Saddest deaths in literature

[ThousandthIsle]

Wow, yeah... This is a wonderful thread but in an instant I've just found out climactic scenes in books I haven't read yet, but planned to read.

Good idea, Niamh. There should be spoiler alerts.

Perhaps everyone could format the book title in noticable font so curious people can skim the forums and easily skip the books they don't want to spoil for themselves.

Spoiler alert for the Lord of the Rings trilogy: this also happened to me once when I was at the beginning of The Two Towers, and this was far before the LOTR films came out, so I was just enjoying the reading experience and had no idea what to expect of the ending. Anyway, the copy I was using had the appendix at the end of the third book, and I used it at the beginning of the second. Without meaning to, I opened to the last page of book 3 while turning to the appendix, and my eye crossed the last sentence: "And he returned safely home" GAH!)

Also, in Dostoevsky's The Idiot, I had a hard time with Nastassya Filipovna's death. Clearly it was distressing, and deeply disturbing, as it led Myshkin to an absolute mental collapse, but I had been hoping that ending could be evaded. The whole book set up this ending for Nastassya, but right before she consciously jumped into the arms of her killer, there seemed to be so many different directions things could take, and I was really hoping Dostoevsky would surprise us somehow. Especially since the source of Nastassya's suffering wasn't even her fault.

[Dark Muse]

Lilly Bart in House of Mirth was very sad to me.

[mayneverhave]

Quentin Compson from The Sound and the Fury

which doesn't actually happen on page.

or

Ilyusha's death in the Brothers Karamazov.

[amalia1985]

I agree with you, and i think that novel fill with sadness.
and my second choice in an Arabian novel called "Abraham Alvarez", I cried a lot for his death.

You know, what always makes me so sad about Edgar's death is not only his last conversation with his daughter, but also the fact that Cathy's future after her father's death was so bleak.

[johann cruyff]

Well, although his death isn't really described, but rather just hinted (it ends with him waiting to be executed) at the very end of the novel, Ahmed Nurudin's death in The Death and the Dervish is one of the strongest, saddest, most moving passages I've ever read. The novel ends with the lines in my signature, and I'm not sure how it's been translated, and it probably doesn't have the same strength, but when it comes to reading it in Bosnian, it's probably the best ending ever.

[aabbcc]

Well, although his death isn't really described, but rather just hinted (it ends with him waiting to be executed) at the very end of the novel, Ahmed Nurudin's death in The Death and the Dervish is one of the strongest, saddest, most moving passages I've ever read. The novel ends with the lines in my signature, and I'm not sure how it's been translated, and it probably doesn't have the same strength, but when it comes to reading it in Bosnian, it's probably the best ending ever.

It doesn't have nearly the same strength in English as it does in Bosnian, trust me. I tried reading Selimović in English, but I couldn't, the way English conveys certain feelings and ideas is drastically different than how Bosnian does, and, compared to the original, it sounds rather dull, bland, tasteless. But then again I generally don't quite prefer English as my reading language, so maybe it's just me.

I didn't include Nurudin to my list because his death is only assumed, not really described, but I agree with you - it's striking, and incredibly beautiful.

I just thought of one other death, Goethe's poem Der Erlkönig; it isn't lenghty so I will post Walter Scott's translation entirely:


The Erlking

O who rides by night thro' the woodland so wild?
It is the fond father embracing his child;
And close the boy nestles within his loved arm,
To hold himself fast, and to keep himself warm.

"O father, see yonder! see yonder!" he says;
"My boy, upon what dost thou fearfully gaze?"
"O, 'tis the Erl-King with his crown and his shroud."
"No, my son, it is but a dark wreath of the cloud."

"O come and go with me, thou loveliest child;
By many a gay sport shall thy time be beguiled;
My mother keeps for thee many a fair toy,
And many a fine flower shall she pluck for my boy."

"O father, my father, and did you not hear
The Erl-King whisper so low in my ear?"
"Be still, my heart's darling—my child, be at ease;
It was but the wild blast as it sung thro' the trees."

"O wilt thou go with me, thou loveliest boy?
My daughter shall tend thee with care and with joy;
She shall bear three so lightly thro' wet and thro' wild,
And press thee, and kiss thee, and sing to my child."

"O father, my father, and saw you not plain
The Erl-King's pale daughter glide past thro' the rain?"
"Oh, yes, my loved treasure, I knew it full soon;
It was the grey willow that danced to the moon."

"O come and go with me, no longer delay,
Or else, silly child, I will drag thee away."
"O father! O father! now, now, keep your hold,
The Erl-King has seized me—his grasp is so cold!"

Sore trembled the father; he spurr'd thro' the wild,
Clasping close to his bosom his shuddering child;
He reaches his dwelling in doubt and in dread,
But, clasp'd to his bosom, the infant was dead.

[curlyqlink]

For me, it's when the dog dies in The Art of Racing In The Rain.

I'm not kidding! It's shamelessly sentimental, but that's okay... to be really affecting, to have lots of pure emotional appeal, a death scene has to be sentimentalized. Which is why I'd also cast a vote for Dickens' death scenes.

As the a really well done death scene, that's a different matter. In that case I'd agree with Kafka's Crow and nominate the scene from King Lear.

[Leabhar]

Andrey Bolkonsky in War and Peace.

[Julian Koller]

Goethe's Werther

[Leabhar]

Goethe's Werther

True. I forgot about that. That is my second choice.

