The Two Deaths of Kipling and Other Final Experiences

A magazine announced Rudyard Kipling's death in advance, to the surprise of the presumably involved party. "I have just read that I am dead. Don't forget to unsubscribe me." As absurd as the answer sounds, it is actually overwhelmingly logical.

march 22, 2018 - 14:38
Kipling’s two deaths and other final experiences
Kipling’s two deaths and other final experiences

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udyard Kipling, the author of The Jungle Book, passed away on January 18. Fifteen days earlier, he had stated that he was not afraid of death. A magazine echoed his statements, but in a somewhat peculiar way. Without further ado, it announced his death in advance, to the surprise of the presumably involved party. "I have just read that I am dead. Don't forget to cancel my subscription." As absurd as the response sounds, it is actually overwhelmingly logical. How can one maintain a link with a publication that claims the subscriber is no longer alive, and therefore not in a position to read it? Not to mention the low reliability of the news that the medium in question refers to.

Recently, the news of a prisoner who, having been considered dead, woke up in the morgue, about to undergo an autopsy, caused quite a stir. An exceptional and terrifying situation.
Kipling's sarcastic comment dates back to 1936, and since then there have been many cases of deceased people returning to life. Recently, the news of a prisoner who, having been considered dead, woke up in the morgue, about to undergo an autopsy, has caused quite a stir. The exceptional and terrifying situation has been described as traumatic for the protagonist and, surely (we can speculate, without fear of error) for whoever noticed movement and sounds in an inert body. A sinister discovery that the ghost (as an archetype) exemplifies perfectly.

Kipling by Philip Burne Jones (1899)

The exceptional and terrifying situation has been described as traumatic for the protagonist and, surely (we can speculate, without fear of error) for whoever noticed movement and sounds in an inert body. A sinister discovery that the ghost (as an archetype) exemplifies perfectly.

REALITIES OF THE GHOST

A being that is a non-being, the spirit of someone who has not completely left to threaten the living or remind them of the possibility of the end, which inevitably concerns them. Or, if anything, with its paradoxical reality. In Lost Highway (1997), by David Lynch, the cadaverous man who pulls the strings of the fiction is in two places at the same time, because in fact he is in none, because he is not of this world.

A being that is a non-being, the spirit of someone who has not quite left remembers the possibility of the end.
The morbid fascination aroused by horror films must be understood as a controlled approach to extreme violence, and ultimately to the final mystery of life. The approach is carried out under laboratory conditions, without risk of "really" suffering irreversible damage. A trend that is not only epochal. Its roots can be found in the origins of the cinematic genre, whose quintessence is recreated in the possibility of making the invisible visible, of giving reality to the shadow, and giving prominence to the creatures of the night. The success of vampire films, already in the first decades of cinema, manifests and sublimates an atavistic concern, which as such transcends time. We can remember theNosferatu(1922) by F. W. Murnau, a creature of horrifying magnetism, or think ofVampyr, the most refined and metaphysical version of Danish director C. T. Dreyer.

SEE TRANSLUCENT BODIES

In that 1932 film, not only is the lethal activity of a vampire witch narrated, but the viewer also witnesses one of the most fascinating out-of-body experiences in cinema history. Through the double exposure technique, a translucent appearance detaches from the body. The young vampire hunter, affected by blood loss after a transfusion, loses consciousness and leaves himself, to attend his own funeral. He records the preparations from inside the sarcophagus, with a lost gaze. And the camera (which are his inoperative eyes) captures in a low-angle shot the entire landscape that unfolds on the way to the cemetery: how he crosses the threshold of the door, the treetops swaying, the church bells ringing, and the sacred building being left behind.

The camera captures in a low-angle shot the entire landscape that unfolds on the way to the cemetery.
After which, the protagonist, sitting on the same bench where he fainted, regains consciousness. The narrative ambiguity is wonderful and unsettling, because the vision of the dead man, even improbable, becomes cinematically possible.Clint Eastwood, with a sensibility closer to the current one, wanted to narrate in

El presidente de la Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, ha asegurado este martes que el Govern "no renunciará a nada" para lograr la independencia de Cataluña y ha defendido que la amnistía y la autodeterminación son los "dos grandes consensos" de la sociedad catalana.

Lo ha dicho en la rueda de prensa posterior al Consell Executiu, después de que el presidente del Gobierno, Pedro Sánchez, haya afirmado que la amnistía es el "punto final" al 'procés' y que el independentismo debe asumir que no habrá autodeterminación.

