Objects Of The Dead by Margaret Gibson

Author:Margaret Gibson [Gibson, Margaret]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Death & Dying
ISBN: 9780522859065
Google: 2kZUgcJvcswC
Publisher: Melbourne Univ. Publishing
Published: 2008-09-01T03:56:01+00:00

When family members go to the wardrobe of a deceased loved one, they visually encounter the intertwining of the social and historical features of clothing and a personal biography. They may also find a representation of the absent body. This is a recurring theme in Colm Tóibín’s novels that consider death and bereavement. For example, in The Blackwater Lightship, the bereaved 10-year-old daughter, Helen, sneaks back to the family home on the day she learns of her father’s death. Helen and her brother know very little of their father’s illness prior to his death, as they were removed to their grandparents’ house for its duration. At that point, their father had already disappeared: in effect, there was death preceding death, an absence upon absence.

Helen finds solace through her father’s clothing. Going to his wardrobe and dresser, she carefully selects a shirt, suit, vest, tie, underwear and socks. She takes each piece of clothing and constructs her father’s body on the bed by tucking the shirt into the trousers, and putting the vest over the shirt and the jacket over the top. She places the tie under the collar and smooths it down the front of the shirt. She gives the body thickness with pillows and books. Afterwards,

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.