The Inevitability Of Death In Everyman's Mortality

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presence of the personification of his own mortality, he has misunderstood the significance of most aspects of his daily existence. Everyman deals with the temptations that threaten to divert the virtuous mind at the hour of death: heresy, despair, rage, spiritual pride, and an attachment to things of the world. This last temptation, the occupation of outwards things and temporal, resonates strongly throughout Everyman. Everyman stands as the representative of a broader humanity that must come to terms with the inevitability of death and the impermanence of earthly life. Memento mori (remember that you must die) was a regular theme in the sermons of vagabond preachers beginning in the thirteenth century, especially amongst Europeans who lost …show more content…

Fellowship, Kindred, Cousin, and Goods each reject him in turn with unflinching cruelty. Cousin, for instance, offers the excuse of having a cramp in her toe. Everyman’s overwhelming desire to have others accompany him to the grave only accentuates his isolation; he finds that his friendships with Fellowship, Kindred, Cousin, and Goods have limits that were not apparent before Death’s presence. Correspondingly, in the presence of Death, the concepts that those characters manifest take on new meanings. Here, Everyman assumes that everyone will meet the grave alone. The day you face death will be a lonesome day – you cannot bring anything or anyone with you – death is an isolating journey, a spiritual one that we must journey ourselves. But does that mean that our mortality, our mortal lives as a whole are to be spent alone? No, this is not the case. Rather, we must consider our friends and family even more important during our earthly life, because we must help each other prepare for that lonely end. As his friends refuse him, Everyman’s understanding of his relationship to the members of his community is brutally altered; he can no longer take them for granted but must relearn his relationship to them. In this play, to recognize death fully is to recognize that one is both a part of one’s community and

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