Magic,Secrets,and Grim Reality: Death Work and Boundary Management in the Role of the Funeral Director

Abstract

This article examines the performances that funeral directors undertake in protecting the public from the disorder of death and in creating the “magic” of a funeral. Goffman's (1959) concepts of back-stage/front-stage performances are used to illustrate the tension that arises as funeral workers switch between these two elements of their professional role. Based on fieldwork study in a number of funeral establishments, we present examples of the stress that they may experience in their management of the boundary between life and death.

Keywords

funeral directors impressional management front and back regions re-enchantment

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Goffman

(1959). The presentation of the self in everyday life. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Hockey

(1996). Encountering the “reality of death” through professional discourses: The mater of materiality. Mortality, 1(1), 45–60.

Howarth

(2000). Dismantling the boundaries between life and death. Mortality, 5(2), 127–138.

Manning

(1992). Erving Goffman and modern sociology. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Mellor

P. A.

, & Shilling

S. C.

(1993). Modernity, self identity and the sequestration of death. Sociology, 27(3), 411–431.

Parsons

(1999). Yesterday, today and tomorrow. The lifecycle of the UK funeral industry. Mortality, 4(2), 127–145.

Parsons

(2003). Conflict in the context of care: An examination of role conflict between the bereaved and the funeral director in the UK. Mortality, 8(1), 67–87.