Krawiecka, Justyna M.

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Z E S Z Y T Y N A U K O W E   UNIWERSYTETU RZESZOWSKIEGO  SERIA FILOLOGICZNA ZESZYT 51/2008           STUDIA ANGLICA RESOVIENSIA 5Justyna M. KRAWIECKA SOME REMARKS ON THE SYMBOLIC DUALISM OF DEATH1 There are an unimaginable number of words, each of which has one or more synonym or antonym. Note that the words we employ in our day-to-day verbal exchange may be of various communicative value, ambiguous force, stylistic register, emotional colour and the referent they stand for may be of different semantic-symbolic nature. Each particular content word is (or may become) a key-word  in  our  day-to-day  communication,  exchange  of  opinions,  argument (both written and oral), poetry and prose alike. This is true of standard words, but  also  words  specific  to  particular  geographical  regions,  as  well  as  words characteristic of certain social or professional circles.  The modest purpose set to this paper is to outline certain issues related to the dualism  of  the  symbolism  of  the  concept  of  DEATH  –  simultaneously  as  it emerges and is reflected in fixed language units, such as proverbs and sayings. I believe  that  the  word  death  and  the  concept  of  DEATH  deserve  particular attention  due  to  what  may  be  labelled  as  the  inevitable  universality  of  the concept, but also due to the fact – which I hope to be able to show – that the concept  of  death,  or  rather  its  axiological  load,  may  be  proved  not  to  be exclusively  associated  with  negative  attributive  values,  as  in  certain circumstances it may be demonstrated to be linked to certain positive attributive values in the sense of attributive elements forming elements of various concepts as outlined in Kleparski (1997) or Kie tyka (2006). Approaching the semantics of death, we must start with the definition of the word, which is in this case a synthesis of the definitions given in Sinclair (2006) and Markowski (2007):   1 Let me take this opportunity and extend my heartfelt thanks to Prof. Grzegorz A. Kleparski and dr S awomir Kozio  for their critical, yet helpful remarks on both the form and contents of this text.  109 Death  1:  Stan  charakteryzuj cy  si!  ustaniem  oznak  !ycia,  spowodowany nieodwracalnym zachwianiem równowagi funkcjonalnej i za"amaniem wewn!trznej organizacji  ustroju.  Nieodwracalne  ustanie  wszystkich  czynno#ci  ustroju  oraz procesów przemiany materii we wszystkich jego komórkach, zgon ‘Death is the end of life of a biological organism. Death may refer to the end of life caused by loss of balance,  functional  and  inner  balance.  The  permanent  cessation  of  all  vital functions, metabolism in all cells, demise’. Death 2: Ostateczne ustanie czynno#ci $yciowych organizmu, fakt, $e kto# umar", zgon, #mier% biologiczna ‘Irreversible cessation of all functions (of the entire brain), decease, demise, death’. Death 3: Chwila, w której cz"owiek umiera, przestaje $y%, rozstaje si! ze #wiatem, proces ustawania na zawsze wszystkich czynno#ci organizmu ‘The very moment when a person dies, stops living, leaves the world, the process of cessation of all functions of human body’.  In our daily communication we make use of countless sayings, adages and phrases  which  enrich  and  add  colour  to  our  speech.  Understandably,  in  the process  of  the  application  of  words  we  are  not  always  fully  aware  of  the meanings of words, idioms, fixed sayings and proverbs. There exist numerous fixed  lexical  items,  phraseological  units,  sayings  and  proverbs  related  to  the concept of DEATH. Among others, we may list here the following expressions taken from S"ownik wspó"czesny j!zyka polskiego (2001):  bia"a #mier% ‘white death’, blady jak #mier% ‘as white as a sheet’, by% panem $ycia i #mierci ‘be the master of life and death’, na "o$u #mierci ‘on one’s deathbed’, na #mier% i $ycie ‘life and death struggle’, patrze% #mierci w oczy ‘look death in the eyes’, umrze% swoj  #mierci  ‘die one’s own death’, wywin % si! od #mierci ‘a narrow  escape  from  death’,  zamartwia%  si!  na  #mier%  ‘be  worried  to  death’, zbledn % jak #mier% ‘be pale as death’, zapracowa% si! na #mier% ‘work to death’   Generally speaking, it is fairly obvious that human society perceives death as an evil which is both omnipotent and omnipresent, because it affects – so to speak – anyone and knows no go-betweens, once it happens it happens, it is here and there is no reversal. Yet, on the other hand, death does not always equal the ultimate  evil  that  may  happen  to  a  human  being.  