Poetic Death Scenes

I am also interested in reflecting on our texts this semester that involved poetic death scenes. Specifically, Edna's suicide, Oscar's murder, and Lily's "euthanization." In the case of Edna, she exits the world that sought to oppress her identity. The words that describe her death suggest a peaceful and natural departure, "The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace." (Chopin 115). Although Oscar is murdered, at his death scene he seems to exude power and confidence that he hadn't previously. Just about his last words are, "Because anything you can dream, you can be." (Diaz 322). Even though he was killed, I believe Oscar really lived right before the end came, and that matters. In perhaps one of the most controversial texts we read and discussed this semester, Old Woman Magoun essentially allows her little girl to die by way of poison berry, to save her from another Barry. In pondering the complexities of the situation, I don't think any can deny the love that Old Woman Magoun must have felt for Lily to go to such great lengths to save her from a life of misery. Again, we see this theme of poetic death as Old Woman Magoun leads Lily into death with words such as, "There where you are going there is always light, and the commonest things shine." (Freeman 429). These texts challenge us to confront complex issues and re-examine our ideas about life and death.