The deathbed tells us a great deal about life. In Martina Will de Chaparro’s admirable study the deathbed reveals much about change in social relations and definitions of the public and the private. Will’s study begins in 1700, but the book’s core explores how ways of death changed in nineteenth-century New Mexico. Based upon the study of 469 wills (dated 1704 – 1899, one-third dictated by women), this book also utilizes burial registers, prescriptive literature, archeological findings, criminal records, and newspapers. Will offers thoughtful analysis of ideas, ritual actions, and material culture. Illustrations well exemplify the book’s central concepts.
Dying women and men desired a “good death,” a mindful, orderly approach toward their final moments in this world. To help the soul win the struggle for salvation, New Mexicans prepared detailed wills, sought last rites, and planned for proper burial. Will stresses that a baroque sensibility shaped ideas and practices...
