Friday Favorites: Personifications of Death

 

Death has been around forever. Most cultures have a personification of Death and cultural traditions associated with him. For example, putting coins on the eyelids of a dead person to make sure they have the fee to give the ferryman to pass over the river Styx into the realm of the dead.

Death is still very much present in modern literature. Today I'd like to talk to you about two of my favorite representations of Death. The first one is from the book Mort by Terry Pratchett. It is part of the Discworld series. Death's appearance is familiar - black cloak, skeletal body, and scythe. Where Death differs is in how he speaks and what all he wants. Death speaks in all caps, all the time. And Death takes on an apprentice because he wants to experience the world he hasn't fully known. What follows are some quotations from the book.

"It was the sort of smile that lies on the sandbanks waiting for incautious swimmers."

"How do you get all these coins?" asked Mort. "IN PAIRS."

It is a fact that although the Death of Discworld is in his own words, an ANTHROPOMORPHIC PERSONIFICATION, he long ago gave up using the traditional skeletal horses, because of the bother of having to stop all the time to wire bits back on."

Death was standing behind a lectern, pouring over a map. He looked at Mort as if he wasn't entirely there. "YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OF THE BAY OF MANTE, HAVE YOU?" he said. "No sir," said Mort. "FAMOUS SHIPWRECK THERE." "Was there?" "THERE WILL BE IF I CAN FIND THE DAMN PLACE."

"I USHERED SOULS INTO THE NEXT WORLD. I WAS THE GRAVE OF ALL HOPE. I WAS THE ULTIMATE REALITY. I WAS THE ASSASSIN AGAINST WHOM NO LOCK WOJULD HOLD."

"Yes, point taken, but do you have any particular skills?" - Death consulting a job broker.

"I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU," he said, "BUT I COULD MURDER A CURRY."

The other personification of Death I enjoy comes from the book A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. Charlie Asher's wife passes away unexpectedly. When Death comes to.call he is able to see him. After that it seems that Charlie has been tasked with the job of being Death. Chaos ensues. 

He finds a publication: "So Now You're Death: Here's What You'll Need."

"In order to hold off the Forces of Darkness, you will need a number two pencil and a calendar, preferably one without pictures of kitties on it."

"Funny how the illusion of safety can make us careless." 

"Know what I like about mysteries? They're mysterious."

"He realized, with no little sense of irony, that until he became Death, he'd never felt so alive."

"Sometimes, a man must muster all of his courage simply to sit still. How much humanity has been spoiled for the confusion of movement with progress, my friend? How much?"

"He crossed against the light, limping slightly under the weight of the subtext."

And this one from his daughter Sophie, "Kitty!"

I hope you've enjoyed the Friday Favorites. Do you have a favorite Death character? Let us know in the comments. Make sure to add the book name so we can add it to our TBR. Happy Reading!