'Without burial and without tears': from the negation of death to the ‘‘abnegation’’ of life

Abstract

Death and disease, isolation and loneliness of the dying, metaphor of war, abandonment, lack of the urn and mourning without bodies: the global epidemic forced us to a violent encounter with the end of life, which in our society continues to constitute a taboo. Starting from some testimonies of doctors and nurses, we analyze the methods and representations of death at the time of Covid-19 with the aim of emphasizing the profound need to build a lay rite of mourning and a more sustainable social model.  We will also question the tragedy that we have seen happen in order to understand the fundamental values ​​on which the world that will come will have to stand.