SOURCE: Klein, Kathleen Gregory. “Aging and Dying in the Novels of May Sarton.” Critique 24, no. 3 (spring 1983): 150-57.

In the following essay, Klein considers the role of death and dying in Sarton's novels.

Modern American society has no stronger taboo in both reality and conversation than the subject of death. Legal pronouncement, medical care facilities, and scientific investigation have combined to make dying seem like a failure of either individuals or society; it is less a natural process than an admission of inadequacy. Honest conversation about dying is rare. Pages of euphemisms designed to avoid the direct use of the word “dead” can be easily compiled. Dying is definitely not an acceptable subject whether at a cocktail party or family gatherings; even at funeral homes, one seldom hears the fact of death mentioned.

During the past ten years, psychologists and sociologists have begun to penetrate the defensive barriers established...