# Jeduthan Hawley explained — Spoon River Anthology

> Chapter companion for Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters.

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### Daisy Fraser

Jeduthan Hawley pairs himself with Daisy Fraser in death.

## Key lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/chapters/jeduthan-hawley
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/spoon_river_anthology_se/chapters