Likewise, the living participants (aside from Bod) don’t seem to remember it either. The day after the Macabray, Bod is confused to find that none of the ghosts remember the event (or they perhaps do remember but are either unwilling or unable to discuss it). As a human who lives in a graveyard and has some ghostly powers ( the Freedom of the Graveyard), Bod himself reflects this connection between the two spheres. The two realms, the novel suggests, are intertwined. The novel suggests that for humans, death is a fact of life, while for the dead, there may be life after they pass away. In other words, because death eventually comes for everyone, and often unexpectedly, people must enjoy their lives while they can.ĭuring the Macabray, the dead are able to leave the graveyard and intermingle with the living, which more broadly symbolizes the interconnectedness between life and death.
At the event, Bod dances with the living, not the dead, so it reminds him that he will soon have to leave the graveyard and make the most of his life-it’s not yet time for him to accept his death and join the ghosts permanently. It's also significant that it’s been 80 years since the last Macabray took place this is close to the average lifespan in England and the U.S., where the novel is set, so it’s a reminder that death comes for everyone eventually.īut beyond just emphasizing that death can come at any moment, the Macabray also encourages those who are still living to enjoy life while they can. Likewise, a person can’t plan for or foresee their death-just as the Macabray that happens only when a certain flower unfurls its petals, death often comes unexpectedly and unfolds on its own timeline. The Macabray doesn’t occur on a regular schedule and instead occurs only when specific flowers in the graveyard bloom. The Macabray, a dance between the dead and the living, represents the idea that death could come at any moment.
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