Till Death Did Him Part: Thomas Hardy and his Funerals

This essay considers Hardy’s two funerals—for his ashes at Poets’ Corner, for his heart at Stinsford—in the light of their consequences for life-writing: the absence of a single resting-place, and the narrative demands of synchronicity in telling of two funerals. This division of the body was the co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe European journal of life writing Vol. 9; pp. LW&D132 - LW&D150
Main Author Lock, Charles
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published University of Groningen Press 06.07.2020
Subjects
ashes
funerals
heart-burials
thomas hardy
wills and testaments
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Summary:This essay considers Hardy’s two funerals—for his ashes at Poets’ Corner, for his heart at Stinsford—in the light of their consequences for life-writing: the absence of a single resting-place, and the narrative demands of synchronicity in telling of two funerals. This division of the body was the consequence of an extraordinary lack of precision in Hardy’s own will, the composition, wording and interpretation of which are examined here in some detail. Attention is also paid to the single grave at Stinsford that holds the remains of Hardy and both his wives in diverse modalities of the invisible.
ISSN:2211-243X
2211-243X
DOI:10.21827/ejlw.9.36903