The Signing (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Stephen Ditchik
- First Published: 1974
- Type of Plot: Impressionistic
- Time of Work: Unspecified; possibly the 1970's
- Setting: A large city in the United States
- Principal Characters: The narrator, Laslo, A bus driver, A doctor
- Genres: Short fiction
- Subjects: 1970’s, Husbands, United States or Americans, Wives, Doctors, Death or dying, Widows or widowers, Bereavement or grief, Hospitals, Joy or sorrow, Organ donation
- Locales: United States
The Story
The unnamed narrator resolutely refuses to abide by any and all of the bureaucratic and legal rules that apply on the death of a relative, in this instance the death of his wife. After his wife dies, he kisses her hands and leaves the hospital room. A nurse runs after him as he walks down the hall. When she asks what he wants done with his wife's body, the widower suggests that they burn it or give it to science. The horrified nurse states that he will draw up the proper legal papers, but that this will take some time. The narrator says he does not have time and...
[The entire page is 1249 words long]
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