Gretta’s love for him was never very genuine. Without her love he felt lost and without direction, and his world began to change from a bright colorful one, to that of dismal darkness. As Gretta and Gabriel meet at the hotel after the party Gabriel begins to sense that something is causing Gretta to be distant from him. He later sees that all the time they have spent together she has had thoughts of someone else. “While he had been full of memories of their secret life together, full of tenderness and joy and desire, she had been comparing him in her mind with another.” His worst fears at this very point have been realized, and thinking about a world without Gretta’s constant love Gabriel’s soul will wither. “His soul had approached that region where dwell the vast host of the dead.” It is apparent that Gabriel’s mood has shifted from celebration to lamentation, as well as the tone of the story.In conclusion “The Dead,” is both a story of celebration and of lamentation. As many stories do this one started off full of joy, but ended in sorrow and despair. There would be no happy ending for Gabriel as his night slowly changed for celebration, to lamentation as he finds that his wife’s love deeply rooted with a man that lies dead. ...
