Maurice Maerlinck Death

Death, one of the most mysterious constructs in the universe. The mystery lies in whether our actions before death will affect what comes after death, and if there is even anything after death. Sadly the only way for one to find the answer to this, is to die. For this course we asked to analyze a piece of humanistic works representation of death, and so I chose Death by Maurice Maeterlinck This essay on death talks about thoughts on death and how it leads to our fears, then goes on to give ways to subdue or get rid of this fear through the use of reasoning. Maeterlinck tries to convince the reader that death is just an illusion and the fear can be conquered. Through the use of quotations, questions, in depth critical analysis, different scenarios
"Death and death alone is what we must consult about life; and not some vague future or survival, in which we shall not be present. It is our own end; and everything happens in the interval between death and now. Do not talk to me of those imaginary prolongations which wield over us the childish spell of number; do not talk to me-to me who am to die outright-of societies and peoples! There is no reality, there is no true duration, save that between the cradle and the grave. The rest is mere bombast, show, delusion! They call me a master because of some magic in my speech and thoughts; but I am a frightened child in the presence of death!" (Maeterlinck 7). This quotation was all that was written in the first chapter of his essay on death. In this quotation he covers the idea people have about that and offers his disgust about prolonging their life when already faced with death, he then offers a statement which is true for everyone when it comes to death. Which is that people are frightened children “in the presence of death” (Maeterlinck 8). This still holds true for many people today, just like we discussed in the beginning of our online class, many people go through death anxiety which is basically like being frightened in the presence of death like Maeterlinck
He begins by stating the true terror or the real reason we fear death, which we can all agree on. The real reason we fear death so much is because we don’t know where we end up after we die. He then goes on to give the four conclusions he has come to about what happens to us after death. One solution is we face total annihilation, the second solution is that we survive with the consciousness we had while we were still alive. The third would be surviving without any consciousness. The last solution is that we survive with a universal consciousness different from the one we possess in this universe. Immediately he refutes the idea of total annihilation because “Neither a body nor a thought can drop out of the universe, out of time and space … for there is no place where anything ceases to be” (Maeterlinck 35). Basically saying that after we die we don’t just stop existing in this world because just like the “brightness of a start extinguished millions of years ago still wanders in the ether where our eyes will perhaps behold it” (Maeterlinck 35) so will our souls still remain when we pass. Next he faces the second solution of survival after death with our