# Death and Mortality in Short Fiction

> Theme guide for Short Fiction by Voltairine de Cleyre.

Death is a pervasive presence, from the 'Universal Death' in the mist to the suicides and slow decays of characters, often portrayed as a release or an inevitable fate.

## Where it surfaces

- [The Sorrows of the Body](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_55_se/chapters/the-sorrows-of-the-body): The narrator speaks of being broken before time, feeling like a corpse, and hearing the Soul plot to slay the Body by drowning.
- [The Triumph of Youth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_55_se/chapters/the-triumph-of-youth): The woman's fear of aging and death, symbolized by the old man and her own reflection.
- [The Old Shoemaker](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_55_se/chapters/the-old-shoemaker): The physical decay and the 'world-soiled soul' give way to a spiritual release, suggesting a passage beyond mortal limitations.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_55_se/themes/death_and_mortality
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_55_se/themes