Spoon River Anthology · Chapter
Jeduthan Hawley explained
Jeduthan Hawley, the town's undertaker, reflects on his nightly work of preparing the dead for burial.
What happens
Jeduthan Hawley, the town's undertaker, reflects on his nightly work of preparing the dead for burial. He muses on the pairs of townspeople who have died together, noting that death always comes in twos, and contemplates his own eventual pairing with Daisy Fraser.
Themes in this chapter
Death and Legacy
The chapter centers on the inevitability of death and the pairing of souls, reflecting on how the dead are remembered through their companions in the grave.
Characters to notice
- Daisy Fraser
Jeduthan Hawley pairs himself with Daisy Fraser in death.
Key passages
“There would be a knock at the door And I would arise at midnight and go to the shop, Where belated travelers would hear me hammering Sepulchral boards and tacking satin.”
A knock would come at night, and I'd get up to go to my workshop, where late-night visitors could hear me nailing together coffin boards and smoothing out the satin lining.
Describes the undertaker's nocturnal work preparing coffins.
“And often I wondered who would go with me To the distant land, our names the theme For talk, in the same week, for I’ve observed Two always go together.”
I often wondered who would die alongside me, our names mentioned together in conversation that same week, because I've noticed that people always die in pairs.
Reflects on the pattern of paired deaths in the town.