“I’m death, and I make all people equal.”
I’m willing to bet that most people who read ‘Godfather Death’ miss, or at least dismiss, the quote above. I’ll admit that during my first reading of the Grimm Brothers’ short story I didn’t pay any special attention to it; I remember reading it specifically, but with all of the thoughts provoked by the story, it didn’t really stand out. However, as I reflect on what crossed my mind during and after reading, I realized that it may be the most important quote within the text. As I read, I thought about the motifs of the story (revenge, fate vs. free will, greed, and death), as well as the similarities between ‘Godfather Death’ and Macbeth, but what was really thought provoking was a singular question: why are we afraid of death?
Hundreds of thousands of people have tried to answer that question – it’s nothing new as far as curiosities go – and, I would be lying if I tried to tell you that I wasn’t afraid of dying. Everyone has something about death that unsettles them. So what aspects of death are so frightening? I can’t answer for everyone, but for me, the intimidating part isn’t the actual exiting of this world – that happens to everyone. The part that I find anxiety-inducing is the unknown: when will it happen? How? Is there a reason why? And, what happens after? Sure, we have ideas and theories, but ultimately we’re putting our faith in something that we won’t certainly know the answer to until we encounter it personally.
In the story, the Doctor’s father chooses Death to be his Godfather because he “[takes] the rich and the poor without making distinctions,” (Grimm, 149). The irony in this occurs upon realizing that what the father appreciates about Death, the Doctor takes for granted. Death even warns the Doctor that he comes for peasants and kings alike, but the Doctor becomes greedy and chooses to ignore the warning. Death warns him further, that if he tries to fool him again that it will mean his life, but the Doctor continues to play with death. Ultimately, this leads to the Doctor fearfully begging for his life “so [he] can enjoy [his] life and become king and marry the beautiful princess,” (Grimm, 151). Here is where the importance of the quote comes in; the Doctor has forgotten just how equal death makes all of us.
After finishing the story, I had an epiphany: Death doesn’t care about life because without him, it means nothing. Death doesn’t care that the Doctor has the potential to become king or marry the princess because if the Doctor lived forever and experienced these things, he would take them for granted. So maybe, we aren’t actually afraid of death. Rather, we are afraid of wasting our lives and missing opportunities. We’re afraid of time. Unfortunately, the irony of death is an old cliche we know all too well: you never know what you have until it’s gone.
Grimm, Jacob, and Wilhelm Grimm. The Complete Fairytales of the Brothers Grimm Trans. Jack Zipes. New York:
Bantam Books, 2002.
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