Aragonès ha replicado que la amnistía "no es el punto final de nada, sino el punto de partida para resolver el conflicto de soberanía entre Cataluña y el Estado", y ha insistido en que la Generalitat no renunciará a la independencia.

"No renunciaremos a nada de lo que nos ha traído hasta aquí, no renunciaremos a la libertad, a la amnistía, a la autodeterminación y a la independencia de Cataluña", ha subrayado.

El presidente catalán ha defendido que la amnistía y la autodeterminación son los "dos grandes consensos" de la sociedad catalana, y ha asegurado que el Govern seguirá trabajando para hacerlos realidad.

"La amnistía es una victoria del independentismo, pero no es el final del camino, sino el inicio de una nueva etapa", ha afirmado.

Aragonès ha recordado que el acuerdo de investidura entre ERC y el PSOE incluye la creación de una mesa de diálogo para abordar el conflicto catalán, y ha asegurado que el Govern acudirá a ella con la voluntad de "negociar sin límites" para lograr la independencia.

"La mesa de diálogo es el espacio para negociar la resolución del conflicto, y nosotros iremos con la voluntad de negociar sin límites para lograr la independencia de Cataluña", ha remarcado.

El presidente de la Generalitat ha insistido en que el Govern "no renunciará a nada" para lograr la independencia, y ha advertido de que "no hay atajos" para conseguirla.

"No hay atajos para la independencia, hay que trabajar, hay que negociar, hay que persistir, hay que acumular fuerzas, hay que sumar, hay que convencer, hay que ganar", ha concluido.

Por su parte, la portavoz del Govern, Patrícia Plaja, ha asegurado que el Ejecutivo catalán "no renuncia a la autodeterminación" y que la amnistía es "una herramienta para avanzar" hacia ella.

En la misma rueda de prensa, Plaja ha afirmado que el Govern "no renuncia a la autodeterminación" y que la amnistía es "una herramienta para avanzar" hacia ella.

"La amnistía es una herramienta para avanzar, no es el punto final de nada, sino el punto de partida para resolver el conflicto de soberanía entre Cataluña y el Estado", ha reiterado.

La portavoz ha insistido en que el Govern "seguirá trabajando" para lograr la independencia de Cataluña y ha asegurado que la mesa de diálogo es el "espacio" para negociar la resolución del conflicto.

"La mesa de diálogo es el espacio para negociar la resolución del conflicto, y nosotros iremos con la voluntad de negociar sin límites para lograr la independencia de Cataluña", ha remarcado.

Plaja ha defendido que la amnistía y la autodeterminación son los "dos grandes consensos" de la sociedad catalana, y ha asegurado que el Govern "seguirá trabajando" para hacerlos realidad.

"La amnistía es una victoria del independentismo, pero no es el final del camino, sino el inicio de una nueva etapa", ha afirmado.

La portavoz ha recordado que el acuerdo de investidura entre ERC y el PSOE incluye la creación de una mesa de diálogo para abordar el conflicto catalán, y ha asegurado que el Govern acudirá a ella con la voluntad de "negociar sin límites" para lograr la independencia.

"La mesa de diálogo es el espacio para negociar la resolución del conflicto, y nosotros iremos con la voluntad de negociar sin límites para lograr la independencia de Cataluña", ha remarcado.

Plaja ha insistido en que el Govern "no renunciará a nada" para lograr la independencia, y ha advertido de que "no hay atajos" para conseguirla.

"No hay atajos para la independencia, hay que trabajar, hay que negociar, hay que persistir, hay que acumular fuerzas, hay que sumar, hay que convencer, hay que ganar", ha concluido.

El presidente de la Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, ha asegurado este martes que el Govern "no renunciará a nada" para lograr la independencia de Cataluña y ha defendido que la amnistía y la autodeterminación son los "dos grandes consensos" de la sociedad catalana.

Lo ha dicho en la rueda de prensa posterior al Consell Executiu, después de que el presidente del Gobierno, Pedro Sánchez, haya afirmado que la amnistía es el "punto final" al 'procés' y que el independentismo debe asumir que no habrá autodeterminación.

Aragonès ha replicado que la amnistía "no es el punto final de nada, sino el punto de partida para resolver el conflicto de soberanía entre Cataluña y el Estado", y ha insistido en que la Generalitat no renunciará a la independencia.

