Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain

Suggestions for writing #1

Although embalming is a very invasive, somewhat disgusting process I would argue for this restoration. The practice has been used throughout history beginning I believe in Ancient Egypt. Overall it does provide grieving families with a dishonest portrayal of the deceased, but families want to remember their loved ones as physically beautiful. After numerous cuts, fluid replacement, and makeup, the body does appear physically perfect. Despite the beautifying effect it has on the body, I do believe that embalming a body should require consent from the family or the deceased person’s will, just as people give consent to be an organ donor before they die and have no control over the situation. And yes the process is rather disgusting, but is it really that much different to what a surgeon would do with the body of an organ donor?

The process of embalming is horrifically gruesome, “It is jabbed into the abdomen, poked around the entrails and chest cavity, the contents of which are pumped out and replaced with “cavity fluid.”  Mr. J. Sheridan states that the restoration is aimed at presenting the body “in the semblance of normality . . . unmarred by the ravage of illness, disease, or mutilation.” Although the finished appearance of the body is very fake, it does lend a visually pleasing result. Clearly, the whole embalming process is meant to make the deceased appear how they did in their prime - physically strong, healthy, and attractive. 

The restoration is invasive but once the funeral comes, those who work in the funeral industry must work to please the family members of the deceased. The family members will be deeply saddened by the death of their loved one, so they will not want to have a reminder of the illness or accident that killed them. Their last vision of the body will want to remind them of the positive aspects of the person. For example, it is more pleasing to see the person’s mouth formed into a smile, than a frown. People may argue that the method to achieve this curvature of the lips, “needle directed upward between the upper lip and gum and brought out through the left nostril,” but the affect is has on mourners leaves them sufficiently satisfied with a “Beautiful Memory Picture” of their loved one.

According to Jessica Mitford, people pay millions of dollars to morticians for an embalmment without knowing how the beautiful sight is achieved. She also states that books and information on the subject are very hard to find. I assume this favors the morticians greatly and keeps them in business. However, do we, as a society, really want to know how our deceased become beautiful for an open casket ceremony? I would think that most do not. In this case, ignorance is bliss. Grieving family members have enough to mourn; knowing the gruesome process would only add to their burden. Embalming should be continued since it leaves families with a positive image of their loved one.