Obviously,  in  order  to understand the totality of the concept of DEATH we must know the dictionary definition of the word death, but also – to get a full picture – one is advised to analyse the semantics of sayings, proverbial expressions and proverbs related to the concept discussed here. This may verify the first-impression picture on the one hand, and – on the other hand – add a new colour. All in all, it may lead to the  formulation  of  certain  better-founded  conclusions  related  to  the  concept discussed. We may ask the following questions: Is death – being the end of our earthly existence – pictured as entirely negative or whether one may speak about  110certain duality here, that is whether death is viewed as partially positive? If so, what are the reasons for this perception of death?  According to Biederman (1992) and Kopali"ski (1993), death is the symbol of: <balance>, <indiscrimination>, <speed>, <rapidity>, <mysteries of nature>, <the end of a wandering journey>, <eternal dream>, <great awakening of the wisdom of body>, <separating human soul from its body>, <shadow>, <sunset>, <valley>, <darkness>, <everlasting night>, <the guard of hell>, <strange country doom>, <fatality>, <offence>, <enemy>, <punishment>, <evil>, <scarecrow>, <the  lord  of  scarecrows>,  <undesired>,  <responsible>,  <theft>,  <debt>, <devotion>,  <comfort>,  <mercy>,  <doctor>,  <panacea>,  <gift>,  <harvester>, <mediator>, <freedom>, <joy>, <progress>, <monarchy>, <salvation>, <suicide caused by tension>, <stress and pain>.2 Let us now analyse the semantics of the adages, fixed sayings and proverbs related to the concept of DEATH given in two monumental publications; that is Mas owscy (2005b) and Mas owscy (2007). As previously, we shall employ the convention  of  marking  the  most  essential  attributive  elements  of  the  quoted DEATH-related language data with the aid of arrows, for example, <death is inevitable>:   DEATH  attributes  as  emerging  from  fixed  sayings  of  various  world languages in proverbial form:3  Pale death knocks at paupers’ doors and the royal gates  <death spares nobody> We don’t die twice, we can’t even avoid the first death  <death comes only once> How many “deaths” must we experience to be prepared for it, to learn that we will also die < too late do we realize that we are mortal > One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic <death is only comprehensible on an individual scale> The gloomy gates of death are impervious to any requests <death is inevitable> Death has never forgotten about anyone  <death spares nobody> The moment we die, we reap what we have sown during our life  2 In turn Kopali"ski  (1993) and Biederman (1992) provide the following list of symbols of death:  //coffin//,  //cypress//,  //skeleton//,  //skull//,  //rider  on  a  fawn  horse//,  //dark  torch  held down//,  //an  urn  covered  with  a  cloth//,  //weeping  willow//,  //wreck//,  //ivy  wreath//,  //broken pillar//,  //sheaf//,  //sickle//,  //ash  and  dust//,  //bats//,  //swan  song//,  //extinguished  candle//, //gallows//, //mummy//. 3 All language material has been rendered into English by the author with the help of Mr Donald Trinder, B.A., to whom I would like to express my gratitude.  111 <at the point of death, there is a final reckoning in which one is called to account for one’s actions during life> Death is an eternal refuge in which we experience nothing <death takes away our emotions and feelings> The dread of death is more cruel than death itself <death frightens us> Our death is simple, we can’t put up with the death of people close to our hearts <the death of those closest to us is most tragic to bear> Death shows us the main sense of our life  <death takes us to paradise> Death is a medicine for all incurable diseases  <death provides the ultimate release from all problems> Death is full of meaning  <our soul doesn’t pass away, dying has deeper sense>  The conceptual