Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain

"Embalming is indeed a most extraordinary procedure, and one must wonder at the docility of Americans who each year pay hundreds of millions of dollars for its perpetuation, blissfully ignorant of what it is all about, what is done, how it is done"(Mitford). I have attended a total of two funerals in my life, my friend's and my aunt's. I remember at my aunt's funeral, my little cousin whispered to me, "She doesn't look dead. She looks like she is just sleeping." It was true. She did look like she was sleeping; although we all knew she wasn't. She looked far healthier at the funeral than she did while she was in the hospital (after she had a stroke). However, she didn't look like herself. This was due to embalming. I, myself, haven't given it much thought and was unaware of the procedure until I read Jessica Mitford's Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain. It is very surprising how embalming is so widely used in the United States and Canada and how few people actually know what the embalming practice includes. I was shocked to find out the work that goes into transforming a corpse, from the cutting to the replacement of body parts. The whole procedure doesn't seem natural. Also, it is appalling that the family of deceased is not even asked for their consent to go on with the procedure. They have to say otherwise. It makes me wonder how this tradition came about and how someone even came up with the idea of embalming. I don't know if I agree with embalming.