction can be used to establish and refine any modern idea of a good death. It defines a good death initially as one which is nonviolent and sums up a whole life. It tests this against a series of examples, and looks at notions of preparedness and aptness, as well as some anxieties. A fuller reading of one novel suggest a good death entails additionally finding an appropriate language, the telling and ending of stories and the ordering of loves.

Author Biography

  • Kate Durie, Open University

    Kate Durie is an Associate Lecturer with the Open University, and teaches courses in literature parttime at Stirling University.

References

ARIES P. (1976) Western Attitudes toward Death from the Middle Ages to the Present Boyars, London

BARTH K. (1960) The Epistle to the Romans OUP, London

BRONFEN E. (1992) Over Her Dead Body Routledge, New York

DEXTER C. (1999) The Remorseful Day Macmillan, London

GALE P. (1995) The Facts of Life Flamingo, Glasgow

GODWIN G. (1994) The Good Husband BCA/Deutsch, London

GORER G. (1965) Death, Grief and Mourning in Contemporary Britain Hutchinson, New York

IGNATIEFF M. (1993) Scar Tissue Chatto and Windus, London

SHIELDS C. (1993) The Stone Diaries Fourth Estate, London

TOIBIN C. (1999) The Blackwater Lightship Picador, London

WAUGH E. (1945) Brideshead Revisited Chapman and Hall, London

Published

2013-06-04

How to Cite

Durie, K. (2013). THE GOOD DEATH AND THE MODERN NOVEL. Health and Social Care Chaplaincy, 4(1), 16-20. https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.v4i1.16