U is for Undertaker
Poor undertakers always get a bad rap in literature. They’re the scary, morbid, sallow-faced and suspicious characters. They’re always suspected in the murder mysteries since they always have the motive of improving business. Even the word “undertaker” sounds either dull and duty-conscious when understood properly (they undertook the responsibility for the deceased), or rather frightening when you misinterpret it as I did when I was little, to mean the person who takes the body under the ground.
But they started out as friendly ol’ cabinet makers who happened to be good at making large boxes. They continued on as the quiet, unappreciated members of the community who girls never wanted to marry but men wanted to have as sons-in-law (such a reliable occupation, after all).
But do you know any cases where literature redeems them? I find such widespread pigeon-holing rather troubling...
But they started out as friendly ol’ cabinet makers who happened to be good at making large boxes. They continued on as the quiet, unappreciated members of the community who girls never wanted to marry but men wanted to have as sons-in-law (such a reliable occupation, after all).
But do you know any cases where literature redeems them? I find such widespread pigeon-holing rather troubling...
I don't know anywhere in literature they're actually "redeemed," but there's a funny children's book, Each Little Bird that Sings by Deborah Wiles. It's about a child whose family has run the funeral home for generations. First line is classic: "I come from a family with a lot of dead people."
ReplyDeleteI agree, although I don't think every undertaker is bad in every story. In 'My Girl' for example her father was quite loving :)
ReplyDeleteBoth Sara and JA mentioned two of my faves ... and in The Rite, the young priest's father is an undertaker. Anything to do with the dead is bound to be tied up in superstition and lore ... I wouldn't be surprised if undertakers didn't have more of a sinister role in literature.
ReplyDeleteUndertakes and preachers are ever portrayed in a negative light. I can think of no book that portrays the poor undertakers with a positive spin. Maybe out ought to write one!
ReplyDeletePoor undertakers! I can't think of a published book where there's a positive spin, but one of my writing friends has a book with the son of an undertaker as the protagonist. His name is Charlie and he's adorable. :)
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