picture of DEATH includes the attributive elements that encode the message of the inevitable termination of the life of each person. The inevitable death knows no exceptions and comes without any warning, secretly and calmly, unexpectedly, and – when it comes – it deprives us of all mundane riches. Optimistically, at the same time, death is a ticket to the land of eternal dreams, to God’s land called paradise. There, when we are settled with the tasks entrusted on the earth, we are allowed to live in eternal joy and abundance, or we are doomed to go to purgatory, where we do penance for our earthly sins. Furthermore, it can be observed that death also has different faces due to the fact that we may terminate our earthly existence in a variety of ways. No matter how we die, and although death may not be that painful and cruel to us, to those closest to us who remain it is always tragic. The bereft ones will cry, mourn and miss us, call back memories, and pray for the peace of  our  soul.  They  may  believe  that,  after  death,  we  will  experience  an everlasting joy, but to them our demise remains a tragedy. We  may  shed  tears  over  the  countless  numbers  of  innocent  lives  lost during local or world wars but, to the majority of people not affected directly by  the  cruelties  of  war,  these  deaths  are  nothing  more  than  statistics. However, to someone who loses a close person death means nothing more or less  than  an  irretrievable  loss  and  passing  to  a  new  reality,  the  loss  of everything and a personal tragedy. We lose our children, husbands, wives or parents, and each time the pain pierces our hearts and each time the stabbing pain is different. Death  is  inevitable;  it  cannot  be  cheated,  one  cannot  avoid  it  and  it remains virtually inescapable. At the same time, it is an irreversible process, the awareness of which is deeply rooted in our consciousness, and – on top of this – we realize that it has arrived only when it is too late. Almost universally, we are aware of the death of all those others who happen to die around us, but  112not necessarily are we aware of the inevitability of our own death. In effect, when it knocks at our door, we are taken by surprise and want to bolt it in an attempt  to  prevent  death  from  coming  inside.  Unfortunately,  there  is  no escaping from it, there is no shelter to hide behind; locks, barricades and bolts present no hindrance to it. When it comes, it takes us to a different land. Yet, on the other hand, different does not necessarily mean inferior. Death is  not  exclusively  associated  with  the  negative  attributive  elements  of  evil, pain  and  bitterness,  as  it  provides  –  to  a  certain  extent  –  a  very  effective remedy for our earthly toil and suffering. Those who suffer feel relieved of their  pain  and  those  who  experience  major  earthly  suffering  find  salvation from further agony. At the same time, death is the last resort for those who are incurably ill, disabled or handicapped; people afflicted in such ways perceive death in a different way to the healthy and strong. Corporal or mental suffering may  lead  to  mental  illness,  loss  of  consciousness  or  to  losing  touch  with others,  that  is  mental  alienation,  social  death  which  –  in  a  way  –  may  be viewed as a type of death. We have countless examples around us that our bodily functions are normal, yet the mind dies and it passes away with time.  Finally, let me concentrate on the contents of selected Polish fixed sayings and  proverbs  collected  in  Mas owscy  (2005a).  Note  that  –  somewhat paradoxically  to  the  all-terminating  nature  of  death  –  all  these  language elements enrich our communication:   DEATH attributes as emerging from Polish proverbs:  Czasu i #mierci nigdy si! uprosi% nie da. ‘You can beg neither time nor death’ <death is inevitable> Kto si! na #mier% odwa$y ten si! wszystkiego wa$y ‘He who isn’t afraid of death, isn’t afraid of anything’ <death is the greatest of all threats> Umar"ego p"aczem nie wskrzesi ‘Crying can’t bring anybody back to life’  <death is irreversible> Przeciwko #mierci mocy nie ma ‘There are no forces against death’ <there is no withstanding death> Raz w $yciu kochamy i raz umieramy ‘We love