[Niamh]

As far as the saddest deaths in literature are concerned, it has to be Cordelia's death in King Lear. I strongly believe that Lear is the greatest achievement of human imagination along with the Sistine ceiling and the altar and War and Peace. I first read Lear 20 years ago, one sunny winter morning and I cried and I started re-reading right away. I knew the whole play by heart within next couple of years along with Hamlet and Macbeth and it started my love-affair with literature which has been going on uninterrupted ever since:

I completely forgot this! Yes that is definitely one of the saddest ever.

I'm sorry. But i guess we will mention a lot of deaths in this thread. There's more to the book though than Anna dying. I'd recommend it to anyone.

I think Mr Hales death is very touching too. Especially the quiet way Margaret deals with it.

Yes we will mention alot of deaths and novels, thats why in cases like this with wouldnt be a bad thing to put a *Spoiler Alert* in your opening post so when people come into it, they will know they may find out something about a book they plan to read that they might not want to.

I may sound childlish, but Nell from The Old Curiosity Shop stuck in my memory when I was a child and was going through a 'Dickens phase'... Many sad deaths from that phase, but Nell somehow struck me the most.
.

Nell! I forgot that one too!
But Adams Death in east of eden had me crying solidly for about three hours so thats definitely my saddest one.

[Guinivere]

The Erlking

O who rides by night thro' the woodland so wild?
It is the fond father embracing his child;
And close the boy nestles within his loved arm,
To hold himself fast, and to keep himself warm.

"O father, see yonder! see yonder!" he says;
"My boy, upon what dost thou fearfully gaze?"
"O, 'tis the Erl-King with his crown and his shroud."
"No, my son, it is but a dark wreath of the cloud."

"O come and go with me, thou loveliest child;
By many a gay sport shall thy time be beguiled;
My mother keeps for thee many a fair toy,
And many a fine flower shall she pluck for my boy."

"O father, my father, and did you not hear
The Erl-King whisper so low in my ear?"
"Be still, my heart's darling—my child, be at ease;
It was but the wild blast as it sung thro' the trees."

"O wilt thou go with me, thou loveliest boy?
My daughter shall tend thee with care and with joy;
She shall bear three so lightly thro' wet and thro' wild,
And press thee, and kiss thee, and sing to my child."

"O father, my father, and saw you not plain
The Erl-King's pale daughter glide past thro' the rain?"
"Oh, yes, my loved treasure, I knew it full soon;
It was the grey willow that danced to the moon."

"O come and go with me, no longer delay,
Or else, silly child, I will drag thee away."
"O father! O father! now, now, keep your hold,
The Erl-King has seized me—his grasp is so cold!"

Sore trembled the father; he spurr'd thro' the wild,
Clasping close to his bosom his shuddering child;
He reaches his dwelling in doubt and in dread,
But, clasp'd to his bosom, the infant was dead.

We did a lot of Goethe at my school, and I remember this from msuic class. It is really touching, although I prefer the German original (but I guess the original is always the best), I quite like the Scott translation. I haven't seen it before, so thanks for posting the entire poem.

[Kafka's Crow]

I just thought of one other death, Goethe's poem Der Erlkönig; it isn't lenghty so I will post Walter Scott's translation entirely:


The Erlking

O who rides by night thro' the woodland so wild?
It is the fond father embracing his child;
And close the boy nestles within his loved arm,
To hold himself fast, and to keep himself warm.

"O father, see yonder! see yonder!" he says;
"My boy, upon what dost thou fearfully gaze?"
"O, 'tis the Erl-King with his crown and his shroud."
"No, my son, it is but a dark wreath of the cloud."

"O come and go with me, thou loveliest child;
By many a gay sport shall thy time be beguiled;
My mother keeps for thee many a fair toy,
And many a fine flower shall she pluck for my boy."

"O father, my father, and did you not hear
The Erl-King whisper so low in my ear?"
"Be still, my heart's darling—my child, be at ease;
It was but the wild blast as it sung thro' the trees."

"O wilt thou go with me, thou loveliest boy?
My daughter shall tend thee with care and with joy;
She shall bear three so lightly thro' wet and thro' wild,
And press thee, and kiss thee, and sing to my child."

"O father, my father, and saw you not plain
The Erl-King's pale daughter glide past thro' the rain?"
"Oh, yes, my loved treasure, I knew it full soon;
It was the grey willow that danced to the moon."

"O come and go with me, no longer delay,
Or else, silly child, I will drag thee away."
"O father! O father! now, now, keep your hold,
The Erl-King has seized me—his grasp is so cold!"

Sore trembled the father; he spurr'd thro' the wild,
Clasping close to his bosom his shuddering child;
He reaches his dwelling in doubt and in dread,
But, clasp'd to his bosom, the infant was dead.

Oh this poem brings back memories of long, very long winter nights reading all kinds of stuff. I think I read it somewhere in a very distant past. Excellent poem. That Selimović novel is definitely on my reading list. Another great death is Sohrab's death at the hands of his own father (Rustum) in Firdausi's Shahnameh. It has to be the greatest as it crowns the huge body of elegiac literature in Persian language where after love-poetry, elegiac verse is the main form:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tragedy-Sohr...6818354&sr=8-3

[kelby_lake]

Hedwig in Harry Potter!

[Kafka's Crow]

Hedwig in Harry Potter!

Did he die as well? Thanks for telling us, I can talk with children more confidently now that I know one more HP fact (any excuse to avoid reading the books!)