Death's Messengers

I have recently become the proud owner of Barnes and Noble's stunning leather-bound "Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales", which suffice to say makes me very very very happy. The six pages of table of contents should give you a good idea of how many tales there are in it. There are countless beautiful illustrations as well, and the cover and inside flag are all gorgeous. It's a huge upgrade from my previous edition of fairy tales, which was a plain green paperback Penguin's Classics, and much more fun to read, so hopefully it will inspire more consistent blog posts. I'll post some images to make you all jealous before I get back to business: 

The Tale

This story takes place in ancient times. A giant is traveling on a great highway when a man jumps up in front of him and demands that he halts. The giant, of course, has no interest in listening to a “creature whom I can crush between my fingers,”. The figure promptly introduces himself as Death, and though Death might be slightly harder to crush between fingers, the giant is still unwilling to listen to him. The two struggle, and after a long and violent battle, the giant wins and strikes Death to the ground.

Death lays there, conquered and weak (but alive), worried that the world "will get so full of people that they won't have room to stand besides each other.” Luckily for Death and the world, a young, strong and healthy man finds Death and in an act of compassion, gives him a strengthening draught. Once he is feeling better, Death asks the man if he realizes who he just helped. He does not know Death, and Death hurries to explain that; “I spare no one, and can make no exception with thee.” Instead he shows his gratitude by promising the man that he will not to come to him unexpected, but will send a messenger before he takes him away. The man is content with having a warning before he dies, and continues on with his life, happy and living without a thought.

"But youth and health did not last long, and soon came sickness and sorrows, which tormented him by day, and took away his rest by night.” But the man knows he will not die without a warning, so he does not fear the sickness will bring an end to his life. Indeed, soon enough he is once again well enough to live merrily.

fairytalebedtime.com

Then one day, he feels a tap on his shoulder and turns to see Death standing behind him. Death informs him his hour has come and bides him to follow. The man gets angry and tells Death that he is breaking his promise, for no messenger had come to warn him. Death immediately corrects his mistake. He had sent a messenger. Several in fact. Fever, dizziness, pain, “and besides all that, has not my own brother Sleep reminded thee every night of me?”

For this the man has no answer, and he yields to his fate and leaves with Death.

Link to the original tale

Discussion Points

Death. It drifts over us all our lives, dropping in for a short visit every once in a while in case we ever try to forget it. It's the great mystery of the unknown, the looming fear at the end of the road that we are constantly getting closer to if we like it or not. One of the scarier aspects of death is in the unknowing. It's the looming threat that we never know exactly when and how it will hit us. It can happen at any point to any one. Though sometimes knowing is actually worse than not knowing, as I’m sure many terminal patients will tell you. I feel as though the only time death can truly be treated with some acceptance is at a ripe old age, when you've managed to live your life to the fullest and it holds no more promises.

Considering all this and more, this tale does a splendid job when it comes to tackling the one undeniable truth of the universe with an attempt to calm some of the fears it naturally arouses.

The tale seems to deal with a few basic issues concerning death. Mostly it seems to be trying to explain it and lessen the fear of it. They're connected of course. Naturally, once we understand something, it is easier not to fear it. We can find elements of both throughout the story.

Death's character is even further removed from any evil image when he wishes to repay the man for helping him. He is capable of gratitude, and of mercy, but only to a certain degree. The fact that Death can spare no one, not even the one who aided him when he needed it, even though he obviously wishes he could, once again strengthens the necessity of death.

The tale also gives quite a few pointers that can help someone get over the fear of death. Sleep is introduced as the brother of Death, a similar experience that everyone goes through. No one fears falling asleep, and so there is also no reason to fear Death. The comparison is made very clear by one line; “Dist thou not lie by night as if thou wert already dead?”

(Aurian Redson
http://aurianredson.blogspot.co/2011/04/away-in-woods.html)

A much more subtle tip is given in the form of the man's sickness. He does not die from this 'messenger of Death'. Indeed, he does not even recognize there is a message being passed. But it is thanks to this very fact that the man manages to pull through his illness. His certainty that he will not die then because he had not yet received his message is probably the very thing that pulled him through and gave him the willpower to survive. The fact that the man recovers and lives longer even though Death's messenger popped by reminds us all that sometimes a bit of hope goes a long way.

But the story does not hide from the final truth- death happens, to everyone. It's a part of life that no matter how brave, kind or strong we are, we can't escape it. But it does not have to be viewed as a punishment, nor does it have to be feared.

The first part of the story, however, leaves a powerful message. Death himself is beaten and left helpless by a giant. Because it's made perfectly clear that no one can escape death, I can't see the giant as proof that anyone strong enough can defeat it. Rather, I think the giant, as a mythological creature, might be there to remind us all that there IS a way to beat death, in the broader sense of the word. If someone is remembered even after his body has turned to dust, doesn't his memory, in a way, escape the confinements of death? If someone makes some great contribution to society, doesn't part of him, in a way, live on as long as he keeps making an impact?The giant himself is proof of this, the long dead creature from ancient times which the tale brings back from the dead in a tale in order for him to fight Death itself. And while Death can never be completely destroyed, he can be conquered in different, metaphorical ways.

In short, I feel as though this tale does a fine job in tackling a child's fear of death and making the fact of life slightly more tolerable. What say you?