"No renunciaremos a nada de lo que nos ha traído hasta aquí, no renunciaremos a la libertad, a la amnistía, a la autodeterminación y a la independencia de Cataluña", ha subrayado.

El presidente catalán ha defendido que la amnistía y la autodeterminación son los "dos grandes consensos" de la sociedad catalana, y ha asegurado que el Govern seguirá trabajando para hacerlos realidad.

"La amnistía es una victoria del independentismo, pero no es el final del camino, sino el inicio de una nueva etapa", ha afirmado.

Aragonès ha recordado que el acuerdo de investidura entre ERC y el PSOE incluye la creación de una mesa de diálogo para abordar el conflicto catalán, y ha asegurado que el Govern acudirá a ella con la voluntad de "negociar sin límites" para lograr la independencia.

"La mesa de diálogo es el espacio para negociar la resolución del conflicto, y nosotros iremos con la voluntad de negociar sin límites para lograr la independencia de Cataluña", ha remarcado.

El presidente de la Generalitat ha insistido en que el Govern "no renunciará a nada" para lograr la independencia, y ha advertido de que "no hay atajos" para conseguirla.

"No hay atajos para la independencia, hay que trabajar, hay que negociar, hay que persistir, hay que acumular fuerzas, hay que sumar, hay que convencer, hay que ganar", ha concluido.

Por su parte, la portavoz del Govern, Patrícia Plaja, ha asegurado que el Ejecutivo catalán "no renuncia a la autodeterminación" y que la amnistía es "una herramienta para avanzar" hacia ella.

En la misma rueda de prensa, Plaja ha afirmado que el Govern "no renuncia a la autodeterminación" y que la amnistía es "una herramienta para avanzar" hacia ella.

"La amnistía es una herramienta para avanzar, no es el punto final de nada, sino el punto de partida para resolver el conflicto de soberanía entre Cataluña y el Estado", ha reiterado.

La portavoz ha insistido en que el Govern "seguirá trabajando" para lograr la independencia de Cataluña y ha asegurado que la mesa de diálogo es el "espacio" para negociar la resolución del conflicto.

"La mesa de diálogo es el espacio para negociar la resolución del conflicto, y nosotros iremos con la voluntad de negociar sin límites para lograr la independencia de Cataluña", ha remarcado.

Plaja ha defendido que la amnistía y la autodeterminación son los "dos grandes consensos" de la sociedad catalana, y ha asegurado que el Govern "seguirá trabajando" para hacerlos realidad.

"La amnistía es una victoria del independentismo, pero no es el final del camino, sino el inicio de una nueva etapa", ha afirmado.

La portavoz ha recordado que el acuerdo de investidura entre ERC y el PSOE incluye la creación de una mesa de diálogo para abordar el conflicto catalán, y ha asegurado que el Govern acudirá a ella con la voluntad de "negociar sin límites" para lograr la independencia.

"La mesa de diálogo es el espacio para negociar la resolución del conflicto, y nosotros iremos con la voluntad de negociar sin límites para lograr la independencia de Cataluña", ha remarcado.

Plaja ha insistido en que el Govern "no renunciará a nada" para lograr la independencia, y ha advertido de que "no hay atajos" para conseguirla.

"No hay atajos para la independencia, hay que trabajar, hay que negociar, hay que persistir, hay que acumular fuerzas, hay que sumar, hay que convencer, hay que ganar", ha concluido.

The president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, assured this Tuesday that the Government "will not give up anything" to achieve the independence of Catalonia and defended that amnesty and self-determination are the "two great consensuses" of Catalan society.

He said this at the press conference after the Consell Executiu, after the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, stated that amnesty is the "final point" to the 'procés' and that separatism must assume that there will be no self-determination.

Aragonès replied that amnesty "is not the final point of anything, but the starting point to resolve the sovereignty conflict between Catalonia and the State", and insisted that the Generalitat will not give up independence.

"We will not give up anything that has brought us here, we will not give up freedom, amnesty, self-determination and the independence of Catalonia," he stressed.

The Catalan president defended that amnesty and self-determination are the "two great consensuses" of Catalan society, and assured that the Government will continue working to make them a reality.

"Amnesty is a victory for separatism, but it is not the end of the road, but the beginning of a new stage," he said.

Aragonès recalled that the investiture agreement between ERC and the PSOE includes the creation of a dialogue table to address the Catalan conflict, and assured that the Government will attend it with the will to "negotiate without limits" to achieve independence.

