17 - Death and the Woman

“Death —where was he? What a curious experience: to be sitting alone in a big house… waiting for Death to come and snatch her husband from her. No; he would not snatch, he would steal upon his prey as noiselessly as the approach of Sin to Innocence-an invisible, unfair, sneaking enemy, with whom no man’s strength could grapple. If he would only come like a man, and take his chances like a man! Women had been known to reach the hearts of giants with the dagger’s point. But he would creep upon her.” - Gertrude Atherton, Death and the WomanHello and welcome to your weekend hauntwith Spook Lit, an audiobook club by dreary dendrophileI’m your host Lyns, and I’ll be reading aloud our spooky stories. Thank you so much for being here. I hope you enjoy.Previously on Spook Lit…Last time, we literally closed the chapter on our book Ghosts and Family Legends by Catherine Crowe, the first recorded paranormal investigator in history.Over the next few weeks, I’ll be releasing the entire first season of Spook Lit on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. I will also be knitting together a stand-alone audiobook in case you want to listen without all the podcast extras. More on that later.A huge heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who engaged with our first book of Spook Lit! Thank you for listening and reading and interacting in the comments. Thank you for your feedback and suggestions. Your insight and your ghost stories. What more could I possibly ask from you except for more! Thank you for dipping your toes into this new obsession of mine. It has truly been a blast.This week’s story…I’m still cleaning up the first book and preparing some options for the second. In the meantime, I like the idea of popping in these bite-sized short stories to tie us over between books.I chose Death and the Woman, by Gertrude Atherton, originally published in Vanity Fair, London, in 1892.In a raw twist of letting your imagination run away with you, Gertrude Atherton succeeded in keeping me glued to the page (a rare feat). Many of her stories have that in common.This story is a mix of psychological and existential feminine Gothic horror. The way the author personifies death is extremely important to me. She boldly embraces a story about death and dying in a way that was presumably quite unremarkable in her time, regardless of how extraordinary it seems in ours. Indeed, I was on the fence about even choosing this story due to my fear of offending your sensibilities with my dreaded death talk. (I tend to do that.)However, this week I am also listening to the audiobook Smoke Gets In Your Eyes & Other Lessons From the Crematory, by Caitlin Doughty. One of the best (and surprisingly most relatable) books I’ve read in a long time. I was literally shoveling wet bones out of the aquamation chamber when I heard Caitlin Doughty explain:“Prior to the Civil War, death and dying were strongly associated with the home… Since corpses were a domestic affair, the duty to care for them fell to women. Women baked the meat pies, did the laundry, washed the corpses. In many ways, women are death’s natural companions. Every time a woman gives birth, she is creating not only a life, but also a death.” - Caitlin Doughty, Smoke Gets In Your EyesDoughty posits that during and following the Civil War, the rise in practices of embalming (practical for masses of deaths on a battlefield) and cremation (more affordable), may have resulted in our culture being entirely resistant to death. We are terrified of decomposition and decay. And we have completely lost our relationship to death and dying, avoiding it at all costs.“If decomposing bodies have disappeared from culture (which they have), but those same decomposing bodies are needed to alleviate the fear of death (which they are), what happens to a culture where all decomposition is removed? We don’t need to hypothesize: we live in just such a culture. A culture of death denial.This denial takes many forms. Our obsession with youth, the creams and chemicals and detoxifying diets pushed by those who would sell the idea that the natural aging of our bodies is grotesque. Spending over $100 billion a year on anti-aging products as 3.1 million children under five starve to death.” - Caitlin Doughty, Smoke Gets In Your EyesThis blew my mind. The idea that our rituals surrounding and treatment of the dead could influence our society’s attitudes towards death, and vice versa. I truly believe, and aspire to validate, that the subject of death and dying was far less objectionable and wholly unremarkable in Gertrude Atherton’s time. At the very least, concepts such as dying in the home and characterizing Death as a monstrous entity are fascinating themes reminiscent of the time period. I’m officially intrigued.What’s Lurking on Spook Lit?In the next episode, I hope to provide you with a list of options for our next serialized book. A few of you have even sent me some of your favorites - please keep them coming!My main criteria is that the book should match our vibes (I’ll leave that up to interpretation), and it must be public domain. I’m also prioritizing books and stories that do not yet have audiobook versions widely available, since we will be creating them. I have to admit, researching creepy historical books has been a cozy way to spend my free time this winter.Along with the next book, there are some other changes and improvements in the works. I’ll save those for next time.Until then, thank you for listening to Spook Lit. I hope you enjoy this story, and I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.Credits:* Smoke Gets In Your Eyes & Other Lessons From the Crematory, by Caitlin Doughty* Audiobook: Death and the Woman by Gertrude Atherton* Music: Horror Spooky Piano by Nikita Kondrashev on Pixabay* Artwork: Jeff Bent* Linktree: https://linktr.ee/drearydendrophileAll Spook Lit Audiobooks are public domain.Hauntingly yours,dreary dendrophiledreary dendrophile is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to dreary dendrophile at drearydendrophile.substack.com/subscribe