Last Words: Variations on a Theme in Cultural History - Hardcover

Guthke, Karl S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691056889 ISBN 13: 9780691056883

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 1992

Synopsis

Whether Goethe actually cried "More light!" on his deathbed, or whether Conrad Hilton checked out of this world after uttering "Leave the shower curtain on the inside of the tub," last words, regardless of authenticity, have long captured the imagination of Western society. In this playfully serious investigation based on factual accounts, anecdotes, literary works, and films, Karl Guthke explores the cultural importance of those words spoken at the border between this world and the next. The exit lines of both famous and ordinary people embody for us a sense of drama and truthfulness and reveal much about our thoughts on living and dying. Why this interest in last words? Presenting statements from such figures as Socrates, Nathan Hale, Marie Antoinette, and Oscar Wilde ("I am dying as I have lived, beyond my means"), Guthke examines our fascination in terms of our need for closure, our desire for immortality, and our attraction to the mystique of death scenes. The author considers both authentic and invented final statements as he looks at the formation of symbols and legends and their function in our culture. Last words, handed down from generation to generation like cultural heirlooms, have a good chance of surviving in our collective memory. They are shown to epitomize a life, convey a sense of irony, or play to an audience, as in the case of the assassinated Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, who is said to have died imploring journalists: "Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something."

Originally published in 1992.

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Reviews

This densely written study by a German academic deals with the sociological importance of the last words uttered by the dying. Rather than a compilation, Guthke ( B. Traven: The Life Behind the Legends ) provides a historical perspective on last words in Western society, noting that, in earlier times, it was thought that by verbalizing an appropriate religious sentiment, dying persons might guarantee their entrance into heaven or at least protect themselves from eternal hell fire. A cultural mythology surrounds last words such as Goethe's "More light" and Gertrude Stein's "In that case what is the question?," which are handed down through the generations but are not always authenticated. Guthke offers his thoughts on fictionalized last words in literature as well as an evaluation of published anthologies of last words. Acknowledging that his subject is his personal passion, he has written a scholarly treatise of use primarily to cultural historians.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The nature of the last words of the dying are explained by Guthke as examples of cultural artifacts and the continuing secularization of society. Using folklore, literature, and biography, he discusses the concept of the final insight as a historic construct that was developed in antiquity and still present in the modern world. The words of saints and sinners, the famous and the unknown, along with phrases, proverbs, and maxims, are here included in the whole genre of last words. Guthke has interesting things to say about the authenticity of last words, Shakespeare's death scenes, interpretations of Goethe's last words, and the literature of last-word collections. But while it makes for fun reading despite the topic, this is still a highly specialized work. Recommended for large literature and academic libraries.
- Gene Shaw,
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691056889
• ISBN 13: 9780691056883
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 268