The changing presentation of death in the obituary, 1899-1999

Obituaries from the New York Times are examined at three points to illuminate changing conceptions of death. The findings are twofold. Changes in the obituary demonstrate how the locus of social control over death has shifted from nature and God, to medicine and most recently to the individual. Additionally, it is shown that descriptions of biophysical aspects of the dying process are marginalized over time and that there is more frequent use of language that emphasizes death-resistant themes in the most recent obituaries. This finding exemplifies the observation of increasing claims to authority over mortality by individuals in recent decades.