What should you do after you die?
In “Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain,” Jessica Mitford strikingly illustrates the process of embalming in order to inform the general public of this tradition and its position in the modern North American funeral. Although some people would be disgusted after reading about this process, many may still see the benefits of embalming, such as being able to have an open casket and see a loved one for the last time, and knowing that loved ones can be made beautiful even after death. Unfortunately, however, as in life, obtaining beauty is not cheap. Embalming is an unnecessary expense that could be rejected if the public were informed about the subject and able to choose whether or not they want the service.
In 2004, an article published by the staff of The Motley Fool financial education company, entitled “What Funerals Cost,” consulted the National Funeral Directors Association on the current cost of the average full-service funeral. The total cost, not including a cemetery plot or grave marker, came to about $6,500, roughly $550 of that being for embalming and cosmetics.1 Headstone and cemetery plots each range from $500 to thousands of dollars, depending on style and location. According to the Chicagoland Independent Funeral Directors' website, government aid for funeral costs to surviving spouses from Social Security consists of a one time lump sum of $255. Transportation expenses and $450 is provided by the Veterans Administration for an honorably discharged veteran who dies in a VA hospital, but only a flag and grave marker are provided for those who do not, though both can be buried in a national cemetery at no cost to the family.2 However, neither sum would be enough to cover the cost of embalming and cosmetics.
The price of embalming and cosmetics may not appear to be a significant part of the entire cost, but the small amount of government aid for funeral costs does very little to alleviate the financial strain on survivors. Considering that most deaths are of the elderly, some living solely off of Social Security, any added expense goes to the heirs and can become a struggle to pay for. Both my maternal grandparents and paternal grandmother live off of Social Security and have very little, if any, savings that could be put toward paying for a funeral. I know it would be quite difficult to pay for funeral services, even if splitting the cost between my aunts and uncles, all who have necessary personal expenses of their own. Calculating additional $500 fees here and there, for things such as embalming, would be inconceivable.
In addition to taking money, a burial takes up land space in the form of cemeteries. This land could be used for more practical purposes, such as housing developments or maintaining the natural environment, instead of housing people who no longer have a need for material possessions. It is selfish of us to want to occupy space after we've died that could be used to help the living. Several ancient cultures, like the Greeks and Vikings, as well as some modern day cultures, burned the bodies of the dead rather than putting them in the soil that could be used for agriculture, recreation, and housing for those still living.
There are some who may object to doing away with cemeteries, claiming that there would be nowhere for survivors to visit a loved one who has died. This isn't entirely true, however, because if a relative or friend were to be cremated, there would be an urn or a place where the ashes were scattered that could serve the same purpose as a grave marker. For most, the urn would be in a close proximity to those who would want to visit since most are kept in the homes of the family members, buried in a cemetery, or scattered in a place considered significant to the survivors or the deceased. Compared to the costly, inefficient practice of burial, cremation is a much more environmentally friendly alternative to a full-service contemporary burial, but which still allows survivors to have a funeral service. The Motley Fool reported that the average cost of a cremation service was $1,500, a little more if a traditional funeral service is performed before the cremation, or a little less for a basic cremation. They also wrote that “roughly a quarter of all deaths in the U.S. are followed by cremation, with the Cremation Association of North America estimating that 40% of all deaths will be cremated by 2010” 3.
Mitford comments in her essay that the purpose of having an open casket at a funeral service is to help alleviate fears of live burial of their loved ones (p. 258).4 According to the National Funeral Directors Association's website, family and friends can arrange to witness the cremation of a loved one, so as to purge such fears.5 Being allowed to witness the cremation would serve the same purpose that an open casket would because the survivors could see that their loved one is indeed dead, and they can find closure in knowing that. Another advantage is that the remains of a loved one won't be decomposing in a cemetery, but rather their ashes would be on display at home or in a columbarium within an urn of the family or friends' choosing. Cremation provides many options for how to memorialize loved ones. The traditional open casket service can be done before cremation, which would allow the survivors to have the deceased embalmed, and still pay a much smaller total funeral price, if they still wanted the service after knowing all the information on the cost and practice. Another option is a memorial service, which could be done before, during, or after the cremation.
