Even though the 21st century may be recognized as a spectacular death mentality’s period, the current situation of mourning and accepting death in Lithuania marks a significant number of ‘your death’ mentality’s features. Whilst the situation is gradually changing and the perception of death is becoming more similar to the one that is common in the Western Europe, the more conservative part of the society still follows the deeply rooted traditions of long death ceremonies. 

The early days of a Lithuanian funeral are dedicated to the presentation of the deceased in a coffin in a funeral home. During this period family, friends and even acquaintances of the deceased come to say the last goodbye. The coffin is left open throughout the whole three-day ceremony and is only closed the last day before the burial.

The first signs of the ‘your death’ mentality occur in the mourning culture in Lithuania. The reconciliation with death for most people becomes the substantial hardship. The lack of acceptance of death can also be recognized from the long ceremonies of saying goodbye. It takes up to three days of mourning and expressing great grief near the beloved’s coffin.  As Aries has described, ‘certainly the expression of sorrow by survivors is owing to a new intolerance of separation’. It is clear that the death of the other is more feared than the death of oneself. People struggle to let go of the deceased one and usually even after the funeral they gather to celebrate the monthly anniversary of the death and express a yet remaining very grave wound.

Subsequently, this intolerance of separation leads to the memory cult. People in Lithuania use tombs, graves, and cemeteries as signs of the presence of the deceased ones. Additionally, a funeral ceremony is held by the relatives and it usually requires investments in the deceased’s costume and embalming, preparation of the coffin, rent of the room in a funeral house, a place for burial in the cemetery, tombstone, and many other burial services. Throughout the years the cost of the aforementioned ceremony has risen and yet these services and products still remain widely consumed due to the deeply rooted funeral and burial culture in the country. The investment in a funeral ceremony can be seen as a sign of paying tribute to the deceased. 

Overall, regarding the dramatic expression of grief and the long funeral ceremonies, it is clear that regardless of the current period, the funeral situation in Lithuania perfectly depicts the ‘your death’ mentality.

The Penitent Magdalene,  Antonio Canova's most celebrated religious work, is far less eminent today as it was shortly after its creation (1794-1796)  and first exhibition. Displayed today in the Museo Agostiniano in Genoa – poorly lit and showing consequences of an unimpressive restoration in the late nineteenth century – it is not the imposing and influential work of art it once was.

The statue itself portrays Mary Magdalene mourning over the loss of Jesus. The marble Magdalene is accompanied by a skull and a bronze crucifix. The image is one of intolerable grief. The extreme detail in the pose and the face of Mary only enhance this sense of misery. 

© https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/monarchy-enlightenment/neo-classi...

Detail in the face of Canova's Magdalene

The statue was first comissioned by a Venetian prelate named Guiseppi Pruili. However, in 1808, it was sold to and exhibited at the Salon in the Musée Napoleon in Paris. This is where the Magdalene became exceptionally popular. Its fame at the time can be explained by the religious and political situation of these years. Post-Revolution, and after the Concordat of 1801 had been signed to restore Catholicism in France, this religious image of grief struck home with many of the broken families that had emerged due to the Napoleonic wars. 

This statue is quite fitting to the period of Your Death as described by Ariès. This era was, according to Ariès, one in which death was experienced as something unacceptable and unfamiliar. Therefore, the loss a of a loved one was a difficult and devastating occasion for many. In this context, the scene that the statue depicts was relatable and comforting - and fitting for the prevaillent perception of death at the time. Moreover, we see this image of death as something shocking and horrifying revealing itself in the art of that time through the dramatic depiction of the situations surrounding death. Peaceful paintings or statues regarding death were not often made during this time. Canova's depiction of Magdalene and his eye for detail to express her immense grief, parallel this drama and intensity when it comes to death of an other. 

In conclusion, this artwork gained its massive popularity due to its resemblance to the morality regarding death and the ongoing situations in France at the time it was produced. This reaction and Canova's artistry ensured that, to this day, it is relatable and remains truly one of Canova's most impressive works.

References

Ariès, P. (1974). Western attitudes toward death: From the Middle Ages to the present. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Johns, C.M.S. (2013). Erotic Spirituality and the Catholic Revival in Napoleonic Paris: The Curious History of Antonio Canova’s Penitent Magdalene. Published in: Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture, Volume 42, 2013, pp. 1-20. 

Pollitt, B. Canova, Repentant Magdalene Retrieved from: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/monarchy-enlightenment/neo-classi...

