Gilgamesh Fragility

The theme of "Gilgamesh" explores the fragility of the human body in relation to the emotional implications of its delicate nature. In the epic, Gilgamesh is only one-third human unlike his close friend Enkidu. Enkidu was created in the wild by the goddess Aruru to be the king's mortal companion. As a result of his fully human nature, Enkidu ideally represents the human body and its limitations. The depiction of Gilgamesh's partial immortality provides an insight to the drastic emotional disturbances humans can create. In other words, despite being part god, Gilgamesh still fell victim to the fragility of the human body. After the death of his very dear friend, Gilgamesh realizes even he has weaknesses as he mourns for his companion. Specifically,

Enkidu's fragility guided Gilgamesh to a new level of awareness over the fleeting nature of mankind. In the epic, the enhanced power of the gods controls the fate of the two characters and leads Gilgamesh to understand the he too is human.
Throughout the epic, the theme of human fragility is supported because the reader can observe that Enkidu's life is fundamentally controlled by the gods.

The purpose of Enkidu's birth was to "create the equal of Gilgamesh," and to bring rest to Uruk (pg. 5). This proves his lack of power when compared to the gods. Gilgamesh for example, despite being a demigod, rules Uruk and is free to determine his own destiny. Later on in the epic, Enkidu experiences a dream that further separates him form Gilgamesh. In his dream, he hears the gods declared "Let Enkidu die, but let not Gilgamesh die" (pg. 55). This proves the fragile nature of humanity because the gods condemned Enkidu, the mortal, rather than Gilgamesh, who is part god. Enkidu, despite his innocence, is condemned to death because of the actions of his immortal

friend.
Enkidu's death causes Gilgamesh to understand his humanity and he begins to feel the emotional instability that comes with it.

After hearing of Enkidu's dream, Gilgamesh declares "the one who survives the gods leave grieving: the dream leaves sorrow to the one who survives" (pg. 57). His profound remark depicts a sudden shift in the arrogant mind of this character. Up until this point, Gilgamesh was "perfect in strength" and described as "the tall, magnificent and terrible" (pg. 2). Enkidu's death caused Gilgamesh to understand that he is not fully immortal. Throughout their adventures, every quest fed Gilgamesh's ego and led him to believe that he was invincible. The death of his friend, reminded Gilgamesh of his own fragility. Gilgamesh understood that he is not fully immortal when he mourned for Enkidu. In his despair, Gilgamesh claims he "shall weep for Enkidu [his] friend; like a hired mourner-woman [he] shall bitterly wail" (pg. 65). The delicate nature of death and the weaknesses of mankind became apparent to

Gilgamesh.
The completely human Enkidu imposed an emotional burden onto Gilgamesh after his death because, the fragility of mankind is a delicate matter that deeply affects others. In the epic, Gilgamesh began as a strong ruler who took pride in his immortal side. His personality drastically changed after the death of Enkidu. Gilgamesh was no longer the brave warrior who killed terrible beasts, he became a man who feared death. After witnessing the raging grip of death and the afterlife, Gilgamesh became distraught with the thought of being human. In conclusion, the emotional impact of Enkidu's death led Gilgamesh to the powerful conclusion that he would die eventually. The thought had never occurred to Gilgamesh, this therefore impacted his life dramatically. The fragility of the human body shocked Gilgamesh into reality and nearly destroyed him emotionally.