Popular nineteenth-century novels and other literature communicated cultural expectations for a Good Death and the process and etiquette for mourning. The Gates Ajar (1868) by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward was a best-selling novel about the mourning of Mary Cabot after the death of her brother, a soldier in the Civil War. The title was a reference to the gates of heaven and the joy loved ones could expect when reunited in heaven after death. The novel inspired songs and images of open gates became a popular funeral and cemetery motif.
Sheet Music, “How the Gates Came Ajar” by Eastburn, 1872. Courtesy Archive.org and Newberry Sheet Music Digital Collection
Image featured in Discovering Quacks, Utopias, and Cemeteries: Modern Lessons from Historical Themes by Cynthia Resor