shown invading of the attics of the houses of their
loved ones who are still living and reading the
letters they sent to loved ones during their earthly
lives, trying desperately to maintain their connec-
tion with the emotion of love.
Hunger, thirst, and love are desires that are
characteristic of earthly life. Most religious and
spiritual traditions, including Christianity, the phi-
losophy of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato
(428–348B.C.), and the ancient Vedic tradition
of India that predated Hinduism, adhere to the
principle that earthly desires should ideally be
transcended or left behind with the body after a
person dies. If a soul retains such desires, then it
remains imprisoned by its bonds of attachment to
earthly people and things.
The souls in ‘‘The Dead’’ fit into this category
of attachment. The state is not seen as either good
or bad, and no moral color is given to it. But it is
certainly an uneasy state. The dead drink from the
river, which may be interpreted as the river Lethe.
This, according to ancient Greek mythology,
would make them forget their earthly attachments.
Perhaps the waters of the Lethe are having an
effect on them and enabling them to forget. But
the dead do not welcome this forgetting. Instead,
they are desperately trying to recapture their past
emotions, just as starving people try to satisfy their
hunger. They are subsequently shown feeding their
attachment and keeping it alive by telling stories,
showing photographs, and invading the houses of
their loved ones on earth. Far from being eager to
let go of their earthly attachments, they are trying
to strengthen the bonds.Purgatory
In the context of Roman Catholic theology, the
souls in ‘‘The Dead’’ are in Purgatory, a halfway
house between Heaven and Hell. Purgatory is
the after-death destination for the souls of peo-
ple who died in a state of grace or friendship with
God but who are not sufficiently pure to enter
Heaven. In Purgatory, the souls go through a
process of cleansing or purging to rid themselves
of their earthly desires and attachments and pre-
pare them for eternal life in Heaven. The souls in
‘‘The Dead’’ are not yet free of attachments. If
the river from which they drink is the Lethe, thenA river at night(Image copyright Kokhanchikov, 2009. Used under license from Shutterstock.com)
The Dead