Cultivating the Art of Dying: Margaret Edson’s W;t Between Page and Screen [Kultywując sztukę umierania. W;t Margaret Edson – pomiędzy dramatem a filmem]

As death returned to make its mark on the world with the COVID-19 pandemic and, consequently, resurfaced in the social imaginary, we have found ourselves once again full-throatedly asking questions about what it means to die well. These issues lie at the heart of W;t, an American play penned in the early 1990s by Margaret Edson, which could be situated alongside other fictional and true stories that “provide social scripts for dying” (Knox). The play might also be viewed as a modern reference to the medieval tradition of ars bene moriendi and the morality plays linked with that tradition in a symbiotic, synergistic manner. The essay attempts to demonstrate that the meaning underlying Edson’s play (and its television adaptation of 2001) derives primarily from its grappling with the subject of human’s agency in the face of the inevitable. In its close reading of the play, the essay moves between the text, first published in print in 1999, and the screen, to best tap into the interpretive potential of comparing the drama and its film adaptation.

Leven voor de dood. Aanzetten tot een christelijke thanatologie

Popular literature shows the need for a contemporary art of dying. This article argues for a Christian thanatology that engages modern phenomena such as near-death-experiences, end-of-life legislation and an imagination that cannot envisions life beyond death. Reformed sources provide three elements for a Christian thanatology: (a) death as the boundary of human existence; (b) a spiritual attitude toward death; and (c) death and as an eccentric existence. A Christian thanatology moves beyond a systematic-theological exploration of the ‘last things’ to offer a ‘practical eschatology’ able to relate Christian imagination with cultural expressions.

Pasupata Yoga and the Art of Dying

This paper researches the relation between yoga and death in the early Saiva tradition of the Pasupatas, based on three Pasupata sources: the Pasupatasutra, the Ratnatika and the Skandapurana. The paper presents an analysis and interpretation of textual passages that treat the last moment of the life of a Pasupata ascetic in order to find out whether or not his death can be interpreted as a form of ‘self-induced yogic death’. Following the analysis of the primary sources, it will become clear that yoga and death stood in a much closer relation than one might expect.

Introduction

This book tells the story of Nell M. and the author, her therapist, as they encounter mortal time. When Nell was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, she sought counseling because she wasn’t dying soon enough. The text consists of a compilation of 12 illness narratives in conversation with the author. Nell was disappointed that her breast cancer would not prevent her from seeing her husband deteriorate due to Alzheimer’s disease. She had hoped breast cancer would give her an easy exit. Her journey was guided by conversation in psychotherapy, a circle of family and friends, as well as her spiritual community, where she gained strength and sustenance. The narratives include commentary and reflections by the author/therapist as well as a section on coping with three important areas of a patient’s life: the disease of cancer and treatment-related symptoms, personal and professional relationships, and intrusive thoughts and troubling feelings. The therapeutic approach is supportive-expressive counseling with deep empathic listening and compassionate responding at its core. The dialogues include poetry readings and use of music, both comforting elements that inform the art of dying.