Where I By Robinson Jeffer

For most, the subject of death is a taboo; it is a topic that most avoid, both in conversation and in thought. People have a tendency to fear that which they do not understand. Death is the ultimate mystery, a fate that no one escapes and no one understands. In this mystery, most find fear. Some, however, find it comforting. Robinson Jeffers's "Where I?" Describes a woman at the end of her life who had found comfort and even excitement in death. In the poem, Jeffers considers the inevitability of death, which leads him to wonder whether it is best to die quickly or to prolong life. Jeffers's description of the dying woman is dismal to begin with. He states, "This woman cannot live more than one year. / Her growing death is hidden in a hopeless place" (1-2). At first, Jeffers notices how imminent the woman's death is. He recognizes that she is clearly ailing and will be gone soon. Initially, the revelation seems hopeless. After all, death is finite. It is common to think of death as sad and abysmal. [e-mail]
As Jeffers continues to consider death, his thought begin to change.
Jeffers says, "She looks at her own hands and thinks ‘In a year / These will be burnt like rags in the crematory" (5-6). Initially, this line seems to suggest dread toward the thought of dying. However, it is actually just a morbid observation. Although the woman knows she will die and her body will be destroyed, she recognizes that she will no longer be there. "I shall not feel it. Where I? Where I? Not anywhere" finishes the woman in Jeffers’s poem (7). She considers where she may be after her death and ultimately concludes that she will be nowhere. Although the original depiction of the woman's decline is depressing, it begins to foster a sense of
joy. At this point, the thought of death gives the woman hope. "It is strange, it gives to her face a kind of glory" states Jeffers (8). He notices that the woman's mortality now brings her excitement. The thought of her own death has provided comfort and a promise of freedom. Jeffers's writes, "Her mind used to be lazy and heavy her face / Now she talks all in haste, looks young and lean" (9-10). While the woman previously looked worn, she is now animated. Her revelation has brought about a physical change to her appearance. The mere thought of escape from her frail body has brought the woman joy and excitement. In the last line, Jeffers's wonders, "Or is it better to live at ease, dully and long?" (14). Ultimately, the woman's change in demeanor has raised a question in Jeffers's mind: Is it better to die, and be released from one's aging body, or to live a long life and watch yourself slowly decline? Because Jeffers describes the process of living out a long life as "dull" it can be concluded that he has decided that it is better to find release in death. To live out a long life would mean watching oneself slowly grow old and no long be capable of what it once was. After watching the dismay of a woman nearing death, Jeffers has arrived at the conclusion that it is better to be freed of the constraints of an earthly body once it has begun to fail