Date of Graduation
12-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Major
English
Advisor(s)
Keri Walsh
Abstract
Death didn’t used to be so taboo. As late as the 18th century, death was a prominent aspect of literature, and people of all ages were invited to the deathbeds of family members and friends alike. In the Victorian era, death was so much a culture as was living. But with the rise of preventative medicine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the view of death in the western world, specifically, took a turn. As Geoffrey Gorer argues in his 1955 article “The Pornography of Death,” higher mortality rates allowed for greater familiarity and intimacy with death, while in the 20th century, death became “unmentionable” as a natural process. Where the Victorians censored sex and sexuality, modern society has made space for sex in discourse, while essentially outlawing mention of death. As recently as 1958, the Christian Science Monitor prohibited the publication of the word “death” in any of its columns.
Recommended Citation
"DEATH AND WORDS AS WITNESS IN POST-WAR LITERATURE: SALVATION NARRATIVES IN MARKUS ZUSAK’S THE BOOK THIEF" (2024). FCRH Honors Program Theses. 5.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/honorsprogram_fcrh_theses/5
