The Dead

Essay by ladderman301University, Bachelor's April 2004

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Life experience is what makes us who we are. Deeds and misdeeds executed, relationships forged, decisions rendered and random memories collected continuously mold us and alter who we will be when we wake up the next morning. We all posses these nuances, there is no question. When it comes to current emotional endeavors the question of history is very tricky. Some people feel that a license of marriage gives them a license of knowledge, and believe that absolute disclosure is necessary in creating the strongest bond possible. Gabriel is one of these people. He feels that Gretta has been disloyal and restrained affection from him, which is wrong; also brought into question is whether years, marriage and children are enough for her to "get over" the past, which is preposterous; the concept of the integrity of previous romantic memory when interacting with current relationships of virtue come in to play as a resounding yes; and finally, Gabriel seems to correct himself when he claims that snow covers both the living and the dead.

It's unfair to condemn Gretta for "hiding" anything from Gabriel and there is no ground to declare a breach of loyalty. Gretta had a memory from her youth that took many years for her to come to terms with (or repress, pending the view). The first boy (Michael Furey) she had a true emotional attachment to had died because he took on the elements to see her before she left for the convent, and for a long time she put some of the blame on herself. The only thing that triggered the memory of Michael was a simple song that was sung by a patron of the Christmas party, called The Lass of Aughrim. She never saw him, never heard is name, or even mentioned...