A civil rights activist as well as a prominent investigative journalist, Jessica Mitford is best known for her second book, The American Way of Death (1963), a caustic study of the funeral industry. In this excerpt, she describes the grisly process of restoring a damaged corpse.
Notice how Mitford's ironic tone affects our response to the passages she quotes from a textbook on embalming.
from The American Way of Death
by Jessica Mitford
The object of all this attention to the corpse, it must be remembered, is to make it presentable for viewing in an attitude of healthy repose. "Our customs require the presentation of our dead in the semblance of normality . . . unmarred by the ravages of illness, disease, or mutilation," says Mr. Jay Sheridan Mayer in his Restorative Art. This is rather a large order since few people die in the full bloom of health, unravaged by illness and unmarked by some disfigurement. The funeral industry is equal to the challenge: "In some cases the gruesome appearance of a mutilated or disease-ridden subject may be quite discouraging. The task of restoration may seem impossible and shake the confidence of the embalmer. This is the time for intestinal fortitude and determination. Once the formative work is begun and affected tissues are cleaned or removed, all doubts of success vanish. It is surprising and gratifying to discover the results which may be obtained."
The embalmer, having allowed the appropriate interval to elapse, returns to the attack, but now he brings into play the skills and equipment of sculptor and cosmetician. Is a hand missing? Casting one in plaster of Paris is a simple matter. "For replacement purposes, only a cast of the back of the hand is necessary; this is within the ability of the average operator and is quite adequate." If a lip or two, a nose, or an ear should be missing, the embalmer has at hand a variety of restorative waxes with which to model replacements. Pores and skin texture are simulated by stippling with a little brush, and over this cosmetics are laid on. Head off? Decapitation cases are rather routinely handled Ragged edges are trimmed, and head joined to torso with a series of splints, wires, and sutures. It is a good idea to have a little something at the neck--a scarf or a high collar--when time for viewing comes. Swollen mouth? Cut out tissue as needed from inside the lips. If too much is removed, the surface contour can easily be restored by padding with cotton. Swollen necks and cheeks are reduced by removing tissue through vertical incisions made down each side of the cheek. "When the deceased is casketed. the pillow will hide the suture incisions . . . as an extra precaution against leakage, the suture may be painted with liquid sealer."
Selected Works by Jessica Mitford:
- The American Way of Death, 1963
- Kind and Usual Punishment: The Prison Business, 1973
- The Making of a Muckraker, 1979
- Poison Penmanship: The Art of Muckraking, 1979
- The American Way of Birth, 1992
- The American Way of Death Revisited, 1998
Jessica Mitford's The American Way of Death was originally published by Simon and Schuster in 1963. An updated edition, The American Way of Death Revisited, was published by Virago in 1998.
