This article explores the fear of death and the constant attempts to allay it as represented in George Saunders’s Lincoln
in the Bardo (2017). In the novel, death is an ever-present and
inescapable threat that humans are unable to face directly. Contemplating death as reflected in the novel calls to mind one of
François de La Rochefoucauld’s maxims: “Neither the sun nor
death can be looked at without winking” (5). This article examines the coping mechanisms employed by the characters in order
to face their mortality. Drawing on analytical tools offered by
terror management theory, the article highlights the central role
anxiety over death plays in shaping the human condition. Terror management theory investigates the impact of this existential
fear on various aspects of life, arguing that all human behaviors,
feelings, and thoughts can be read as defenses against it.