"The dialogue table is the space to negotiate the resolution of the conflict, and we will go with the will to negotiate without limits to achieve the independence of Catalonia," he remarked.

The president of the Generalitat insisted that the Government "will not give up anything" to achieve independence, and warned that "there are no shortcuts" to achieve it.

"There are no shortcuts to independence, you have to work, you have to negotiate, you have to persist, you have to accumulate forces, you have to add, you have to convince, you have to win," he concluded.

For her part, the spokeswoman for the Government, Patrícia Plaja, assured that the Catalan Executive "does not renounce self-determination" and that amnesty is "a tool to advance" towards it.

In the same press conference, Plaja stated that the Government "does not renounce self-determination" and that amnesty is "a tool to advance" towards it.

"Amnesty is a tool to advance, it is not the final point of anything, but the starting point to resolve the sovereignty conflict between Catalonia and the State," she reiterated.

The spokeswoman insisted that the Government "will continue working" to achieve the independence of Catalonia and assured that the dialogue table is the "space" to negotiate the resolution of the conflict.

"The dialogue table is the space to negotiate the resolution of the conflict, and we will go with the will to negotiate without limits to achieve the independence of Catalonia," she remarked.

Plaja defended that amnesty and self-determination are the "two great consensuses" of Catalan society, and assured that the Government "will continue working" to make them a reality.

"Amnesty is a victory for separatism, but it is not the end of the road, but the beginning of a new stage," she said.

The spokeswoman recalled that the investiture agreement between ERC and the PSOE includes the creation of a dialogue table to address the Catalan conflict, and assured that the Government will attend it with the will to "negotiate without limits" to achieve independence.

"The dialogue table is the space to negotiate the resolution of the conflict, and we will go with the will to negotiate without limits to achieve the independence of Catalonia," she remarked.

Plaja insisted that the Government "will not give up anything" to achieve independence, and warned that "there are no shortcuts" to achieve it.

"There are no shortcuts to independence, you have to work, you have to negotiate, you have to persist, you have to accumulate forces, you have to add, you have to convince, you have to win," she concluded.

(2010) the possibility of a life after death, which the protagonist can perceive. The return of many who have been at the gates of death, endowed with information about their previously deceased relatives, which they could in no way know, encourages rumors of the existence of a light at the end, where all lives would converge without distinction of time.

SOME LAST PHRASES

From here it seems essentially complex to confirm that point, and some humorous situations also question such transcendence. Socrates confessed not to know anything of what awaited him, once dead. Nevertheless, his last intervention, after drinking hemlock and still awaiting its effect, deserves to be remembered: "Remember, Crito, to deliver the rooster we owe to Asclepius." To the god of health the offering will be given, to fulfill a debt or earn his favor. This surprising end, which Plato transcribes in the Phaedo, contrasts with the sentence he transcribes in the early Apology of Socrates, no less memorable: "It is time now to depart, I to die and you to live, who goes to a better place is unknown, except to God."

"Am I dying, or is it my birthday?"
Many are the "last phrases" that reveal an inspired strangeness. It is said that when Lady Astor, an intimate friend of George Bernard Shaw, was prostrate on her deathbed, she woke up one last time, and asked the many present: "Am I dying, or is it my birthday?" A rhetorical question, a justified blunder or a final joke, the fascinating thing about the anecdote is that it dreamily blurs the boundaries that separate what is known and what is not known in relation to life and, above all, to death.

We know, in this sense, that poor Segismundo confused the artifice of his prison with the apparent fiction of palace life. His awakening to reality is necessarily processed as deception, which can be understood as an invitation to think beyond reason, and to concede that there is no less reality in dreams than in the state of consciousness, in wakefulness. That is why Nancy Sinatra's dreamy melody "You Only Live Twice" sounds appropriate, specifying that there are two lives we get to live, "one life for yourself, and one for your dreams."

WHEN THE END IS THE BEGINNING

Even more inspiring is the hypothesis that a film like Denis Villeneuve's Arrival (2016) puts on the table. A hypothesis regarding how time passes for human beings. Perhaps only for us does life happen linearly, with a past and a future, a before and an after. It could be that other life forms manage time circularly, or through a simultaneity that does not "spatially" distinguish past from future. As she approaches those who have arrived from outer space, the protagonist of that film materially experiences events from the past (which she didn't even remember) and at a decisive moment in the plot finds the answer in the future, which has not yet happened.

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Jacobo Zabalo
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