and die only once’ <death is a singular and unique event> &mier% nie pyta o lata ‘Death doesn’t ask about the age’ <death takes one by surprise, at any age> &mier% nie zna prawa $adnego, bierze z panem ubogiego ‘Death doesn’t know the law, it takes both the poor and the rich’ <death takes all people alike, without distinction> U #mierci w jednej cenie i m"ody i stary ‘Death doesn’t care about age, and takes both the young and the old’ <death takes all people alike> Dzi# zdrowy a jutro do #mierci gotowy ‘Healthy today, tomorrow at death’s door’ <death may come any time, be prepared>  113 Na #mier% nie ma lekarstwa ‘There is no medicine against death’ <there is no protection against death> Jakie $ycie taka #mier% ‘Like life like death’ <the method of your death reflects your life> Lepiej z g"odu umiera% ni$ ze wstydu ‘It is better to die of hunger rather than shame’ <pride is the most important characteristic of human life, and even death should not allow us to lose this> &mier% i $ona od Boga przeznaczona ‘Death and wife are preordained by God’ <death is an act of God> Wy#pisz si! po #mierci ‘You will sleep well after death’ <you will have plenty of time to rest when you have passed away>  In an attempt to answer the previously posed question whether the picture of DEATH is entirely negative, we can certainly speak about a certain axiological duality of the concept discussed here. Obviously, the majority of the attributive elements  emerging  from  the  language  material  quoted  here  contribute  to  the negatively loaded semantic and symbolic structure of the word death and the concept  DEATH. Yet,  the  data  quoted  above  also  point  to  certain  positively loaded attributive elements linked to the concept. Among others, this is visible in such collocations as blessed death, death as the only salvation.  It was the iconic Greek philosopher Plato (over two thousand years ago) who described death as the liberation of the human soul and gift of immortality. It is fairly obvious that collocations of the word death are inseparable from the negative  semantic-emotional  charge  of  the  concept  of  DEATH,  because  – generally speaking – death is perceived as something negative, as an act deprived of any goodness, full of cruelty, full of ruthlessness and pain and tears. Yet, we can say that – paradoxically – to some extent the concept of DEATH is also linked to positive semantic-symbolic elements, because the act of death itself can be, and – in fact – is frequently perceived as goodness, healing, liberation from our suffering and the ticket for the ride to heaven, and hence something we look forward to with longing.  Finally, let us deal with the most surprising language data part. According to Bory# (2005), the historically original meaning of Polish #mier% ‘death’ was ‘a good death’ and/or ‘natural death’, as opposed to sudden death that takes us by surprise. Similarly, yet even more surprisingly, the semantics of the English verb die  has  –  since  the  late  16th  century  –  been  somewhat  dualistic  in  nature. Although since the Old English times it has been used in its historical sense ‘to cease to live’, at the end of the 16th century the verb developed the sense ‘to experience the peak of sexual pleasure, to have orgasm’ that has been present in English till this day (1599 Nay, but I know who loues him.. and in despight of all, dies for him. Shee shall be buried with her face vpwards >1974 Come let me love you.. Let me  die in your arms). Hence, one may conclude that there is  114 115 historical evidence that points to the dualistic nature of DEATH and all that goes along with it. References Biedermann, H. 1992. The Wordsworth Dictionary of Symbolism. New York: Facts on File. Bory!, W. 2005. S"ownik etymologiczny j!zyka polskiego. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie. Sinclair,  J.  2006.  Collins  Cobuild  Advanced  Learner’s  English  Dictionary.  Glasgow:  Harper Collins Publishers. Cowie, A.P. 1998. Phraseology, Theory, Analysis and Applications. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 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Some remarks on the symbolic dualism of death

Some remarks on the symbolic dualism of death

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