The Mysterious Separation of the Soul and Body
There is only one consequence that results from the beating heart and inhalation of air. When the heart stops thumping and the lungs stop breathing, death becomes the consequence. The material moment of death is quite simple to fathom and explain. However, the moments that follow are secretive and uncharted. The author Louise Erdrich wrote a book which changed character perspective every chapter. The literature, Love Medicine, consisted of a series of separate, but connected stories of a group of Native Americans called the Chippewa. There are numerous characters within the story, all with different perspectives and it is their perspectives that shape the way the reader perceives the unfolding …show more content…
Louise Erdrich chose to perceive death as more of a spiritual transition than an abrupt end. One example of this occurs in the first chapter of Love Medicine. The third person perspective leads us to witness the passing of June Kashpaw without blatantly stating her death. The author wrote, “The snow fell deeper that Easter then it had in forty years, but June walked over it like water and came home” ( Pg. 7). Even though the author did not directly mention the death of June, her word choice indicated June’s passing. It seems that Erdrich intended to arouse a spiritual aspect of death. Presumably, home to June might not have been located on the physical plain. Her home possibly lied beyond flesh and blood; it was only her soul that could travel the distance. Erdrich also described the exact moment of June’s passing with such spiritual intentions. She stated, “Even her heart clenched and her skin turned crackling cold it didn’t matter, because the pure and naked part of her went on” (Pg. 7). Erdrich brought forth the fact that June had had enough of her material body and she was ready for her soul to move on. Ultimately, the crackling cold that enveloped her skin and heart represented the shedding of her body until only her soul remained. The soul is thought to be the only thing that continues to travel long after its vessel has passed, but the body remains to tell wordless …show more content…
There were many instances in Love Medicine where the characters walk the fine line between life and death. Sometimes, there was a period of time where it was difficult to tell which side the person had fallen on. Louise Erdrich developed a spiritual aspect of death. For instance, June Kashpaw died by releasing her mundane shell and allowing her soul to walk free. The author also went on to describe what happens to the physical body once its soul has slipped away. All that is left behind is a ragged, worn out body that can no longer tell stories or express opinions. It just lays in the world until the earth consumes it and morphs it into another form of energy. Erdrich creates a sense of mystery with the deaths of her characters because she allows the death of the character to unfold while never mentioning that the character is dying in those very moments. She also touches on the unknown factor of what happens when the soul becomes separated from the body. Love Medicine creates depth to the concept of death. The deaths of her characters make the reader more conscience of their own beating heart because they know there will be a day where the consequence that results from life silently appears. That consequence is