Jessica Mitford’s “Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain” questions the embalming process, or as said by Mitford “restorative art” (128) that is used to preserve a dead body resulting in disrespect toward the deceased and their family. Throughout the essay she explains in vivid detail the entire process and how a body can be turned into a counterfeit body to make sure it does not start decaying and look perfect for the family. Mitford questions the legality of the embalming process and shows the reader the truth behind what is shown at a funeral home when the family sees the body. Mitford talks about death a topic most of society avoids having a conversation about to reveal issues that revolve around funerals and what happens to the deceased bodies.
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The legality of the embalming process, how well and respectfully is the body really taken care off by the funeral directors is unknown. Mitford argues that the law does not support the process of embalming. Permission is not sought from either next of kin or the deceased before death and this questions the entire legality of the whole process of embalming that funeral directors are conducting year round in an industry worth billions. Mitford points out that “Americans…each year pay hundreds of millions of dollars for its perpetuation, blissfully ignorant of what it is all about, what is done, [and] how it is done” (128). The misinformed people who pay for these services do not know how their beloved one who has died is being altered, as society does not tell the funeral director or embalmer how to prepare the body, resulting in “one in ten thousand [having no] idea of what actually takes place.”(128). By law “[everyone], expect apprentices, [is] excluded…from the preparation room” (129), so the embalmer can alter the body in any way they find suitable for the presentation of the body in the casket without the constant of immediate family members or the deceased. Mitford points out that embalmers have a “favourite injection and drainage point” (130), therefore, this indicates that the embalmer thinks of the deceased as just another dead body to prepare. Embalmers would most likely follow the instructions of the family even though it would interpret their usual procedure, however, there is no respect toward the dead person lying on the table or the
The legality of the embalming process, how well and respectfully is the body really taken care off by the funeral directors is unknown. Mitford argues that the law does not support the process of embalming. Permission is not sought from either next of kin or the deceased before death and this questions the entire legality of the whole process of embalming that funeral directors are conducting year round in an industry worth billions. Mitford points out that “Americans…each year pay hundreds of millions of dollars for its perpetuation, blissfully ignorant of what it is all about, what is done, [and] how it is done” (128). The misinformed people who pay for these services do not know how their beloved one who has died is being altered, as society does not tell the funeral director or embalmer how to prepare the body, resulting in “one in ten thousand [having no] idea of what actually takes place.”(128). By law “[everyone], expect apprentices, [is] excluded…from the preparation room” (129), so the embalmer can alter the body in any way they find suitable for the presentation of the body in the casket without the constant of immediate family members or the deceased. Mitford points out that embalmers have a “favourite injection and drainage point” (130), therefore, this indicates that the embalmer thinks of the deceased as just another dead body to prepare. Embalmers would most likely follow the instructions of the family even though it would interpret their usual procedure, however, there is no respect toward the dead person lying on the table or the