Keisha’s Song, Her Pain is a song from rapper Kendrick Lamar’s 2011 album Section 80.  It is the story of one of Lamar’s female friends who had resorted to prostitution at a young age, and the struggle she had gone through. In an interview with MTV, he confirms that this song contains a true and personal story, like most of the songs on his album. This song is an interesting one to relate back to Philippe Ariès’ Western attitudes toward death: from the Middle Ages to the present (1974). Ariès describes four death mentalities, coherent to specific time periods presented in chronological order. Over time our mentality gradually went from ‘We shall all die’, to one’s own death being central, to putting the death of the other person central, to the ‘Forbidden’ or ‘Hidden’ Death mentality.

In Keisha’s Song, Her Pain Lamar describes another person’s life and struggle that led to a bitter death. It directly relates back to Ariès’ ‘Your Death’, putting the another’s death central; there is fear of separation or death of the other. Keisha’s story and death are central subjects to commemorate her and to show how unfair life was for her. An example is the end of his last verse, and at the same time her story, in the following way:

“And in her heart, she hate it there but in her mind, she made it where, nothing really matters, still she hit the back seat and caught a knife inside the bladder, left for dead, raped in the street. Keisha's song.”

The “Your Death” mentality  is also present in another way as Lamar shows with the lyrics following up Keisha’s story as described in three verses. He raps: “My little sister eleven, I looked her right in the face, the day that I wrote this song, sat her down and pressed play.” He shows here that he also wrote this song for his sister as a kind of warning and lesson about how life can go if you make certain decisions. He does not want his sister to make bad decisions or end up dead like Keisha and tries to prevent this by advising her. In every way, Kendrick Lamar’s song is a perfect example of the western attitude/mentality of centralizing and commemorating the other person’s death;  and fearing the other’s death.

''Correggio's Death", a painting by Albert Küchler inspired by a tragedy by Adam Oehlenschläger, can be used to solidify Philippe Aries’ theory on the four different kinds of mentalities upon death. In this painting, a woman bends towards her deceased husband, mourning his death. This behaviour is exemplary of the ‘’Your death’’ mentality. In contrast with mentalities that came before, death was not accepted anymore. Death is now seen as a break in life, something dramatic and enormously devastating. The woman on the painting is seen holding her husband, without wanted to let go. Both the woman and the boy in the Küchler’s work act wretched and mournful, instead of accepting. The your death mentality also includes the ambitions to keep remains of deceased ones. People where not able to let go of the deceased, and would forever mourn their absence.  

With the introduction of this mentality also came the centralised cemeteries. Instead of being buried around the church, people where now brought to big open parks in which deceased loved ones could be honoured and remembered by bringing thoughts, prayers and flower. The big wooden cross displayed in this work emphasise the cemeteries and graveyards used to commemorate the dead.  

Although it was written earlier, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ depicts a death mentality typical for the period after the 18th century. Aries named it “Thy Death” (“Your Death”) because it marked a big shift in attitudes – the most dramatic and frightening aspect of death became being separated from a loved one.

In the past, friends and relatives gathered around one’s deathbed to perform rituals, but it was done in a still, collected, banal way. Death was something accepted passively by the by-standers of the dying person while he awaited his ending, focused on his own experience and concerned about his placement after the Last Judgements.

After the 18th century however, death was seen as a break, as a loss of a beloved one, and people started experiencing it as something devastating, as a reason for mourning. The passionate expression of sorrow by survivors was a sign of the newly developed intolerance of separation. You could now encounter crying, praying, gesticulating and all other sorts of manifestation of grief around one’s deathbed.  Friends and relatives of the deceased also wanted to keep the memory of their lost close one alive, which explained the emergence of personalized tombs and park cemeteries. Someone’s burial place became a sight to visit if you wanted to express your sadness or to show respect to his memory.

From the 16th to the 18th century, death was also associated with love in art and literature. It was romanticized, admired for its beauty. It was tragic, but also a desired state in which you can be reunited with your lost beloved ones.

The death attitude depicted in the ending of Romeo and Juliet’s story is a combination of all of the aforementioned aspects. Firstly, Juliet’s pretended death caused much sorrow in her relatives and her lovers. They placed her body in the family tomb, which was visited by both Paris and Romeo in the night. But while the first one was there to mourn over her and place some flowers on her grave, the second man was there with the intention to kill himself. The pain of losing his lover was too unbearable for him to continue life without her, and his own death did not seem frightening if it meant being with her again. When Juliet wakes up, she discovers that Romeo is dead and then expresses the same sorrow he did earlier. For her as well, being separated from a loved one is more frightening than dying, so she chooses to take her own life as well and reunite with him in death.

This romantic scene, set in a tomb, displays the death mentality of ‘Your Death’.