Lincoln in the Bardo

Lincoln’s visit—and in particular, his affectionate touching of Willie’s dead body—inspires newfound liveliness in the bardo, as spirits that were hidden for years suddenly appear. They are more accustomed to seeing the living disgusted by or cruel to dead bodies, so Lincoln’s embrace of his son makes the ghosts wonder if “We were perhaps not so unlovable as we had come to believe” (70), in the Reverend’s words. The Reverend reminds himself that they had all once been loved and mourned. But no one has ever before stepped foot into the cemetery to cradle the bodies of dead people.

Ghosts line up at the white tomb to talk to Willie, certain that some charm or grace of his can solve their problems through association.

In the line to the white tomb, Jane Ellis tells her story. Jane remembers how well her father adored her and how she had once believed life to be limitless. But the man she eventually married was boring, not handsome, and only used her for sex. She was happy only with her children; she now worries that her dull and egotistical husband has been left to take care of her girls. Jane Ellis is followed around by three orbs, each representing one of her daughters.