Cultural Contexts of "The Striding Place"

Upon reading "The Striding Place" by Gertrude Atherton, one major cultural anxiety shot out at me. This anxiety seems to be present in every society present, past, and most likely future. The anxiety I speak of is that of what happens after death and what is the connection between spirit/soul and body. This may also be considered a cultural fear for some because there is not documented proof as to what happens after death and if there is such a thing as a true soul or spirit of a person. I am not stating that there is no such things as souls because many people believe in souls and life after death, but rather that there is no definite understanding about these things.

Throughout the story, the thoughts of death, what happens after death, and the presence of human souls are brought up. Midway through the story, the main character recalls a conversation with his friend, who he is searching for, about the connection of soul and body. He remembers his friend stating that the soul is a conscious prisoner in the body during times of madness. He also states that he likes the theory that the soul sometimes remains in the body after death. This seems like an anxiety that faces many people. People are unsure as to whether or not that statement is true. Death is a sensitive issue on its own, but to add to that the thought that the soul still could remain in the body seems to bring up a huge anxiety of possibly fear. He also goes on to say that he wants to become a mahatma in India so that he could truly explore the relationship between soul and body through allowing his soul to travel across different astral planes of existence. Then the main character asks about whether he should deem his body unfit for his soul after his travels through those planes of existence. This also brings up a huge fear. This suggests that not only can the soul leave the body, but can travel across other planes of existence.

The main character makes a reference to the afterlife when he comments about the striding place. He describes the place and says that no other place had the right to claim so many ghosts, if ghosts there were. Here he brings up the thought that there may are may not be such a thing as ghosts. Many people believe in ghosts and the supernatural because they feel like they need a connection to someone they knew after that person dies. Finally when he pulls his friend from the water he states that he has no face. I think he means that the body is lifeless and that the soul has left his friend's body. By saying what he said about the faceless body, I think we get a preview as to what the author's view on the soul is like. I think the author believes that there is a connection between soul and body and that the soul can leave the body at the time of death.